When the 'Torch of Light' Harmonises with Thien Cam Mountain

The lingering setting sun sends its last words before fading (Photo: AnhNguyen)

A reunion with "loved ones" named Nature

At the beginning of the poem "Lantern Festival," Huy Can wrote with a tender sentiment:

"When we arrive, you all have already arrived

There is Nature, the sister stream and the brother forest"

Coming to Cam Mountain on the festival night, similarly, the first feeling is not the unfamiliar landscape of the tranquil plateau, but a warmth like returning home. Nature here is personified as "sister streams," "brother forests," vibrant entities that have awaited humanity for millennia. At an altitude of over 710 meters, as the clouds and night mist begin to envelop the path, the image of each visitor "co-exists" joyfully, making the mountains and forests no longer silent. Instead, they want to resonate with people's hearts, harmonising in the warm, simple atmosphere.

Volunteer workers assembling the lanterns. (Photo: Duong Viet Anh)

The Aesthetics of Light

The beauty of the Cam Mountain Lantern Festival lies in its lack of ostentatious, harsh industrial lighting. Its beauty is woven from elegance, just as Huy Can described:

"The grass of eternity is accustomed to the shimmering afternoon light

The willows of eternity have always known the way to hang their curtains

…Surely they are very happy to have gathered in such large numbers

The light of countless stars lingers like thin threads of silk."

As darkness enveloped the dreamy hills, thousands of lanterns began to be lit on the sacred lake or in the breezy square. Each lantern was a unique "torch," but when they gathered together, they created a gentle, delicate beam of light, like a thread of silk, yet powerful enough to dispel the gloomy darkness. That light calmed the heart, slowing steps and softening voices, giving way to the pure beauty of reverence.

How beautiful! (Photo: Duong Viet Anh)

“Awakening” Amidst Joy

The most profound moment in the journey to Thien Cam Son that night was the moment of self-reflection. Huy Can also wrote about awakening:

“I am sleeping in the cycle of reincarnation, waking up

Seeing the world as a festival of lanterns.”

Amidst the hustle and bustle of life, we sometimes forget that life itself is a feast of colours and meaning. Holding a floating lantern in your hand, sincerely offering a wish for peace for your family and all living beings, is when you escape the ambiguities of everyday life to realise the value of present tranquillity.

Each lantern released into the water or held in your hand carries its own story, its own hopes. But on the night of March 7th, all those private things connect into a common spiritual flow, making the "earthly realm," despite its many hardships, suddenly radiant like a late-blooming flower fragrant in the desolate forest at night.

Vibrant fireworks. (Photo: AnhNguyen)

Joining the symphony

Don't stand outside the joy of nature, for as the poet once lamented: "Everything is complete, only I am missing." The Nui Cam Lantern Festival invites each individual to boldly "join in," bringing their "passionate heartbeat" to add another star to the night's celebration.

“We joyfully and leisurely join in,

Contributing to the joyful rhythm of our hearts,

…We are enraptured, lighting high the torch of our souls,

The Lantern Festival bursts forth with vibrant music.”

When the last lamp is lit, the space of Mount Cam seems to resonate with wordless melodies, the sounds of understanding and sharing. That is when “our souls pass through the gate of light,” shedding countless worries to receive the pure energy from the sacred atmosphere.

Official information about the Festival.

Come here on that day to see that you are no longer a transient traveller but a part of a great life. To see that, with just a small flame in your heart, you can illuminate an entire sky of thought.

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