1. Origin of Tran temple seal opening festival
The Tran Temple opening ceremony is a custom of the Tran Dynasty - the longest and most powerful feudal dynasty in Vietnamese feudal history with glorious victories in defeating the Mongol Yuan army - the invading army three times; is known as "every victory in every battle".
After defeating the Mongol Yuan army for the first time, on January 14, at Thien Truong palace (where the Tran dynasty was founded), King Tran Thai Tong held a banquet and rewarded and conferred titles on officials and soldiers. merit in fighting the enemy. Since then, on this day, the Tran kings held seal opening ceremonies to worship heaven, earth, and ancestors; awarded titles to those with meritorious service, and at the same time opened a new working year for the Tran dynasty's government apparatus.
Ritual of offering flowers and offerings to Thap pagoda to prepare for the ritual of receiving incense at the feet of Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong.
Later, on the foundation of Thien Truong palace, people built the Tran temple relic area to worship 14 kings, Tran Hung Dao and civil and martial mandarins, and maintained the seal opening ceremony to commemorate the merits of the kings. Tran, educating children and grandchildren in patriotic traditions to fight against foreign invaders and protect the countryside and rivers.
The seal opening ceremony has a great humane meaning of praying for peace and prosperity in the world, and for all families to enjoy the blessings of the Tran Temple seal "Unlimited blessings"; Wishing everyone to enter the new year in good health, working and producing enthusiastically, studying and working well. Over many years, the seal opening ceremony has been maintained and developed by the people and has become one of the beautiful customs, a beautiful cultural feature in the first days of the Vietnamese New Year that has been preserved for a long time.
Before the seal opening ceremony was held, on January 2, the Management Board of the Tran Temple Relic Area performed a ceremony to request the opening of the seal to print seals for the opening ceremony. The content of the seal includes the words: "Tran trieu dien co - accumulation of blessings without borders"'. At 10:00 p.m. on January 14, the seal opening ceremony began with the procession of the seal box from the inner palace of Co Trach temple to Thien Truong temple. After the seal opening ceremony performed by 14 elders of Tuc Mac village (Loc Vuong ward) ended, guests from all over entered Thien Truong temple to worship and ask for the seal with the wish for a successful and prosperous new year.
2. Meaning of asking for seal
Not everyone who comes to ask for the Tran temple seal understands the full meaning of this ritual. The essence of the four words "Unlimited blessings" on the seal is that the Tran Dynasty gives blessings to its children and grandchildren, teaches children and grandchildren, hundreds of families to know how to preserve moral qualities, accumulate blessings well, the thicker the blessings, the better. enjoy more sustainable fortune. That is the deepest educational meaning of giving seals. The meaning of the seal is so simple, but not everyone understands it and some still mistakenly think that asking for the seal is to pray for "promotion or advancement". Therefore, those who hold the seal in their hands without understanding the nature of that profound meaning will have no value.
3. What procedures are needed when applying for a seal?
In the past, when going to a pagoda, people often placed a prayer offering on the main hall, then presented the content on paper, clearly wrote the content of the prayer, and respectfully bowed before going out to ask for a seal. That prayer would be effective. .
Nowadays, due to the development and overcrowding of the demand for seals, the current form of printing is to use yellow paper to stamp in bulk, but the content is unknown, just like the current stamp stamped on white paper is not clear. that's the content. When we look at it, we don't know what decree to carry out, unintentionally distorting the meaning of the seal, as well as making the sacredness of the seal ineffective.
The problem of receiving seals
In the Holy Land Dynasty, the King's dynasty focuses on the issue of curing evil and exorcising us, so the seals of the earthly house should not be placed on the altar after you bring them back. You can take them away but must be kept in other places. clean, the meaning of the seal on the ceiling during the seal release ceremony is the 4 words Tich Duc Vo Cuong, which is often placed in a solemn glass frame and hung in the office and living room. Please remember carefully that this seal is not used to cure evil, so Should only be hung in the living room or worship room, not brought with you or placed on the altar...