After several exciting days, this year's First Full Moon Festival, which saw the highest number of participants at the Thien Hau Temple Festival in Phu Cuong Ward, Thu Dau Mot City, has officially concluded. The collaborative efforts of local authorities, organizations, units, and residents of Thu Dau Mot played a significant role in making this festival season a success. This event has further affirmed and spread the reputation of the festival as a "civilized, free celebration."
Unique festive season
In the days following the Lunar New Year holiday in 2025, which peaked on February 11 and 12 (corresponding to January 14 and 15 on the lunar calendar), many people and tourists flocked to the central area of Thu Dau Mot City to participate in the First Full Moon Festival. Mr. Tran Vinh An, Deputy Head of the Executive Board of Ba Thien Hau Temple in Thu Dau Mot City, reported that nearly 100,000 people attended the Ba Temple Festival during these two days. In addition to its spiritual significance, many visitors come to Thu Dau Mot during this time to enjoy a unique festival atmosphere. This celebration is known for being a civilized and free event that the city has maintained for many years.
To better serve both residents and tourists, the authorities in Thu Dau Mot City have organized various humanitarian volunteer activities in recent days. On many routes leading to the city center, local officials have designated areas for agencies, organizations, and volunteers to provide assistance. These efforts include distributing free food, drinks, cold towels, incense, lucky bamboo, flowers, and health care services to festival participants.
Ms. Doan Thi Thu Hong, President of the Thu Dau Mot City Red Cross Society, said that during this year's festival season, together with other mass organizations, the City Red Cross also had a volunteer team to support people to burn incense and visit pagodas and temples in the area during the peak days of the first lunar month. Accordingly, the City Red Cross organized four first aid teams at Ba Temple, located in the Phu Cuong, Hoa Phu, Hiep An, and Tuong Binh Hiep wards, providing immediate medical assistance as needed. Two humanitarian ambulances from Hiep Thanh ward were on duty 24/7, ready to respond to emergencies. The Red Cross also set up points to distribute free drinking water and vegetarian food to those in need, including both residents and pilgrims, sourced from community donations.
Namely, on January 14 and 15, officers and members of the city's Red Cross distributed 7,000 bottles of mineral water, 7,000 bottles of cold ginseng water, 8,000 cold towels, and more than 15,000 meals (bread, fried noodles, buns, sticky rice, pho, cakes, etc.).
On many routes, free motorbike taxi service teams organized by Fatherland Front Committee and Labor Federation of Thu Dau Mot City is also on duty regularly to serve those in need. As one of the rare "flowers" in the "Motorbike Taxi Union" team under the City Labor Federation, Ms. Dao Thi Yen from Chanh Nghia Ward is participating in providing free motorbike taxi services during the festival season. Over the past few days, she has taken numerous tourists to the festival and sightseeing locations around the city.
In addition to offering free rides, each member of the team, including Ms. Yen, researches information about local destinations and beautiful landscapes to introduce to the tourists. “I am very happy and honored to work alongside my fellow union members in providing free motorbike taxi services to everyone. I participate in this activity to help create a positive image and attract more tourists to my hometown,” Ms. Yen expressed.
Continue to spread reputation
The volunteer activities during this year's festival season have received widespread praise for helping to promote the image of a "Civilized, Compassionate, and Environmentally Friendly Festival." This positive image resonates with the people and tourists visiting Thu Dau Mot during the early days of spring.
In conversations with many tourists in recent days, we found that many plan to return for future festival seasons. For them, this place is not just a destination to visit; the friendliness, hospitality, and kindness of the local people are significant factors that draw them back and make them eager to return.
Mr. Tran Nguyen Thieu, a tourist from Trang Bom district, Dong Nai province, said that for over 30 years, every year during the Full Moon Festival in lunar January, he has come here to visit Lady Thien Hau Temple. “The festival here is very solemn. Everyone went to the temple in harmony. In recent years, I have seen that local authorities mobilize agencies, departments, unions, organizations, and people to participate in serving the festival very well, not only civilized and polite but also very kind. I am very impressed with the many free things served at this festival and will definitely come here in the following years," Mr. Thieu shared.
Mr. Tran Bao Lam, Vice Chairman of Thu Dau Mot City People's Committee, Head of the Organizing Committee of the 2025 First Full Moon Festival, said: “With the joint efforts of the community, this year's festival continues to create many good impressions, spreading the image of the people of Thu Dau Mot as polite, hospitable and friendly. The factors that contributed to the success of this year's festival season will be maintained and promoted by the city in the following festival seasons, so that each year during the festival season, Thu Dau Mot will welcome more tourists from all over the country”. |
The success of this year's festival season can be attributed to the participation and collaborative efforts of all levels of government, the Fatherland Front and its member organizations, as well as the local community. All wards in the city that have facilities for hosting the Full Moon Festival have effectively managed and organized the event in a solemn manner, aligning with traditional customs and cultural values. This has met the needs of both the local residents and visitors seeking healthy cultural and spiritual activities.
In a preliminary assessment of this year's festival, Mr. Tran Bao Lam, Vice Chairman of the Thu Dau Mot City People's Committee and Head of the Organizing Committee for the 2025 First Full Moon Festival, noted that this year's event, centered around the Lady Thien Hau Temple Festival, continued to uphold the principles of a "Civilized - Compassionate - Environmentally Friendly Festival." To achieve this, the organizing committee, along with Executive Boards of local pagodas and temples, has coordinated various meaningful activities, particularly in charity work. Services such as food, drinks, motorbike taxis, incense, and lucky trees were provided free of charge to both locals and tourists attending the festival.
Reported by Hong Thuan - Translated by Ngoc Huynh
