'Vietnamese brocade costume' at the Con Son

The program "Vietnamese brocade - Discovering heritage" helps visitors experience wearing traditional Vietnamese costumes for the first time at the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival.

Breath of the past in the heart of the festival

In the stream of people attending the Con Son - Kiep Bac autumn festival, one can see the five-panel ao dai, ao Nhat Binh, ao tac… in all colors. In this sacred space, visitors seem to relive the old days, the time when Vietnamese people still wore costumes imbued with national identity.

This year's program "Vietnamese brocade - Discovering heritage" took place from October 1 to 19 at Kiep Bac temple, attracting nearly 500 visitors. Accompanying the Con Son - Kiep Bac relic management board are Xu Dong Hoi Quan and Check in Hai Duong , bringing 300 elaborately restored Vietnamese traditional costumes. Here, visitors can wear traditional costumes for free, take souvenir photos in the ancient space of Con Son - Kiep Bac and enjoy Kiep Bac lotus tea.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Lien, Head of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board, shared: “We hope that the festival is not only a place to offer incense in memory, but also an opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the heritage, from the space, sound to the costumes. Bringing traditional costumes into the festival is a way to spread the beauty of traditional culture, arousing the love of heritage in the young generation.”

Ms. Lien also said that after the success of this year's festival season, the Management Board plans to maintain the ancient costume experience program in the following years to serve tourists visiting the relic site, giving them more opportunities to learn, transform and preserve memories of the national cultural heritage.

In the middle of the opening night, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, a tourist from Le Thanh Nghi ward, gently adjusted her blue five-panel ao dai before entering the ceremony. “I have participated in this festival for many years, but this is the first time I have worn traditional costumes during the ceremony. It feels very sacred and proud, as if I am connected to my ancestors in every fold of the ao dai,” Ms. Ngoc Anh said.

Not only do visitors get to experience wearing traditional Vietnamese costumes, they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a quiet space and enjoy Kiep Bac lotus tea.

The traditional costumes in the program are carefully selected from the Ao Tac, Ao Ngu Than, Ao Nhat Binh, to the scarf and belt. All are made according to traditional standards, without any hybrids. Each button, embroidery pattern, way of wrapping hair and wearing scarf all exude the elegant and dignified beauty of the ancient Vietnamese.

Develop and spread the beauty of Vietnamese costumes

Not only stopping at the visual experience, the program “Vietnamese brocade - Discovering heritage” also brings visitors a moment of harmony between traditional costumes and Vietnamese tea culture. In a quiet space, the fragrant scent of Kiep Bac lotus amidst the sound of temple bells, people wearing traditional costumes sit together to enjoy tea, chat about customs and ancient ethics. Amidst the warmth of the teacup, costumes, flavors and consciousness become one.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Head of Xu Dong Hoi Quan, said: “We bring nearly 300 traditional costumes to the festival, serving visitors of all ages. From the elderly to children, everyone is eager to try them on. What moves me most is that many young people come just to wear traditional costumes and take a few photos, but when they hear about the meaning of each pattern, they want to learn more. That is the most natural way for heritage to spread.”

According to Ms. Huong, Xu Dong Hoi Quan is a gathering place for people who love and research Vietnamese traditional costumes, and through the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival, traditional costumes are known to more people. "We hope this will be a model that connects conservation and tourism , helping visitors have an interesting experience and spreading love for Vietnamese heritage," Ms. Huong added.

Dressed in Vietnamese costumes, amid incense smoke, visitors solemnly perform rituals on the opening night of the Con Son - Kiep Bac autumn festival.

From the success of “Vietnamese brocade - Heritage discovery”, the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board is planning to turn the ancient costume experience into an annual highlight, combined with other cultural products such as lotus tea, folk cuisine, and calligraphy space, to enrich the heritage discovery journey of visitors.

“We hope that traditional Vietnamese costumes will become a familiar image in Con Son - Kiep Bac, so that every tourist coming here can bring back not only beautiful photos, but also memories of Vietnamese culture,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Lien shared.

That idea opens up a promising direction, where traditional Vietnamese costumes are not only present during a few festivals, but become a unique identity, a distinctive mark of the sacred land of the East.

To achieve that goal, coordination is needed between the Relic Management Board, cultural units, researchers and the community of ancient costume lovers to diversify activities such as performing ancient costume rituals, spaces to introduce Vietnamese costumes through the ages, experiencing tea, calligraphy, traditional cuisine... When organized regularly and systematically, Con Son - Kiep Bac will not only be a land of relics, but also a place to spread contemporary Vietnamese cultural values. More than that, the spread of ancient costumes in this year's festival also carries the message: heritage is never far away, but is what is being welcomed every day. From a small experience, "Vietnamese brocade" has opened up a direction for creativity and preservation, where tradition is recreated in a modern way.

LINH LINH

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/gam-hoa-viet-phuc-tai-le-hoi-mua-thu-con-son-kiep-bac-524198.html