The district authorities of Vu Ban in the northern province of Nam Dinh informed on March 25 the canceling of the opening ceremony and less essential activities of Phu Day Festival as a cautious measure against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other canceled activities include processions and folk games that often draw large gatherings of people, which have been regarded as a potential risk of the pandemic spread.
Phu Day Festival in the province’s Vu Ban district is a major festival on Nam Dinh, annually held in the third lunar month and usually attracting large numbers of locals and visitors across the country.
The Phu Day historical and cultural complex includes about 20 pagodas, temples and shrines associated with the worship of Lieu Hanh Mother Goddess, one of the four immortal saints in Vietnam, according to legend.
Phu Day Festival has been classified as a national intangible heritage, and well-known for rituals of the Mother Goddess worship that listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2016.
