Mr. Giang A Phu hangs the national flag to celebrate Independence Day. Photo: Ai Van

According to the elders of the Mong ethnic group in the highland commune, the Mong people have two major Tet holidays in the year, which are the traditional Tet of the Mong people and the Independence Day. The traditional Tet of the Mong people is to worship ancestors and grandparents, temporarily put aside the hard work of daily life to rest, go out, visit relatives in the village, and wish each other the best. The Independence Day is an occasion for the Mong people to go out to the streets to participate in cultural and artistic activities. During these two days, the local government organizes many recreational activities such as: volleyball competitions, crossbow shooting, panpipe blowing, rice cake pounding, tug of war, pao throwing... and organizes film screenings with content about the revolution, the Party, Uncle Ho... to propagate the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State.

The Mong people in Son La celebrate Independence Day for two days, September 1 and 2. In the past, the Mong people would organize love markets on this occasion for couples to date, get to know each other and marry according to old customs. Nowadays, people in the villages often gather in large open spaces to participate in many cultural and artistic activities. Young men and women in traditional costumes dance together, play the panpipe, throw the pao, and participate in traditional sports and folk games, creating a joyful atmosphere filled with solidarity.

To prepare for Independence Day, the family of Giang A Phu, in Chieng Di 2 village, Van Ho commune, Van Ho district, woke up very early to clean and decorate the house. He took out the national flag that he had carefully kept in a glass cabinet for a long time and hung it in front of the house. His wife, Giang Thi Dia, temporarily put aside her daily farm work to fix up her traditional clothes to wear out on Independence Day.

Mr. Giang A Phu shared: For the Mong people here, National Day September 2 is an important holiday, an occasion for us to express our gratitude to the Party and Uncle Ho for regaining independence and freedom for the nation, creating a prosperous life like today. We have been preparing for National Day September 2 since August, from preparing new clothes to cleaning the house, repairing the road to celebrate Tet. All the inter-commune roads in the highlands of Van Ho district are brightly decorated with flags and flowers, Mong people in neighboring communes such as Chieng Khoa, Long Luong, Xuan Nha gather in the district center to meet, exchange at the highland market and celebrate Independence Day. The atmosphere of Tet here is very joyful, groups of Mong boys and girls in colorful traditional costumes happily go to the market, walk around, buy essential items, enjoy traditional dishes, or use their phones to take pictures to save beautiful moments.

Cultural, artistic and sports activities take place throughout the holiday. Photo: Ai Van

In Moc Chau these days, Mong people in the highland communes are flocking to the district center, the streets are crowded and bustling with groups of Mong boys and girls in colorful traditional costumes, going to the market. For many years, Moc Chau district has always maintained cultural activities on the occasion of National Day September 2 such as sports exchanges, arts, folk art performances, ethnic culinary culture camps. Therefore, on this occasion, Moc Chau plateau not only has Mong people but also other ethnic groups such as Muong, Thai, Dao, Kinh, Kho Mu in neighboring areas and thousands of tourists from all regions also flock here to celebrate Tet.

The Independence Day in Long Sap was celebrated with many rich activities, such as competitions in traditional sports and folk games, creating a vibrant and exciting atmosphere among the people. Especially, the cultural and artistic exchange program between the villages with many unique performances imbued with national identity. People from the villages of Laos on the other side of the border also came to join in the fun with traditional dances of the Land of a Million Elephants. On the Independence Day, the Long Sap border gate is not only a unique market in the highland border area, but also a cultural space for people on both sides of the border to exchange and share their thoughts and feelings, introduce the unique identities of their people, contributing to fostering the special solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Laos to become increasingly stronger.

Mr. Le Trong Binh, Chairman of Moc Chau District People's Committee said: For the Mong people in Son La, Independence Day is a place to gather and arouse traditional cultural beauty, thereby promoting the development and promotion of local tourism in tourism development, introducing the beauty of the land and people of Son La. At the same time, it contributes significantly to preserving and promoting cultural identity, promoting the strength of national solidarity. On this occasion, people on both sides of the border have the opportunity to exchange culture, sports, trade goods, introduce, promote and promote the characteristics of their localities, contributing to building and strengthening solidarity, special friendship and cooperation between the two countries, especially between the authorities and people on both sides of the border, becoming a traditional cultural beauty preserved and developed by the Mong people.

Ai Van