Phu Tho (VNA) - The Hung Kings Commemoration Day and a cultural and tourism week will take place at the Hung Kings Temple historical relic site and localities of the northern province of Phu Tho from March 29 to April 7, or from the 1st to the 10th day of the third lunar month, according to the provincial People’s Committee.
The day will feature a wide array of folk activities, including a procession that offers incense and flowers, to commemorate the legendary ancestors of the nation, Father Lac Long Quan and Mother Au Co.
Meanwhile, as many as 22 distinctive cultural, sports, and tourism activities among other programmes will be organised during the week, aiming to attracting visitors to Phu Tho.
According to the provincial People's Committee, the events aim to educate the tradition of patriotism and gratitude to the Hung Kings and ancestors who contributed to building and protecting the nation; as well as contribute to popularising tourism and local cultural heritage towards promoting tourism and economic development in the province.
Every year, activities to worship them take place ahead of the commemoration of the Hung Kings, believed to be the very first founders of Vietnam, on the 10th day of the third lunar month (which falls on April 7 this year).
Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, a 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 hatched into a hundred sons. 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 (modern-day Viet Tri city in Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 reigns 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 bumper crops.
To honour their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the 10th day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.
The worship of the Hung Kings, closely related to the ancestral worship traditions of most Vietnamese families, was recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012./.
