The "Xip Xi" Tet festival is an occasion for the White Thai people in Phu Yen to express their love for their homeland and preserve their ethnic cultural identity.

The "Xip Xi" Tet festival is one of the traditional festivals of the White Thai ethnic group in Phu Yen commune, Son La province, passed down from generation to generation to preserve and promote the beautiful traditional culture of their people.

According to the customs of the White Thai people in Phu Yen, the "Xip Xi" festival is celebrated only on the 14th day of the 7th lunar month. This is a day when descendants pay respects to their ancestors, and an occasion for adults to show special care and attention to the younger generation. Therefore, the White Thai people here also call "Xip Xi" the Children's Festival.

With its unique and distinctive humanistic values ​​deeply rooted in ethnic identity, on August 9, 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism included the "Xip Xi Tet Ritual of the White Thai people in Quynh Nhai and Phu Yen communes, Son La province" in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is not only a source of pride for the White Thai community but also for all ethnic groups in Son La province.

The "Xip Xi" festival also signifies a time to summarize and celebrate the fruits of hard work during the first six months of the year. On this occasion, children are not required to herd buffalo or do housework, but can play freely and eat whatever they like.

On this day, every family prepares offerings to pray for good fortune for each individual, family, and lineage in the village. They pray for the blessings of heaven and earth, for favorable weather, and for the villagers to have good health to work. They also pray that the gods and ancestors will bless their children with good health, a good appetite, and rapid growth, free from illness and disease.

The "Xip Xi" New Year festival of the White Thai people in Phu Yen is meticulously prepared by each family.

The "Xip Xi" Tet (New Year) celebration of the White Thai people in Phu Yen is meticulously prepared by each family. One or two days before Tet, Thai women go into the forest to collect banana leaves and dong leaves, selecting large, green leaves to wrap sticky rice cakes, and prepare fragrant, sticky rice and leaves to dye the rice red and black. Meanwhile, the men go to the streams and ponds to catch fish to grill, and go into the forest to burn beehives to collect bee larvae, ensuring a complete and fulfilling Xip Xi Tet feast.

From early morning on the 14th day of the 7th lunar month, people in the villages above and below slaughtered chickens and ducks, preparing dishes for the "Xip Xi" New Year festival, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere. From characteristic dishes like red and purple sticky rice, cakes, duck and chicken meat, to forest honey and sweet grilled fish... all are agricultural products grown by the villagers themselves on the land where they live.

The White Thai people here also call "Xip Xi" the Children's Festival.

The Xip Xi Tet festival has two parts: the ceremonial part and the festive part. The ceremonial part involves worshipping ancestors, remembering the contributions of those who pioneered and established the villages, while the festive part includes entertainment, culture, arts, and food. In the ceremonial part, offerings include many things such as wine, meat, colored sticky rice, sweets, fruits, and brocade fabrics, but two things are indispensable: boiled duck meat and banh it uay, a type of cake made from sticky rice and wrapped in wild banana leaves.

After offering prayers at the ancestral altar, a feast is prepared to appease the spirit of the buffalo. The prayers are for the buffalo to graze healthily, grow quickly, and be strong and healthy so that it can help the people plow, harrow, and produce crops without fear of disease, and to be protected from tigers and snakes while grazing on the hills. Besides the meaning of praying for a good harvest, the "Xip Xi" festival is also an occasion for adults to care for and look after children. On this day, children are given brightly colored clothes by their grandparents and parents to wear during the festival.

The "Xip Xi" Tet festival is an occasion for community bonding among the ethnic groups living together in Phu Yen.

For the White Thai people of Phu Yen, "Xip Xi" is also an occasion for them to show their hospitality. Familiar guests are invited several days in advance, and both strangers and regulars are warmly and thoughtfully welcomed, enjoying the special dishes only available on "Xip Xi" day.

To date, in Phu Yen commune, it's not only the White Thai ethnic group who celebrate the "Xip Xi" New Year; other ethnic groups living interspersed within the community also join in the festivities. This further demonstrates the positive significance of the "Xip Xi" New Year, which has spread throughout the community, and the growing solidarity and harmony among the ethnic groups living together in Phu Yen.

The "Xip Xi" Tet festival is also an occasion for the White Thai people in Phu Yen to show their hospitality.

This year, the "Xip Xi Tet" festival, organized by Phu Yen commune, Son La province, will be held on September 1st at the Chu Temple historical and cultural site, coinciding with the nationwide celebration of the 80th anniversary of the successful August Revolution and National Day on September 2nd. The festival activities aim to honor the national intangible cultural heritage of the White Thai people in Phu Yen, "Xip Xi Tet Ritual," and introduce it to a wide audience of visitors from near and far.