TL;DR: The Tép Temple festival, honoring Trung Túc Vương Lê Lai in Kiên Thọ commune, Thanh Hóa province, is held on the 21st day of the 8th lunar month and the 8th day of the 1st lunar month, as reported by Báo Thanh Hóa. Lê Lai's death anniversary falls one day before Lê Lợi's because after taking the throne in 1428, Lê Lợi ordered his officials and soldiers to hold Lê Lai's commemoration before his own, giving rise to the folk saying 'Hăm mốt Lê Lai, hăm hai Lê Lợi.' The temple lies within the Lam Kinh Special National Relic Site, about 6 km west of the main hall. On the story of Lê Lai saving his lord, Báo Thanh Hóa records the event in 1419 at Chí Linh mountain, while Lê Quý Đôn in Đại Việt thông sử (1978 translation) writes that the insurgent army was stationed at Mường Cốc, Linh Sơn mountain, and does not give a year in that passage.
When is the Trung Túc Vương Lê Lai temple festival (đền Tép) held, and why does the Lê Lai death anniversary come one day before the Lê Lợi death anniversary?
When and where is the đền Tép festival held?
The đền Tép festival, that is the festival of the temple to Trung Túc Vương Lê Lai, is recorded by Báo Thanh Hóa as taking place on two occasions in the year: the 21st day of the 8th lunar month and the 8th day of the 1st lunar month[1]. The temple is located in Kiên Thọ commune, Thanh Hóa province (before July 2025 it belonged to Ngọc Lặc district), in the Lam Sơn area[1][2]. The newspaper calls the place làng Tép, while the 2025 portal of Kiên Thọ commune calls it làng Thành Sơn, so the two names exist side by side[1][2].
The Lê Lai temple belongs to the Lam Kinh Special National Heritage Site, about 6 km west of the main hall[1]. The temple stands on high ground that is flat and airy, described in feng shui terms as a site of "long chầu hổ phục" (dragon attending, tiger crouching)[1]. In front of the temple is a large semicircular lake[1].
Why does the Lê Lai death anniversary come one day before the Lê Lợi death anniversary?
After ascending the throne as Emperor in the first year of Thuận Thiên (1428), Lê Lợi had a temple to Lê Lai built in làng Tép and ordered his generals and officials to hold Lê Lai's death anniversary one day before his own[1]. From this comes the folk saying "Hăm mốt Lê Lai, hăm hai Lê Lợi" (the 21st for Lê Lai, the 22nd for Lê Lợi)[1]. This is a ritual regulation expressing the gratitude of the founding king of the Later Lê dynasty to the man who risked his life to save him in the early days of the uprising[1][2].
According to Báo Văn hóa as well, Lê Lợi conferred on Lê Lai the title Trung Túc Vương, built a temple right in his home area of Kiên Thọ, and set the annual rule of the 21st day of the 8th lunar month, one day before his own death anniversary, so that the people could commemorate and give thanks to the loyal and righteous hero[2].
History of the temple and its restorations
The Lê Lai temple was founded in 1428 by order of Lê Lợi[1]. In 1450, in the Thái Hòa era under King Lê Nhân Tông, the king issued a further edict to repair and embellish the temple as a place of worship and incense for the talented general who had forgotten himself to save his commander[1].
In 1939 and 1944, under King Bảo Đại, the rear sanctuary was restored for the last time and the temple took on the form it has today[1]. The temple is designed and built in the chồng rường giá chiêng style, a type of traditional northern Vietnamese house architecture, with curved roofs as commonly seen on communal houses and pagodas[1]. Inside, the altars are decorated in lacquer and gold; the rear sanctuary area still keeps many valuable antique objects such as horizontal panels and parallel couplets carved on solid wooden boards, with content praising the merits and the brave example of the founding minister of the Later Lê dynasty[1].
| Time | Event relating to the temple and the festival |
|---|---|
| 1416 | Lê Lai and Lê Lợi together with 17 generals held the Lũng Nhai oath, preparing to raise the Lam Sơn uprising, according to Báo Thanh Hóa[1] |
| 1419 | The Lam Sơn forces were besieged on Chí Linh mountain; Lê Lai exchanged his robe with Lê Lợi, risking his life to save his lord, and was captured by the enemy, according to Báo Thanh Hóa[1] |
| 1428 | Lê Lợi ascended the throne, founded the Lê Lai temple in làng Tép and set the rule that Lê Lai's death anniversary precedes his own by one day[1][2] |
| 1450 | King Lê Nhân Tông, in the Thái Hòa era, issued an edict to repair and embellish the temple[1] |
| 1939, 1944 | Under King Bảo Đại the rear sanctuary was restored for the last time, and the temple took its present form[1] |
| 2025 | An incense-offering ceremony in memory of Trung Túc Vương Lê Lai was held solemnly in Kiên Thọ commune, on the occasion of the 607th anniversary of the Lam Sơn Uprising (1418-2025)[2] |
The two festival occasions in the year and the main activities
According to Báo Thanh Hóa, the đền Tép festival takes place on the 21st day of the 8th lunar month and the 8th day of the 1st lunar month[1]. The festival usually includes rituals and incense offerings conducted solemnly according to the Lê-era rites of worshipping the spirits[1]. There are also palanquin processions, chầu văn singing, gong performances, sword dances and archery[1].
| Occasion | Lunar date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Main death anniversary | 21st day of the 8th lunar month | Falls on the Lê Lai death anniversary set by royal rule, one day before Lê Lợi's[1][2] |
| Early-year festival | 8th day of the 1st lunar month | The second festival occasion in the year, as recorded by Báo Thanh Hóa[1] |
It should be noted that the available sources record the two occasions as above. When reporting on the 2025 incense ceremony, Báo Văn hóa mentions only the 21st day of the 8th lunar month, that is 12 October of that solar year, and does not mention the 8th day of the 1st lunar month[2]. This is where the sources do not fully agree on the number of occasions named, and readers should cross-check with local announcements in each specific year.
