Mai An Tiem Festival

Mai An Tiem Festival is held annually on March 12 to March 15 of the lunar calendar, the venue is Mai An Tiem temple in Nga Phu commune, Nga Son district, about 48km from Thanh Hoa city. According to legend, Mai An Tiem was the son of the 17th Hung King, when he was misunderstood by his father, Mai An Tiem and his family went to a deserted island, according to legend, that is the land of Nga Son today. Overcoming many difficulties and challenges, Mai An Tiem found a rare watermelon variety. Later, the king's father learned that Mai An Tiem's family did not die, but also produced new varieties of fruit. The king immediately ordered Mai An Tiem's family to be brought back and reinstated the title. Mai An Tiem is considered the ancestor of watermelon farming in Vietnam. To commemorate the merits of Mai An Tiem who openly reclaimed wasteland and established villages, people built a temple to worship him. The temple went through ups and downs and was degraded and damaged a lot. Until 1990, the government and the people built a new and more beautiful temple on the old foundation of the temple.

Every year on the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month, many people flock here to attend the festival, the festival consists of two parts: ceremony and festival. The ceremony included a procession, followed by offering incense to commemorate, beating drums to open the festival, reading wishes to praise Mai An Tiem's merits, the atmosphere was very dignified. At the end of the ceremony is the festival, this is an activity that many people look forward to. There are cultural performances, many games are held such as chess, volleyball, tug of war... most notably, watermelon carving contest, lots of watermelons under the skillful hands of contestants. created many unique works with high aesthetic value. The festival is a traditional cultural activity, if you have the opportunity to come to Thanh Hoa at this time, remember to visit and attend the Mai An Tiem festival.