History and meaning of Hung King's death anniversary

Hung Temple Festival, also known as Hung Kings' Death Anniversary, is a major festival to commemorate and express gratitude for the founding of the nation by the Hung Kings, the first kings of the nation.

"No matter where you go

Remember the death anniversary of the ancestors on the tenth of March

The song is passed down from generation to generation

"The country is still the country of the homeland for a thousand years"

Palanquin procession at Hung Temple festival. Photo: Thanh Tung/VNA

The folk song full of love has entered the hearts of every Vietnamese person from generation to generation. For thousands of years, Hung Temple - the origin of the nation and the country - has always been a symbol of respect, solemnity, gathering and attachment to the Vietnamese people.

According to legend, Lac Long Quan and Au Co are considered the ancestors of the Vietnamese people, the parents of the Hung Kings. The Hung Temple Festival is also known as the Hung King's Commemoration Day.

The Hung Kings' Commemoration Day takes place on the 10th day of the third lunar month every year at Hung Temple, Viet Tri, Phu Tho . The festival takes place every week before with many folk cultural activities and ends on the 10th day of the third lunar month with a palanquin procession and incense offering ceremony at the Upper Temple.

Since ancient times, the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day has had a special position in the consciousness of the Vietnamese people. The jade genealogy written in the Tran Dynasty, in 1470 under King Le Thanh Tong and in 1601 under King Le Kinh Tong, copied and sealed at the Hung Temple, says: "...From the Trieu Dynasty, Dinh Dynasty, Le Dynasty, Ly Dynasty, Tran Dynasty to our current dynasty, Hong Duc Hau Le, they still burn incense together in the temple in Trung Nghia village. The taxed lands from the past left for worshiping purposes remain unchanged...".

Thus, it can be understood that from the Later Le Dynasty onwards, all dynasties managed Hung Temple by directly assigning it to the local people to take care of, repair, worship, and celebrate the Ancestor's Death Anniversary on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month. In return, they were exempted from paying taxes on 500 hectares of rice fields, from paying taxes, and from serving as soldiers.

During the Nguyen Dynasty, in the second year of Khai Dinh (1917), Phu Tho Governor Le Trung Ngoc submitted to the Ministry of Rites to establish the 10th day of the third lunar month every year as the International Day (National Holiday, National Death Anniversary). This was confirmed by the Hung Vuong Tu stele written by Tham tri Bui Ngoc Hoan, Phu Tho Province Governor, established in the 15th year of Bao Dai (1940), which is also located at Thuong Temple on Hung Mountain: “Previously, the International Day was periodically held in the fall. In the second year of Khai Dinh (1917 in the solar calendar), Phu Tho Governor Le Trung Ngoc sent a document requesting the Ministry of Rites to establish the 10th day of the third lunar month every year as the International Day, one day before the 18th Hung King's death anniversary. The death anniversary (March 11) was celebrated by local people”. From then on, the Hung Vuong's death anniversary on the 10th day of the third lunar month every year was officially legalized.

After the August Revolution (1945), our Party and State paid great attention to Hung Temple. President Ho Chi Minh and other Party and State leaders all visited here. Continuing the noble tradition of our ancestors, especially the morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking", right after the successful revolution, President Ho Chi Minh signed the Presidential Decree No. 22/SL - CTN dated February 18, 1946, allowing civil servants to take the 10th day of the third lunar month off every year to participate in organizing activities to commemorate the Hung Kings - towards the origin of the nation.

On the anniversary of the death of the ancestors in the year of Binh Tuat (1946) - the first year of the newly established Government, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang - Acting President of the country presented a map of the Fatherland of Vietnam and a precious sword to inform the ancestors about the invaded country and pray for the ancestors to bless the country with peace and prosperity , the world to be at peace and unite, defeat the invaders, and protect the territorial integrity of the country.

President Ho Chi Minh also visited Hung Temple twice (September 19, 1954 and August 19, 1962). Here, he made the immortal saying: "The Hung Kings had the merit of building the country - Uncle and I must work together to protect the country". He also reminded: "We must pay attention to protecting, planting more flowers and trees so that Hung Temple will become more and more solemn and beautiful, becoming a historical park for future generations to visit".

In 1995, the Hung King's death anniversary was noted by the Secretariat as a major holiday of the year. The Department of Culture, Information and Sports coordinated with other relevant departments to organize the festival for 10 days (from March 1 to March 10 of the lunar calendar).

In Decree No. 82/2001/ND-CP dated November 6, 2001 on State Ceremonies, there are specific provisions on the scale of organizing the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day, specifically as follows:

- “Even years” are anniversary years with the last digit being “0”; the Ministry of Culture - Information and the People's Committee of Phu Tho province organize the Festival; invite representatives of the Party, State, National Assembly, Government, Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and organizations to attend the incense offering ceremony.

- “Complete year” is the anniversary year with the last digit being “5”; Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee organizes the festival; invites representatives of the Party, State, National Assembly, Government, Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and organizations to attend the incense offering ceremony.

- “Odd years” are the anniversary years with the last remaining digits. The People's Committee of Phu Tho province organizes the festival; invites leaders of the Ministry of Culture and Information to attend the incense offering ceremony and organize activities during the festival.

On April 2, 2007, the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam approved the amendment and supplement to Article 73 of the Labor Law allowing employees to take time off with full pay on the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day (10th of the third lunar month). Since then, the 10th of the third lunar month has become a major holiday - a NATIONAL HOLIDAY with national cultural significance.

The annual Hung Kings' death anniversary is a common festival for all people, a day when all hearts, no matter where they live and work, still beat as one, and all eyes look in the same direction. On this day, people across the country also have the opportunity to participate in cultural activities to express their respect and gratitude to the Hung Kings who built the country and to our ancestors who protected the country for the people.

In the dossier submitted to UNESCO for recognition of “Hung King Worship” as a world cultural heritage, it was clearly stated that the value of the heritage is to express respect for ancestors, in accordance with the spirit of “When drinking water, remember its source” of the Vietnamese people. According to the assessment of UNESCO experts, “Hung King Worship” has met the most important criterion of the 5 criteria, which is that the heritage has outstanding global value, encouraging the common consciousness of all ethnic groups in promoting that value. Therefore, on December 6, 2012, UNESCO officially recognized “Hung King Worship in Phu Tho”, a symbol of the spirit of great solidarity, the traditional morality of “When drinking water, remember its source” of the Vietnamese people as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Hung Kings' Commemoration Day - Hung Temple Festival is also an occasion to educate the tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source", deep gratitude to the Hung Kings who built the country and our ancestors who fought against foreign invaders to protect the country, and at the same time, it is an important occasion for us to promote to the world an extremely valuable and unique Heritage that has existed for thousands of years, deeply rooted in the soul and emotions, becoming the traditional morality of our compatriots nationwide and overseas Vietnamese, a day for our entire Party, army and people to vow to forever engrave in their minds the advice of President Ho Chi Minh: "The Hung Kings built the country - We, your uncles and your nephews, must work together to protect the country".

BBT (synthesis)