Hung Kings Temple Festival to be scaled down amid COVID-19 fears
The northern midland province of Phu Tho will only hold religious rituals the Hung Kings Temple Festival this year to commemorate the founders of the Vietnamese nation, due to the complex nature of the prolonged COVID-19 outbreak.
The Hung Kings are commemorated in a national festival in the third lunar month each year, presenting an opportunity for Vietnamese people to express gratitude to their ancestors. This year the festival is due to take place from April 6 to April 10.
Traditional rituals to commemorate the death of the Great Father Lac Long Quan and Great Mother Au Co of the Vietnamese nation, as well as an incense offering ceremony for the Hung Kings are slated to take place on April 6 and April 10.
Alongside the usual ritual ceremonies, a few folk cultural activities, including a bonze drum beating event, Xoan singing, water puppetry performance, and a swimming contest, will be held during the festival.
A volleyball tournament, a street festival, and other festive activities will be cancelled due to the country’s ongoing COVID-19 fight.
Phu Tho has planned to limit large gatherings as part of efforts to prevent the virus spreading within the community.
Legend has it that Au Co and Lac Long Quan were parents of the Hung Kings who late founded the Vietnamese nation.
Remembering the great merits of the Hung Kings, local people built a complex of temples and designated the 10th day of the third lunar month as the death anniversary of the founders of the nation. Since 2007, this day has been officially recognised as a national holiday.
UNESCO placed the "Worship of Hung Kings in Phu Tho" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 6, 2012.
