#hien-nhon gate

[postcard-from-the-past]

Hien-Nhon Gate in Hue, Vietnam

French vintage postcard

[vntodaynews]

The custom of erecting a bamboo pole, or a Neu tree, to drive away evils and pray for good luck for the New Year has been held in the Hue Royal Citadel on January 28. The pole is often erected in front of the house on the last day of the lunar year and removed on the seventh day. The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre has re-enacted the ceremony in the imperial citadel with traditional music and costumes since 2013 along with other scenes in the citadel to attract visitors. The 15-metre long pole was carried from Hien Nhon Gate by a group of men in soldier costumes. At The Mieu, the ancestral temple, several rituals were carried out while being accompanied by royal court music. Small offerings were tied to the top of the pole to ward off evils and to call for deities before the pole was erected at the ancestral temple. Two other poles were also erected at Trieu Mieu and Long An temples. Phan Thanh Hai, director of Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, said, "The ceremony is a re-enactment to attract tourists. But the neu pole erecting ceremony also means striving, reaching your dreams and a new year will come with happiness and peace." Some photos of the ceremony:

Neu tree erected in Hue Imperial Citadel

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