Hon Chen Temple Festival

Time: The 3rd day of the third lunar month (spring festival) and the seventh lunar month (autumn festival).
Place: Ngoc Tran Mountain and Hai Cat Communal House, Huong Tra District, Thua Thien Hue Province.
Objects of worship: The Holy Mother Thien Y A Na (Mother of homeland), who created the land and the tree, the forest and taught people the art of growing these trees.

The Hon Chen Temple Festival is organized twice every year in the 3rd and the 7th lunar months. The festival takes place at the Hon Chen temple, 10 km west of Hue. It starts with a procession referred to as the God Welcoming ceremony, said to bring all the worshipped Gods from the village temples and shrines to the communal house where various rituals are performed, including the procession in honour of Saint Mother Thien Y A Na. The procession takes place at night on the Perfume River, which shines with a myriad of lights. The procession involves a long line of boats bound together into bigger rafts.

The Hon Chen Temple Festival includes a performance filled with imperial characters. Actors dressed in clothes with splendid turbans and tunics look like princes and princesses of the Nguyen dynasty. These shows take place in the natural settings of mountains, hills, and rivers. This Antique Museum of Nature shows flags, fans, hammocks, umbrellas, weapons, and offerings.