This year's celebration of the anniversary of the Hung Kings is divided into two parts, the worship rituals and the celebration, announced the People's Committee of Phu Tho Province when releasing the program of the Hung Kings Commemoration Festival in 2025.

The Hung Kings Commemoration Day aims to pay tribute to the legendary founders of the nation and cultivate patriotism among the people. Photos: Ngoc Tu/The Hanoi Times

Worship rituals include a ceremony commemorating Great Father Lac Long Quan and Great Mother Au Co to be held at the Hung Kings Temple National Historic Site on April 3. Meanwhile, the Hung Kings Incense and Flower Offering Ceremony will be held at the relief "Uncle Ho Talks with Officials and Soldiers" at the Hung Kings Temple National Historic Site (Phong Chau Commune, Viet Tri City) on April 7.

In addition, from March 29 to April 2, districts, towns and cities in Phu Tho Province will hold incense offering ceremonies to commemorate the Hung Kings.

The celebration, part of the "Phu Tho Culture Tourism Week 2025" event, will feature 22 cultural activities to promote the tourism potential of Phu Tho Province, including the art program entitled "Sacred Origin - Hung King's Ancestral Land", which will be staged on the evening of the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month or April 7.

Festival goers will have the opportunity to experience various cultural activities such as photo exhibitions, folk games, competitions in wrapping and cooking banh chung, pounding banh giay, and tasting OCOP (One Community One Product) goods from Phu Tho and other localities nationwide.

In particular, the Hung Vuong Cup Volleyball Tournament, a Marathon, and a Rowing Tournament on the Thao River promise to bring joy to locals and tourists alike, along with other sports activities.

The Hung Kings Festival is attended by tens of thousands of locals and travelers from home and abroad.

About 80 km from the center of Hanoi, Phu Tho Province is home to the Hung Kings Temple National Historic Site in Phong Chau Commune, Viet Tri City; Xuan Son Nature Reserve in Xuan Son District; Long Coc Tea Hill in Tan Son District; Hung Lo Ancient Village in Viet Tri City, and many other relic sites and tourist attractions.

Among them, Hung King's Commemoration Day is considered the most special cultural and tourist event. Celebrated in the third month of the lunar calendar, Hung Kings Day is one of the most important holidays in Vietnam to pay tribute to the Hung Kings, the legendary founding fathers and first rulers of the nation. The anniversary, which falls on the tenth day of the third month of the lunar calendar, began as a local holiday but was declared a national holiday in 2007.

The Hung Kings were ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hong Bang period (2879-258 BC).

Legend has it that the eldest son of Lac Long Quan and Au Co was made King. He named the country Van Lang and made Phong Chau (now Viet Tri City) his capital, thus beginning the 18 reigns of the Hung Kings. The kings chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals dedicated to the rice and sun deities in prayer for healthy crops.

To honor their great merits, a cluster of temples dedicated to the kings was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemoration day for the kings.

According to local historians, the time of the Hung Kings was an important period in Vietnamese history. It laid the foundation for Vietnamese culture and nationalism. Vietnamese people believe that they were all born from the same mother, Au Co's magic egg. All Vietnamese people are descended from a common ancestor. The Hung King worship ritual was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage of Humanity list in December 2012.