Hanoi (VNA) – State President Luong Cuong and his spouse, along representatives from ministries, agencies and Hanoi administration, and nearly 100 overseas Vietnamese (OVs) attended an incense-offering ceremony at the historic Kinh Thien Palace in the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi on January 19 morning.
The ceremony, part of the annual Homeland Spring 2025 co-organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee, was to honour and pay profound respect to generations of ancestors who fought and sacrificed their lives to safeguard the nation.
The delegation prayed for national prosperity, peace, and a year of groundbreaking success on Vietnam's development path.
The tribute continued with a symbolic carp release at Uncle Ho’s fish pond within the Presidential Palace complex. This ritual, performed just days ahead of the 23rd day of the last lunar month – the traditional day for sending the Kitchen Gods to heaven, symbolised the carp leaping over the dragon's gate, a metaphor for perseverance and ambition leading to growth and success.
As scheduled, in the evening of the same day, the State President will extend his Lunar New Year (Tet) greetings to OVs and ceremonially strike the drum to inaugurate the Homeland Spring 2025.
This highly anticipated cultural and political event, themed "Vietnam – Rising in the New Era", runs from January 18-20 and features a variety of meaningful activities, with the participation of about 1,500 OVs from around the world returning home for Tet./.
