What's special about the Lunar New Year in the Nguyen Dynasty?

Tet in the king's palace, princesses are always curious to many people. Except for those who have been around, everyone wants to know how the ceremony in the royal palace takes place?

The Nguyen Dynasty - the last feudal regime in Vietnam - has accused more than half a century. However, many of the imprints of this dynasty still exist, including many monuments recognized as UNESCO cultural heritage, including the custom and turn of the king during Tet.

Banquet ceremony

According to the book of Tet holidays in Nguyen palace, every year, the Nguyen dynasty started the new year with the Ban day festival taking place on the first day of December at Ngo Mon Gate.

Squirrel board means Kham Thien Gi agency making the calendar for the new year, distributing the king's calendar to the mandarin and the royal family, like. The people who were scheduled to wear a formal dress turned their heads towards the throne in Thai Hoa palace, bowing 5 times to thank the king.

Ceremony to welcome Tet in Nguyen palace.(Photo: Researcher Vo Tong Xuan).

Following the Ban Sào ceremony is the Awakening ceremony, which means sweeping, cleaning the jade seals, gold presses, books and budgets. This ceremony is carried out at Can Chanh Palace - the place where the caskets containing national treasures are stored.

After cleaning, people base on the previous year's record to inventory all the treasures before putting them in a locked lock. After the Awakening ceremony, the agencies stopped preparing for Tet.

On the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, Khâm Thiên Giám chooses a healthy hour for the Ministry of Tree Construction. The tree of the citadel, the locality, the pagoda, and the family also followed. It was a time to signal the entire people to welcome Tet. The tree signaled the day when the whole people quit their jobs to eat Tet.

The Lunar New Year takes place on the first day of the first year. On that day, soldiers wearing colorful weapons, colorful flags, elephant horse jewelry with the king often used . arranged in front of Thai Hoa electric field to Ngo Mon Gate.

The king wore a great tide, from Can Chanh temple to Thai Hoa palace and then sat on the throne to observe and the royal prince liked to celebrate. During the king's stay, Ngo Mon Gate rung the bell, drum hit continuously, very majestic.

The king wives are still in the city. People in Tam Cung and dignitaries, Lunar New Year were dressed in ceremonies, standing on the side of the road making two honorary fences from Can Thanh electricity to Can Chanh electricity to greet the passing king.

From the 30th to the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year, the table was set in the Phung Tien shrines and temples, the smoke of incense was high. Each time offered 32 separate dishes such as spring rolls, grilled chicken, stewed chicken, roasted meat, goat meat . In the morning, the kings and the gods prayed in the afternoon. The offerings were made by the king's palace or the localities offered the city.

The plowing ceremony of President filling

In addition to the ceremony in the royal palace, Tet holiday also has a very important Chair of Filling, aiming to encourage agricultural development. Today, the king and the royal family prefer to go down the plow to encourage people to grow farmers.

The king wore a robe, covered a heavy sugar towel, carried hia, a hand holding a whip, a hand holding a gold plow, pulled by two cows covered with gold silk. According to the king, there was the mandarin of the mandarin of Thua Thien and a mandarin of the Ministry of Households, who carried a seed basket, and a cloth of seed.

After plowing, the king sat on the watchtower to see the prince and the ministers plowing further. This is just a support activity. After the ceremony of President Filling ends, this field will be handed back to the full-time staff, obliged to plant rice to worship the Nam Giao herds, sacrifice the gods and shrines and shrines.

The rituals in the Citadel and plowed fields were held in the royal circle, with only a few gods and a few dignitaries, and the people were not allowed to attend.

Ban 'love affair' to the archers

On Tet holiday, no wife and children can sit and eat with the king. Therefore, there are many women who are known as the king's wife, but the husband's face cannot be seen all year round, although they are only a few dozen meters away from the king's residence.

In order to create opportunities for the nuns, women, and beauties of the nine levels to see the king's face on the days of spring, the Nguyen kings thought of a very unique way of meeting.

Accordingly, until the winter solstice every year, all fire in the citadel must be turned off. Can Thanh palace grouped a huge fire furnace. It was right at midnight that the women in the palace were allowed to bring the incubator to the Can Thanh Palace so that the king would give some fire, implying a warmth for everyone. This little "love affair" will be kept carefully by the women all year round.

According to the old concept, the king was the "god of death", holding all the powers. Tet holiday with celestial gods is not only a time off for the main court to play, but also for inventory of treasures (Awakening ceremony), preparing for the work of the following year, commemorating ancestors, encouraging people they diligently produced years (President filling ceremony).

The Nguyen Dynasty is no longer available, but all those Tet activities are still found in history books and have certain meanings. It is also part of our immaterial heritage today.