How Is Hung King Temple Day Celebrated?

On 10th days of the third lunar month each year, Vietnamese people pay tribute to the Hung Kings, the 18 emperors of Vietnam by celebrating Hung King Commemoration Day.

It is officially announced as a national holiday in 2007. According to legends, Vietnamese people are the descendants of Lac Long Quan descended from dragons who married Au Co from fairies.

They then gave birth to one hundred children, and the eldest son amidst them became the first King of Van Lan, who settled his kingdom at Phong Chau, Phu Tho Province. Historians have acknowledged the important role of Hung King, who established the foundation of Vietnam including cultural values, traditions, patriotism, and aversion against foreign invasion.

The festival mainly operates at Nghia Linh mountain, near Viet Tri, where the story originates. From the 9th day’s afternoon, the villagers in charge of celebrating the ceremony procession gather at the foot of Nghia Linh Mountain, and ready palanquin and oblations including foods, flowers, and incense sticks.

The next early morning, everyone will wear beautiful clothes like áo dài, the traditional clothing of Vietnam bringing colourful offerings, flags and flowers, delegates and then pilgriming to the mountain in order to offer wreaths from leaders.

During the ceremony, the bronze drums are used to contribute to the vibrancy of the holiday, plus people from different places can show gratitude and patriotism by offering incense sticks and flowers and pray their ancestors for a blessing.To add more fun, many cheerful activities also take place like performances of Cheo singing, Quan Ho singing, Xoan singing, games of chess, rice cooking and chicken kicking.

Aside from the ceremonies, you can head to Hung Vuong museum which exhibits nearly 700 original objects and thousands of preproduction relating to Vietnam’s history from the stone age to the reign of Hung Kings.

The construction was built in the late 1980s, until now, it has welcomed more than thousands of visitors a year, and its high season is during the Hung Kings Commemoration Day. The highlight is that visitors can learn about the production items and other daily tools of the Vietnamese people in each particular historical period.

Take a tour to Ninh Binh - Tam Coc - Bich Dong and enjoy the wonderful landscape of this land