The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will collect people’s opinion about the national flower, national costume and national wine at the Spring Flower and Drink Festival 2011.

The festival will take place from January 25 through 30 at the Vietnam Culture and Art Center, 2 Hoa Lu street, Hanoi.

The festival will present characteristic features of Vietnam’s traditional Tet (lunar New Year) through the Kitchen God Festival, rural markets, mountain market-days, folk games, performance of traditional costumes of ethnic groups.

At the Vietnam Lotus Spirit Gala on January 29, the name of the national flower will be announced.

In the last ten years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized many workshops on choosing a national flower for Vietnam. is always the top nominee.

On this occasion, exhibitions of lotus as part of the spiritual life of Vietnamese people, 80 photos of lotus by Tran Bich, cooking made from lotus, etc. will be opened.

While the program to choose the national flower is warmly supported by experts and the community, the plans to select the national costume and national wine don’t go smoothly. At the festival, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will collect public opinions on the two plans.

Vi Kien Thanh, Chief of the Art, Photography and Exhibition Department, who is in charge of the national flower and national costume plans, said that national costume is a necessity for a country in the age of international integration. Ao dai is already the national costume for women but it is difficult to choose the national costume for men.

Thanh said that the national flower selection program is completed, the national costume plan is drafted and national wine plan is in the survey stage.

In the last three years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Beverage Association have nominated some types of wine as national wine.

The Spring Flower and Drink Festival is an annual event held at the Vietnam Culture and Art Centre before lunar New Year.

The festival will display and sell flowers, ornamental animals, and wine made by famous spirits villages in Vietnam.

PV