The Hung Kings’ Temple Festival (Hung Vuong Commemoration Day) is a big festival of the year to commemorate and express gratitude to the founding merits of the Hung Vuong, the first kings of the Vietnam nation. So where is the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival held and what does it mean? Keep reading to find out more about this day!
About Hung Kings’ Temple Festival
Every year on March 10, lunar calendar, people from all over the country, from the South to the North, are excited to go to the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival. It can be said that this is a unique culture of the Vietnamese in general and the people of Phu Tho in particular, to pay respect to the ancestors and origins of the people. The Vietnamese take pride in celebrating the death anniversary of the Hung Kings because not all nations in the world have the same festival that celebrates the birth of their people. Many foreign tourists who traveled to Vietnam and accidentally attended the Hung Kings Anniversary festival have expressed their admiration for the culture as well as the solidarity of the country.
There will be two main parts to the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival: the ceremony and the festival. The ceremony is held in a solemn and proper manner with the participation of many dignitaries in the village, as well as politicians from the central government. The offerings used in the ceremony include Banh Chung, Banh Day, pigs, cows, and goats. When the music started, the celebrant began reading the prayer in front of the throne to worship the Hung Kings, first to report the deeds, and then to pray for blessings. Each time the celebrant reads the words of the petition to the king, there will be the sound of drums and gongs. After the sound of drums and gongs, a group will go to the front of the front hall to bow and then move back. This continues until the celebrant reads all that is written in the petition.
The procession of palanquins is decorated with colorful flags and umbrellas. The wooden palanquins are painted with gold and carried by the village’s young men and women. Elderly dignitaries wear attire like feudal court officials: loose pants, coffins, and hats (or turbans) with high heels. The place was packed with people jostling to follow the palanquin procession up to the High Temple.
Where is the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival held?
Every year on March 10th, the lunar calendar, the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival is held at Hung Temple, Viet Tri City, Phu Tho province, and is remembered by all Vietnamese people. Therefore, this special day also has its own saying:
Whoever you are, no matter where you go,
Remember the Commemoration of the 10th of March.
The procession and incense offering at the High Temple will take place as follows:
Procession: Including flags, parasols, flowers, palanquins, and colorful traditional costumes. Each procession will start from the foot of the mountain, then go through the temples to reach the High Temple.
Incense offering ceremony at High Temple: Each person lights up a few incense sticks to pray to their ancestors because every handful of soil and tree stump here is very sacred.
In addition, this festival also held many other folk games, such as:Â Xoan singing contest, wrestling competition, swimming, tug of war, etc.
The meaning of the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival
According to legend, Lac Long Quan and Au Co were the ancestors of the Vietnamese people, the parents of the Hung Kings. Therefore, the Hung Temple festival is celebrated nationally as an important occasion for people to show their gratitude to the Hung Kings for building the country, as well as their resilience against foreign enemy invasions and defense of the land during the past.
Besides, this is the time for many traditional cultural and sports activities of the Vietnamese people. Furthermore, the worship of Hung Kings has become an intangible cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO and is on the list of national intangible cultural heritages approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Vietnam.