VietNamNet
Bridge – The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hanoi authorities and
thousands of people of Gia Lam and Soc Son districts, Hanoi, welcomed the
UNESCO’s Certificate of World Intangible Heritage for the Saint Giong Festival
on January 22.

Hanoi’s Vice Chair Ngo Thi Thanh Hang and the chief representative of UNESCO in Vietnam – Katherine Muller Ma hold the certificate high.

The festival was the third element of Hanoi’s heritage recognized by UNESCO in 2010, joining the
82 doctoral steles in the Temple
of Literature, and the
Thang Long Royal Citadel.

“Hanoi
is proud to receive UNESCO certification. This recognizes the efforts of past
generations who handed down their heritage to the people of Ha Noi,” said Hanoi’s Vice Chair Ngo Thi
Thanh Hang.

“The Giong Festival has all the
necessary elements to be recognized as humanity’s intangible cultural heritage,
especially the element of community participation in preserving and promoting
the value of the festival,” said Katherine Muller‑Marin, chief representative of the UNESCO
in Vietnam.

She also emphasized that the festival had
been deeply impressed by the inherited traditions of those residents living
along the Red River.

During the ceremony, Deputy Minister of
Culture, Sports and Tourism, Le Tien Tho, announced a national plan of action
to preserve and promote the nation’s cultural values during 2011-2015.

The ceremony also included a traditional
art performance by locals.

The Saint Giong festival is a unique
traditional event in north Viet Nam, held annually from the 6th-12th of the
fourth lunar month with a series of processions, rituals and performances. The
festival commemorates the legendary national hero who grew overnight from a
three-year-old boy into a giant to help rid the country of foreign invaders.

The 9th of the fourth lunar month is the
main day of the festival held in Phu Dong Village
in Hanoi’s Gia
Lam District, where the legendary hero was said to have been born.

The festival is a chance for visitors to
watch the performance of traditional rituals and artistic activities which have
been handed down from generation to generation.

PV