Incense offerings and various activities have been organised nationwide
to commemorate Hung Kings, the nation’s legendary founders, on April 19,
the tenth day of the third lunar month.
In the ancestral land
Phu Tho province, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc offered
incense to Hung Kings at the Hung Kings Temple Complex.
President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Huynh
Dam and leaders of numerous ministries, branches also attended the
ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Secretary of the provincial
Party’s Committee Hoang Dan Mac emphasized the significance of the
national death anniversary and praised great contributions of Hung Kings
to the nation’s foundation and protection.
He affirmed the sound leadership of the Party and national unity during the renewal process and national construction.
On this occasion, the Government, the VFF and local leaders also
offered flowers at the relief wall dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh
and soldiers from the Tien Phong (Vanguard) Division stationed at the
complex.
In Ho Chi Minh City , the commemoration of Hung
Kings was organised at the Ethnic Cultural and Historical Park .
Local people together burnt incense in memory of Hung Kings and prayed
for prosperous country, healthy people and peaceful world.
The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak held incense offerings
to commemorate Hung Kings, attracting ethnic groups, domestic and
foreign tourists.
The event also featured other activities such as lion-dragon dances and gongs performance.
On this occasion, the southern Dong Nai province organised Chung cake
(square rice cake) – Day cake (round rice-cake) making and five-fruit
tray arranging contests, folk games and music performance.
The event also featured Xoan singing, a valuable intangible cultural heritage of the ancestral land of Phu Tho .
The incense offering ceremony is part of the commemoration of Hung
Kings, known as the national death anniversary, which takes place from
the eighth day to the eleventh day of the third lunar month with the
tenth day observed as the major event.
Last December, the
worship of Hung Kings was honoured by the UNESCO as part of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This was the organisation’s
first recognition of an ancestral worship ritual as an intangible
cultural heritage of humanity.
The worship of Hung
Kings has been preserved and spread from generation to generation
despite ups and downs in history. There are 1,417 temples dedicated to
Hung Kings scattering across the country.-VNA