TL;DR: Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival, known in folk speech as hoi Ong, takes place from the 13th to the 16th of the ninth lunar month each year at Cổ Lễ Pagoda (Thần Quang tự) in Cổ Lễ, Ninh Bình. The main day, the 14th of the ninth lunar month, commemorates the passing of Đức Thánh Tổ Nguyễn Minh Không. Its highlight is the boat race of five major clans on the river in front of the pagoda and on Chu Tước lake (A Nốc lake), alongside a Buddha procession, a procession of the Holy Ancestor, sutra chanting, and incense offered to monks who died in the resistance wars. The pagoda is a special national relic, and the festival was added to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List on 6 March 2023.
What is Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival and when does it take place?
Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival, commonly called hoi Ong in folk speech, is an autumn festival of the people of the old Thiên Trường region, now Cổ Lễ commune, Ninh Bình province (before July 2025 it was Cổ Lễ town, Trực Ninh district, Nam Định province)[1][3]. The festival runs from the 13th to the 16th of the ninth lunar month each year, with the main day on the 14th, the day commemorating the passing of Đức Thánh Tổ[1]. A local folk verse records the rhythm of the festival: "Dù ai buôn bán trăm nghề, Mười tư tháng chín thì về hội Ông"[1].
Because the festival dates follow the lunar calendar, they fall on different solar dates each year. In 2025 the festival runs from 2 to 5 November on the solar calendar, corresponding to the 13th to 16th of the ninth lunar month[2].
Cổ Lễ Pagoda is also known by its Sino-Vietnamese name Thần Quang tự; according to documentation from the Cục Di sản văn hóa, the pagoda was founded and developed from the Lý dynasty[3]. Besides worshipping the Buddha, the pagoda also worships Đức Thánh Tổ, the Zen master Nguyễn Minh Không, whom folk tradition titles one of the "Nam Thiên Tam Vị Thánh Tổ"[1].
How is Cổ Lễ Pagoda different from Keo Hành Thiện Pagoda?
The two pagodas both worship Lý dynasty Holy Ancestors and both hold festivals in the ninth lunar month, but they are separate relics and should not be confused. Keo Hành Thiện Pagoda in Xuân Hồng commune, old Xuân Trường district, worships Đức Thánh Tổ, the Zen master Dương Không Lộ; its festival runs from the 12th to the 15th of the ninth lunar month and was added to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2019[1]. Cổ Lễ Pagoda worships Đức Thánh Tổ Nguyễn Minh Không; its festival runs from the 13th to the 16th of the ninth lunar month and was listed in 2023[1][2].
Both places hold boat races, but the Keo Hành Thiện race takes place on the Ninh Cơ river with male rowers aged 20 to 30, who according to accounts recorded by Nhân Dân newspaper can stand and row for the whole course of more than 60 km[1]. The Cổ Lễ boat race has its own scale and rules, tied to five clans in the commune, presented below.
How is the legend of Đức Thánh Tổ Nguyễn Minh Không told?
Tradition attributes to the Zen master Nguyễn Minh Không, also known as Lý Quốc Sư, the role of healing the Lý king. This is a legend handed down in folk tradition and in the pagoda's own documents, not a historical event verified by modern research. Modern research does not regard the miraculous healing episodes in the legend as proven.
According to the same tradition, Nguyễn Minh Không, together with Dương Không Lộ and Từ Đạo Hạnh, is grouped among the three Holy Ancestors of Vietnamese Buddhism, called in folk speech the "Nam Thiên Tam Vị Thánh Tổ"[1]. This grouping is a traditional designation, not an academic classification.
What rituals does Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival include?
The ritual part of the festival consists of traditional ceremonies preserved over many generations. According to Nguyễn Quang Trình, head of the festival organising committee, this is one of the typical traditional festivals that still keeps many ancient cultural rituals, such as the Buddha procession, wrestling, and human chess, reflecting the cultural life of wet-rice farming people[1].
A distinctive feature of the Cổ Lễ festival is the ceremony offering incense to monks who died in the nation's resistance wars[1]. According to documentation of the Nam Định provincial museum, in 1947 at Cổ Lễ Pagoda a ceremony was held to take vows for 27 monks who volunteered for the front to defend the Fatherland[1].
The 2025 Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival includes these activities: a Buddha procession, a procession of the Holy Ancestor, sutra chanting performances, and folk games such as wrestling, human chess, lion and dragon dances, chèo singing, and văn singing[2].
