PhuTho (VNA) – A ceremony marking the anniversary of Hung Kings - thelegendary founders of the nation - and the Culture and Tourism Week of AncestralLand will be held from April 9-18 in the northern province of Phu Tho withvarious activities.
Traditional rituals will be conducted at thetemples dedicated to Lac Long Quan and Au Co in the Hung Kings Temple relicsite to express gratitude to the ones who laid the foundation of the country,and incense and flower offering to Hung Kings in various localities.
A highlight of the 10-day ceremony is theopening of the Hung Kings Temple Festival and the Week of UNESCO-listedintangible cultural heritages to be held at Hung Vuong square in Viet Tricity on April 4 (the first day of the third lunar month)
Other activities include exhibitions onVietnam’s tourism, culture, heritages and sustainable development; a “Viet TriLive music” street music programme; the northwestern region's tourism fair 2024; the Hung Vuong Cup volleyball tournament; an one commune-one product (OCOP) trade exhibition; a cuisine festival; xoan singing; and firework displays.
Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real nameSung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairydaughter of De Lai). Au Co then gave birth to a pouch filled with 100 eggs,which later hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, the couple 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 VanLang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (modern-day Viet Tri city in Phu Thoprovince), beginning the 18 generations 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 templesdedicated to them was built on the mountain, and the 10th day of thethird lunar month, which falls on April 29 this year, serves as the nationalcommemorative anniversary for the kings.
The worship of the Hung Kings, closely related to theancestral worship traditions of most Vietnamese families, was recognised aspart of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012./.