The Hanoitimes – On the morning of February 15, at the Con Son – Kiep Bac Festival in Chi Linh district of Hai Duong province, 100 local men competed in a soil firecracker making competition.
The soil firecracker festival is the oldest festival in some districts of Hai Duong, such as Ninh Giang, Tu Ky and Gia Loc. Legend has it, that in the time of Hai Ba Trung (Trung sisters – C.12-AD 43), female general Le Chan asked her soldiers to make soil firecrackers to create loud explosions to threaten the foreign invaders. Since then, soil firecracker has become a traditional game at festivals in Hai Duong.
Soil firecrackers are made from clay, taken from the field. Each soil firecracker weighs from 30kg to 80kg. A good firecracker is the one with good shape and making a big bang when it is thrown to the ground.
For big firecrackers of 70kg – 80kg, only strong men can carry and throw them. They have to practice a lot to throw the firecrackers in the right way, to create the biggest bang, sometimes like the sound of thunder.
This year, the soil firecracker competition at the Con Son – Kiep Bac Festival 2014 attracted more than 100 contestants, with a group of 30 experienced referees.
Competitors were divided into six teams. Referees used a scale from 1 to 10 points to evaluate technical aspects and the explosion of soil firecrackers.
The competition took place for two hours but it was not long enough to satisfy the audience.
Finally, the winner was the team from Nghia An commune.
Unique soil firecracker festival in pictures – Festivals – Travel Related image(s)
0 comments:
Post a Comment