Week to highlight great national unity and cultural heritage kicks off

Attending the opening ceremony were Chairman of Vietnamese Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man, Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien, other representatives of ministries, branches and delegates of Vietnamese ethnic groups.

From November 18-23, the “Great National Unity - Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage attracts the participation of nearly 200 people from 14 ethnic groups of 13 localities.

Speaking at the event, Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized: " Solidarity is the precious tradition of our nation. Promoting solidarity is one of the great lessons of the Vietnamese revolution which was confirmed through historical periods. Unity is an important source of strength motivation in ensuring the success of fighting, building and defending the Fatherland".

He highly appreciated the achievements of the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in organizing meaningful activities regarding this field and hoped the unity of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups will be further tightened, contributing to the developing process of Vietnam.

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Quang Tung, the program aims to preserve and uphold the traditional cultural value of Vietnamese ethnic communities and enhance the great national unity bloc, while advertising the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism as an attractive tourist destination for visitors from both home and abroad.

As part of the activities to mark the founding anniversary of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (November 18, 1930) and Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23), 14 groups has been divided into three cultural exchanges of ethnic groups.

The first exchange for the ethnic groups in the southwestern region will include art performances, folk games and traditional cuisine of the Cham and Khmer ethnic groups and introduce visitors to culture, tourism and specialties of Soc Trang and An Giang provinces. 

The second exchange of the Central Highlands ethnic groups will feature cultures of the Ede, Raglai, Cham, Co Tu, Ta Oi, Xo Dang and Bahnar people. The highlight of the day is the thoi tai (blowing into ears) ceremony, which is held to welcome newborns to families and community.

The cultural day of the ethnic groups in the northwestern region is expected to have art performances, folk games and cuisine display of the Tay, Dao, Mong, Muong, Thai and Kho Mu ethnic groups. It will also introduce the national intangible cultural heritage of ‘Soong Co’ singing of the San Diu ethnic group in Thai Nguyen province.