Hung Kings Commemoration Day
Hùng – the very first dynasty that every single Vietnamese has to keep in mind as their ancestors who ruled the country almost over 4000 years ago. Hence, every year when it comes to the 10th of March in the lunar calendar, the country is thrilled by the festival held formally in Phú Thọ, a Northern province of Vietnam. Nevertheless, both Vietnamese who live in the country and foreign Vietnamese are all celebrating as a way to commemorate their race and recall where they are actually from.
Thurifying is the most important event occurred in the morning of the day. Burning incenses is a common and formal way that shows your respect for your ancestors and somehow lets them hear all of your wishes sent through the smokes. Not only is the local authority in charge of the main event but also the ones that come from other cities nationwide join hands as well. By sending gifts such as popular specialties, fruits, and flowers, some even appear to be made in a special shape such as a boat or some holy animals, all Vietnamese seem to excitedly commemorate the ones that played a big part in building and protecting this country from invaders.
Moreover, interesting activities are also held with the aim of giving a chance for artists or even talented chefs by competitions such as making Bánh Chưng, Bánh Dầy – our traditional cakes during Lunar New year, or Folk songs competition, traditional sports, and exhibition of documents and artifacts related to the event.
As an East Asian country, worshipping our ancestors is a part of our life, especially to those who created our nation and our tradition. Learning about one country can be easy by doing well in geography class, but learning about one nation is more than just a map, and their traditional festivals say it all.
I am Vietnamese and I really proud of my country also our celebration. But you must know that is only the active aspect. The negative aspect is, Phu Tho become very crowd and nosy, sometimes the crowd very rude and squeeze and push. However, this is still a beautiful symbol of Vietnamese culture, if everyone is civilized, things will get better.
Every year, Vietnamese people celebrate this ceremory to remember and give the gratitude to the Hung King. And every year at this time, I always go to pagoda with my mother to pray peace and happiness for my family.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s is a very famous festival in Viet Nam. I often celebrate it with my family, four people to be precise. We often spend an apreciable amount of time visiting pagodas
Hung Kings commemoration Day is definitely one of the biggest festivals throughout the year. I still remember one year when Phu Tho was holding the festival, my city, Quy Nhon – Binh Dinh, also started our own exhibition, putting all local specialties on the market. And of course, we did have other activities like traditional music performances or sailing competition.
Every Vietnamese shows our gratitude to our ancestors on this day.
I love getting a glimpse into the culture of another country like this. The festival seems like it would be so interesting to see.
I love learning about important traditions and holidays in other countries. Hung Kings Commemoration Day sounds like a very important cultural tradition and it looks like such fun.
I love learning about other country traditions. This looks like such an amazing celebration!
What aculturally immersive experience this must have been! Thank you for shining a light on commemorating Vietnam’s rulers during that era