Order of rituals by day
The sources do not publish a detailed hour-by-hour schedule for all four days, so the table below summarises the milestones the sources mention, together with what lacks confirmation.
| Lunar day | Main content according to sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 13th of the ninth month | Opening of the festival, Buddha procession and Holy Ancestor procession | Within the festival span of the 13th to 16th[1][2] |
| 14th of the ninth month | Main day, commemoration of the Holy Ancestor's passing | The great day recorded in the verse "Mười tư tháng chín thì về hội Ông"[1] |
| 15th of the ninth month | Festival activities continue: wrestling, human chess, chèo singing, văn singing, lion and dragon dances | Folk games mentioned for the festival as a whole[1][2] |
| 16th of the ninth month | Closing of the festival | Within the festival span of the 13th to 16th[1][2] |
Which ritual falls on which day, apart from the main day on the 14th of the ninth month, is not specified by the consulted sources.
What is special about the Cổ Lễ boat race?
The highlight of the festival is the boat race on the river in the pagoda area[2]. The race involves five major clans in the commune: Nguyễn, Phan, Lê, Dương and Đào Phạm Dương (also called Dương nhì), divided into four boats[2]. The teams are distinguished by the colours of their clothing: green, red, purple and yellow[2].
| Clans taking part | Number of boats | Composition of each boat |
|---|---|---|
| Nguyễn, Phan, Lê, Dương, Đào Phạm Dương (Dương nhì) | 4 boats for 5 clans | 16 people: rowers, 1 steersman, 1 drum striker, 1 water bailer |
How the five clans are arranged into four boats, and which clan is paired with which, is not specified by the sources.
As for the racing ground, according to relic documentation, Chu Trước lake (also called A Nốc lake) surrounds the Hội quán and the main pagoda and connects with the Cổ Lễ river; during the festival the lake is where the boats of the rowing teams moor to pay homage to the Saint before setting off[3]. The lake and the river in front of the pagoda thus both form part of the racing space.
In the belief of riverine people, the boat race is both an occasion to compete and a way to remember the fishing trade associated with the Holy Ancestors. At Keo Hành Thiện Pagoda, the boat race is explained as commemorating the fishing trade of the Holy Ancestor's youth[1]. For Cổ Lễ Pagoda, the consulted sources do not record a similar explanation.
What notable architecture does Cổ Lễ Pagoda have?
Cổ Lễ Pagoda is an architectural complex spreading east to west, comprising many structures: the Cửu phẩm liên hoa tower, the arched bridge, the three-entrance gate, the Buddhist Hội quán (chùa Trình), the temple to Đức Thánh Trần and the village guardian deity (Linh Quang tự), the Mother Goddess shrine, the main pagoda, the ancestor hall, the lecture hall, two side corridors of 25 bays each, the Phương đình, the bell tower "Kim Chung Bảo Các", and the stupa garden of the monks Phạm Quang Tuyên and Thích Thế Long[3].
The Cửu phẩm liên hoa tower is octagonal, built in the middle of a large lake, measuring 22.85m by 18.35m, 26.30m high, with 11 tiers: one base tier, nine lotus tiers and one top tier[3]. The load-bearing pillar of the tower is a round column at the centre, designed on the principle of wider at the top and narrower at the base; around the column are 64 steps from the base to the top, where a bronze Amitabha statue is placed[3].
The arched bridge was built in 1921, restored twice in 1954 and 2003, 10.60m long, 4m wide, arched into three spans across Chu Tước lake (A Nốc lake)[3]. The main pagoda combines traditional national architecture with the Gothic architecture of a Catholic church, and is assessed in heritage documentation as rare in Vietnam[3].
What titles has Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival been recognised with?
Cổ Lễ Pagoda is a special national relic[3]. Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival was added to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on 6 March 2023[1][2].
Relic ranking and festival listing are two different procedures: one recognises the architectural and artistic value of the structure, the other records the intangible cultural value of the customs, rituals and performances associated with it.
What should festival-goers keep in mind?
Cổ Lễ Pagoda Festival is an occasion for community cultural life, not a religious ritual obligatory for outsiders. Visitors may join the festival activities, such as watching boat racing, wrestling, human chess, chèo singing or văn singing, or take part in the ritual part, such as offering incense[1][2].
Because the festival is crowded and has activities on water, moving around the lake and along the river requires care, especially with small children. The main day is the 14th of the ninth lunar month, so to see the full rituals one should come between the 13th and the 16th of the ninth lunar month[1][2]. The corresponding solar dates change from year to year, so the lunar calendar of the intended year should be checked.
Gợi ý của Nhật Nguyệt: if you have only one day, choose the main day, the 14th of the ninth lunar month, to join the ceremony commemorating the Holy Ancestor; if you want to watch the boat race, ask the organising committee in advance about the day and time of that year's race, because the sources do not state a fixed race day within the four-day festival.
