Hung Kings’ death anniversary to be held at national level
- Police ensure public order and safety at Hung Kings Temple Festival
- Hung Kings’ death anniversary commemorated nationwide
- Incense offering ceremony held in honour of Hung Kings
The celebration aims to honor the national cultural values and the great contributions by Hung Kings and other national ancestors who contributed significantly to building and protecting the country throughout the national history.
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| At the incense offering ceremony during 2019's Hung King Death Anniversary. |
It also aims to consolidate and promote the great national unity bloc.
The program is expected to include various ceremonies, including offerings ceremony to the nation’s Great Father Lac Long Quan and offerings ceremony to the nation’s Great Mother Au Co, palanquin procession to the Hung Kings Temple, incense offerings to Hung Kings at temples dedicated to Hung Kings and other national ancestors in various localities.
This year’s festival will also comprise art programs, cultural exchanges, folk games at Hung Kings Temple.Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then went on to give birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which soon hatched into a hundred sons, believed to be Vietnam’s ancestors.
However, soon thereafter, Lac Long Quan and Au Co separated. Lac Long Quan went to the coast with 50 of the children, while Au Co went to the highlands with the rest.
Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (nowadays Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 dynasties of the Hung Kings. The kings chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for healthy crops.
To honour their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings. The worshipping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.
