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Quan The Am Festival
(Marble Mountains)
The
Quan The Am Festival was first organized in 1962, for the inauguration
of the Avalokiesvara Buddhisattava statue in Hoa Nghiem cave at Thuy
Son Mountain in the Marble Mountains, Danang city. The same year, th e
festival was reorganized in Kim Son cave after the construction of the
Quan The Am Pagoda on Kim Son Mountain. Until 1991, this festival was
annually organized on a large scale and celebrations lasted for
three entire days.
The Quan The Am Festival consists of two parts: the religious ceremony
and the festival itself. The ceremony, similar to Buddhist rituals,
consists of flower offerings and prayers. The Dharma-preaching
sessions about Avalokiesvara Buddhisattava and his motivation and
accomplishments are also very interesting.
Several cultural activities bearing national colors, such as folk
songs, chess playing, music, painting, carving, lion dancing, offering
lamps on the river, and classical opera also take place.
The Quan The Am Festival is organized on the 19th day of the second
lunar month; this festival, as well as many others, is held in an
attempt to restore and promote the traditional culture of Vietnam.
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