Exciting Independence Day on Kien Giang River

From festival to heritage

Each boat is a story, each rower is a source of pride. In Le Thuy commune and neighboring localities, Independence Day is not only a festival to celebrate National Day September 2, but also an opportunity for the whole community to recreate and honor a precious intangible culture. From everyday stories to moments of speed on Kien Giang river, all create a vivid picture of the people and this heroic land.

After 10 years away from home, spending his youth on hired work, Nguyen Thanh Tam (35 years old), from Quy Hau village, left Ho Chi Minh City to return to his hometown. After his life's journey, he said that he only found simple happiness in his hometown. "It has been 7 years since I returned to my village. Every mid-August, my heart is filled with indescribable joy, because my hometown is about to enter a new festival season, celebrating National Day on September 2nd," Tam excitedly said.

Independence Day in Le Thuy is a place where history, culture and solidarity converge - Photo: KL

These days, everywhere is filled with colorful flags and flowers, and everyone, young and old, is excited. To have a successful festival season, the whole community has to prepare meticulously. Those who have the strength contribute their strength, those who have the resources contribute their resources. For the past month, the villages have been selecting and practicing. The athletes are not professional racers, but farmers, fishermen, and ordinary workers. They put aside their farming and fishing work, and spend their free time practicing together.

Mr. Tam is one of the participants in the Quy Hau village boat team. Talking about the training process, he confided that the male and female swimmers and boat racers must try to establish a diet and lifestyle to ensure health, endurance and flexibility. Because, those days often have constant muscle pain and the weather changes, so sometimes many people will get sick.

And above all, a good boat team needs the solidarity, coordination, and rhythm of the whole team. It is a combination of technique and tactics, listening to every command of the boat commander. Especially when letting go of the buoy, making turns, turning the boat around. Sometimes the oars slow down to conserve energy, sometimes the oars speed up to accelerate.

“On the racetrack, the boats carry the flags and colors of each village. Therefore, all participating teams strive with the sole desire to bring glory to their homeland. In particular, from the days of practice until the competition day, the villagers, from old to young, all come to the riverbank to cheer and encourage, creating a bustling, warm atmosphere,” said Mr. Tam. It is known that Mr. Tam’s Quy Hau village boat team won the championship in 2008 and 2024. Describing his feelings at that time, he told me briefly: “Exploding with happiness!”.

The thread that binds the community

For Le Thuy people, Independence Day is an occasion for family reunion. Children who are far from home, no matter where they work, always try to return to be with their families and neighbors.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri province Le Phu Son said: The People's Committee of Quang Tri province assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the standing agency to coordinate with relevant departments, branches, units and localities to organize and operate common activities at the festival. Through the festival, it aims to review historical traditions, educate revolutionary traditions of the homeland and country, and promote the strength of the great national solidarity bloc. At the same time, promote and introduce to domestic and international tourists and friends about the land, people as well as the potential, strengths and unique cultural heritages of Quang Tri province. In particular, it is to preserve and promote the national intangible cultural heritage of the traditional boat racing and rowing festival on Kien Giang river.

Mr. Tran Van Khanh (43 years old), a son who has been away from home for 25 years, in Thuong Phong village, confided: “There is nothing warmer than coming back, living in the love of family, immersing in the vibrant atmosphere of the festival. Almost every year, on National Day September 2, my family tries to bring the children back to visit grandparents and relatives so that the children can feel the Independence Day of their homeland. If I cannot arrange to come back, I feel restless, I have to call home to see how things are in my hometown, how many boats are participating, when our village will launch.”

The atmosphere in Le Thuy these days is very special. Families prepare a neat meal to worship their ancestors, expressing gratitude to the generations of fathers who have contributed to building and protecting the homeland. In particular, people also have a solemn ritual of offering a meal to the altar of Uncle Ho and General Vo Nguyen Giap, expressing deep gratitude to those who have devoted their lives to the cause of national liberation. After the solemn ritual, everyone gathers together, enjoys traditional dishes, and recalls old memories.

“Independence Day in Le Thuy is not simply a traditional festival. It is a blend of history, culture and national spirit. It is a reminder of the glorious past, a motivation for people to continue building and developing their homeland. At the same time, it is also a way for us to preserve and promote the precious cultural values of our ancestors,” said Mr. Le Chanh Buong (72 years old), Hoang Giang village.

This year, the female racing boats will compete in a distance of 18km, while the male swimming boats will compete in two categories A and B with a distance of 24km. It is expected that more than 30 racing boats and swimming boats from villages and communes on both banks of the Kien Giang River will participate in the festival. Of these, there are expected to be 11 female racing boats and 20 male swimming boats from villages such as An Xa, Tuy Loc, Dai Phong, Loc Ha, Loc Thuong, Phu Tho , Thuong Giang, Hoang Giang, Xuan Hoi, Thach Ban, Quy Hau, etc.

Vo Khanh Linh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/phong-su-ky-su/202508/nao-nuc-tet-doc-lap-ben-dong-kien-giang-8406bf8/