Visitors to the museum had an opportunity to enjoy and experience beautiful ‘cheo’ (traditional opera) melodies through the voices of ‘cheo’ artisans from the village of Khuoc, which is one of cradles of ‘cheo’ in Vietnam.
They could also ask for a blessing from a Confucian scholar, which is a popular tradition of Vietnamese people on the first days of the Lunar New Year. The blessing words convey recipients’ wishes and aspiration for the New Year.
Meanwhile, children were invited to try their hands at making ‘to he’ (toy figurines) and draw Dong Ho folk paintings while also having a fun time watching lion dances and water puppetry performances.
Unique and original folk games were also staged to entertain museum attendees, including swings, tug of war, walking on stilts, and con (cloth ball) throwing.
According to the museum’s director, Dang Xuan Thanh, the programme was jointly held by the museum and Thai Binh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to provide entertainment for people during Tet holiday.
By inviting more than 40 Thai Binh locals to the event, the organisers aimed to let Hanoians be introduced to cultural features of Thai Binh province, thus raising their understanding and responsibilities to preserve and promote their traditional practices.
