Da Nang Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015
(Da Nang, Vietnam)
Vietnam's many festivals concentrate on two crucial elements in Vietnamese life - the fight for freedom from the French, and the rituals and ceremonies of their traditions and religion. These public holidays include Liberation Day at the end of April, and National Day at the beginning of September.
Many of the events are celebrated all over the country, and as many more are centred on the historic region around Da Nang, with boat races, and elephant and fishermen festivals being strongly featured. Particularly notable annual things to do and see around Da Nang include fireworks each February, beach parties in June, and Buddhist festivities each August.
Da Nang Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015
January
- Tet Nguyen Dan - one of the most important festivals of the year as it celebrates the Lunar New Year, running for a week all over the country. This is a family occasion, with absent members returning home for the festivities. An atmosphere of forgiveness and wishes for health and happiness predominate
February
- Da Nang Fireworks Festival - an annual riot of noise and colour, involving contests for the largest, best, noisiest and prettiest fireworks. Enormous fun is had by all
March
- Cau Ngu Festival - takes place in Huong Dien district around the 12th day of the first lunar month and involves a fish-worshipping ceremony to ensure the following year's catches
April
- Don Village Elephant Festival - held early in the third lunar month, this annual event is famous worldwide for its elephant races. Many thousands of visitors arrive each year to see these giant 'pachyderm' creatures and their mahouts (riders / owners) competing
- Quan The Am Festival - takes place in the Marble Mountains close to Da Nang and involves religious offerings of flowers and prayers, a dharma reading, much traditional singing and dancing, and the floating of lamps on the river
- Liberation Day - April 30th, kicks off in Da Nang with a boat race on the River Han, with both local and provincial teams participating. The festivities take place along the banks of the river, celebrating Liberation Day, which is also known as Reunification Day, since it marks the day in 1975 when Saigon fell and the new Vietnam emerged
May
- International Workers' Day - early May, a national Vietnamese holiday with marches and the likelihood of street demonstrations
- Whale Festival - celebrated by fisherfolk all over the coastal regions of Vietnam for two days in the third lunar month, approximating May. Festivities include beautifully decorated homes and temples, boat processions and offerings to the Whale God
June
- Da Nang Beach Festival - kicks off in June for eight days, focusing on beach activities such as water sports, boat trips, dining and dancing on the sands, cultural performances, boat races, aerobics and a swimming contest
July
- Tet Doan Ngo Festival - the middle year celebration held across Vietnam on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month. Rituals and ceremonies take place to ward off evil spirits and disease for the following six months
August
- Tet Trung Nguyen - the Buddhist festival of pardoning the dead for any wrong acts performed during their lifetimes. Tet Trung Nguyen is staged in pagodas all over the country on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month
September
- Hon Chen Temple Festival - takes place twice a year, with the major celebrations in the seventh lunar month. This is a god-welcoming event with a candlelit river procession honouring all the area's shrine and temple gods, along with some traditional costumed performances
- National Day - September 2nd, held all over Vietnam with parades, dancing, singing and various traditional performances. In Da Nang, another boat race takes place on the river, with contestants arriving from across the province
October
- Kate Festival - specific to the Cham ethnic peoples in the An Phuoc district and honours their gods. During the festival, the Cham make a pilgrimage to their ancestral home at My Son and hold many traditional performances and rituals. The origins of this event are lost in time, although the biggest festivities are held at the Po Klong Garai Cham Towers in the principality of Panduranga, to the far south
November
- Harvest Festivals - as important here as they are in the rest of the world. These annual celebrations are held around Vietnam during November by agricultural communities, including the Muong. Ancestor worship and acts of respect for parents are a major part of these festivities
December
- Christmas Day - Vietnam's French colonial heritage has resulted in many Christian places of worship, still attended by Vietnamese Catholics. Christmas Day is celebrated in the churches, with masses and in Christian homes across the country