The story of Lê Lai risking his life to save his lord: what is official history and what is legend?
According to Báo Thanh Hóa, in 1416 Lê Lai and Lê Lợi together with 17 generals held the Lũng Nhai oath, preparing to raise the Lam Sơn uprising to drive out the invading Ming[1]. In 1419, when the Lam Sơn forces were besieged by the enemy on Chí Linh mountain with no way to retreat, in an urgent situation Lê Lai exchanged his robe with Lê Lợi, risking his life to save his lord and protect the forces[1]. He rode an elephant out into battle to break the encirclement, but because the enemy forces were too strong, Lê Lai was captured[1]. His sacrifice contributed importantly to the victory of the Lam Sơn uprising[1].
According to Báo Văn hóa, when the forces were surrounded on Chí Linh mountain, Đức ông Lê Lai volunteered to put on the imperial robe, pretend to be Lê Lợi, lead a suicide squad into battle and open a bloody path to save his commander and the whole army[2]. That brave sacrifice not only saved the life of Bình Định Vương Lê Lợi but also preserved the seed of the resistance movement against the Ming, so that from that flame the banner of national independence was raised high[2].
Figurative details such as Lê Lai riding an elephant into battle to break the encirclement, or putting on the imperial robe to pretend to be Lê Lợi, are repeated by newspaper sources and historical records as part of the historical story, but the degree of detail in each episode may differ between tellings. Elements that are not in the official histories but survive only in folk tradition should be noted as legend, and should not be presented as verified events.
How did the old histories record Lê Lai saving his lord?
Lê Quý Đôn writes in Đại Việt thông sử (translation by the Institute of History, 1978) that the forces lost the battle and had to flee into Mường Một, now Mường Chánh, that is the later Lang Chánh district, then camped at Mường Cốc, Linh Sơn mountain for more than ten days and had to eat wild yam[3]. This passage gives the place as Mường Cốc, Linh Sơn mountain, which differs from the "Chí Linh mountain" used by Báo Thanh Hóa[1][3]. The two ways of recording it should not be merged into one on their own, because each source retells a different version of the history.
In the same passage, Lê Quý Đôn relates that a man from Dựng Tú village, Lê Lai, generously accepted the order, put on the king's robe, declared himself King Lê and led troops out to attack the Ming; the Ming troops rejoiced and concentrated all their forces to surround him tightly, and Lê Lai resisted until exhausted, was captured, taken to Đông Quan citadel and killed, after which the Ming withdrew and the forces escaped[3]. This is the account of an 18th-century history compiled by Lê Quý Đôn, not independently verified data.
As for timing, the passage of Đại Việt thông sử in the reference source does not give a specific year for this event[3]. Lam Sơn thực lục, in Mạc Bảo Thần's translation, places Lê Lai's exchange of robes and capture immediately before the passage saying that in the Kỷ Hợi year (1419) the king at Lam Sơn built ramparts, and does not say in which year the event occurred[4]. Therefore the figure 1419 in the table above follows Báo Thanh Hóa, not Đại Việt thông sử.
How is the đền Tép festival actually held?
At the 2025 incense-offering ceremony in memory of Trung Túc Vương Lê Lai, delegates and local people offered incense to remember the merits of the loyal general[2]. The ceremony was conducted solemnly according to traditional rites, together with the resounding sound of gongs and drums, creating a sacred atmosphere rich in the character of Thanh Hóa[2]. The Director of the Thanh Hóa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Lê Văn Trung, beat the drum to open the festival[2].
Also on the 21st day of the 8th lunar month of 2025, in Hạc Thành ward, a ceremony and incense offering in memory of the national hero Lê Lợi was held solemnly at the Thái miếu of the Later Lê dynasty, a national heritage site, and at the Lê Lợi statue[2]. The Chairman of the People's Committee of Hạc Thành ward, Nguyễn Văn Hùng, struck the gong to begin the ceremony[2]. Thus the two commemorations of Lê Lai and Lê Lợi were held on the same day, the 21st of the 8th lunar month, at two different places in Thanh Hóa[2].
The activities at the đền Tép festival as recorded by Báo Thanh Hóa include rituals, incense offerings, palanquin processions, chầu văn singing, gong performances, sword dances and archery[1]. The đền Tép festival has long been a major festival day for local people and attracts thousands of visitors coming to offer incense[1].
Points to keep in mind when looking up this festival
First, the temple has several names: the temple of Trung Túc Vương Lê Lai, đền Tép, the Lê Lai temple[1]. The village also has two names: làng Tép in the press, and làng Thành Sơn on the 2025 portal of Kiên Thọ commune[1][2].
Second, on administrative units, Kiên Thọ commune, Thanh Hóa province is the current unit; before July 2025 this area belonged to Ngọc Lặc district[2]. When looking up older documents, readers may encounter the name Ngọc Lặc district instead of the commune name under the province.
Third, the available sources do not name any intangible cultural heritage title specifically for the đền Tép festival[1][2]. Therefore this festival should not be given titles such as national heritage or UNESCO heritage without an official recognition document. That the Lê Lai temple lies within the Lam Kinh Special National Heritage Site is information about the monument, not about the festival[1].
Fourth, when reading old histories, it is necessary to distinguish what is written by the court historian from what is folk legend. Lê Quý Đôn's Đại Việt thông sử is an 18th-century history, written from the viewpoint and source materials of that time; details such as the place names Mường Cốc, Linh Sơn mountain, or the eating of wild yam are what that book relates, and should not be presented as independently verified data[3].
