Definition

1. Verb:
   • To lower a canopy or ceremonial ceiling: Refers to the specific ritual act of taking down a ceremonial canopy, curtain, or decorated ceiling, often in a religious or formal context.
   • To conclude a ceremony: Used metaphorically to signify the formal conclusion or closing part of a significant event, especially a religious festival.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Sau lễ, các thầy cúng tiến hành hạ trần. (After the ceremony, the priests proceeded to lower the ceremonial canopy.)
  • Lễ hội kết thúc với nghi thức hạ trần long trọng. (The festival concluded with the solemn ritual of lowering the canopy.)

Advanced Usage

• "Lễ hạ trần": A noun phrase meaning "the lowering ceremony" or "the ceremony of descent," specifically referring to the ritual that marks the end of a religious event, particularly in some Vietnamese folk religions or communal house () ceremonies.
  • Lễ hạ trần được tổ chức vào ngày cuối của hội làng. (The lowering ceremony is held on the final day of the village festival.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hạ (verb): To lower, to bring down.
• Trần (noun): Can refer to a ceiling, canopy, or the sky/heavens (in a literary/ceremonial sense). In this compound, it specifically means a ceremonial canopy.

Synonyms

• Hạ màn (verb): To lower the curtain (often used in theatrical contexts, but can be a metaphorical synonym).
• Kết thúc (verb): To conclude, to end (general term for ending, without the ceremonial nuance).

Notes on Meaning

• The term "hạ trần" is highly specific to ceremonial and religious contexts in Vietnamese culture. It is not used in everyday language.
• The reference to "Pentecôte" (Pentecost) in some dictionaries is a contextual translation for a specific religious ceremony where a "hạ trần" ritual might occur, but "hạ trần" itself is not a direct translation for "Pentecost." Pentecost is generally "Lễ Ngũ Tuần" in Vietnamese.