(HBO) – Com De Festival is a traditional event of the Muong community in Muong Ram area, Lac Thinh commune of Yen Thuy district. It is held on the 26th day of the 10th lunar month each year (which fell on December 2 this year).

Muong Ram people celebrate three main festivals every year, namely the Lunar New Year Festival, the National Day Festival (September 2), and the Com De Festival. The last one is organised as big as the Lunar New Year Festival – the most important traditional festival of Vietnam.

To mark the Com De Festival, which is unique in that it is celebrated only in Lac Thinh commune, all Muong Ram people – regardless of where they live or work – always try to spare time to return to their hometown.

Food trays offering to the ancestors always include a boiled papaya, steamed luffa, boiled or steamed fresh bamboo shoots, and grinded roasted sesame without salt or any other spices. Particularly, "com de” (steamed glutinous rice fermented in wild leaves) is the most important offering.

At present, thanks to better living conditions, people also offer meat aside from vegetarian food to their ancestors.

Locals perform the festival’s rituals on the afternoon of the 25th day of the 10th lunar month or the early morning of the following day because they believe the early morning is the most sacred time.

The offering trays are placed in the middle and in front of the house. The family head can invite a shaman or say prayers by themselves to wish for good weather, bumper crops and health. After that, all family members gather and enjoy the food. Their relatives and friends also come to share the joy and wish for good luck and health.

The Com De Festival has become a cultural identity of Muong Ram people. At present, when their lives have been improved, locals attach even greater importance to this event and consider this a proud cultural practice./.

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