The anniversary of Hung Kings’ Death, also known as “Hung Temple Festival”, is a national holiday in Vietnam, a day for people to come back to this country and enjoy the value of peace and sacrifice of the people who have contributed to the nation building with the Hung Kings. The festival is held annually on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month at the Hung Temple in Viet Tri, Phu Tho province. This is a traditional festival of the people to commemorate the merits of the Hung Kings in building the country.
The Hung Kings era is a very important period in the history of the nation. It is this era that has laid the foundation for the Vietnamese nation, the Vietnamese culture and the patriotism tradition. Nowadays, our people consider the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month every year as the ancestral anniversary day and together visit the Hung Temple to commemorate the origin and ancestors of the Vietnamese nation.
According to legend, the Hung Kings dynasty had 18 kings. The first Hung King ascended to the throne in 2879 BC and named the country Van Lang, divided the country into 15 regions, and passed down the dynasty until 258 BC when it was taken over by Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong. Thus, the Hung dynasty lasted for about 2,600 years, and if divided by 18 kings, each king ruled for about 150 years on average. To explain this, some scholars argue that the 18 Hung Kings are not 18 specific individuals, but 18 clans, each with multiple kings taking turns to reign and share the royal title. Even the number 18 is symbolic and approximate, as 18 is a multiple of 9 – a sacred number for the Vietnamese.
Many Hung Kings, but only one Hung Kings’ Death Day; so which king’s anniversary is it? This is a question that many people still wonder about.
First of all, we must mention the origin of the Vietnamese people. Legend has it that King Kinh Duong married Lady Lac Long Quan, and together they gave birth to Hung Vuong.
Hung Vuong is thus the direct descendant of King Kinh Duong, the dynastic title used for dozens of kings in the future. Therefore, logically, the ancestral anniversary should be the anniversary of King Kinh Duong, to commemorate the progenitor who gave birth to the country.
In fact, according to some historical records, the anniversary of Hung Kings’ Death has existed for 2,000 years. During the reign of An Duong Vuong, a stone pillar was erected on Nghia Linh mountain, clearly stating: “Praying for a heaven and earth witnessing and affirming the existence of the Southern country at the Hung Kings’ Temple, please generations to come take care of the Hung Kings’ shrine and preserve the land that the Hung Kings have left behind; if broken, the vow will be torn apart by wind and smashed by a mallet.”
Other kings in the future also always remembered and affirmed the role of the Hung Kings in building the country. It is for this reason that every year, the Vietnamese people set aside a day to remember those who established and built the country – the Hung Kings in general.
In the past, people did not have the custom of going to the Hung Temple on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month. They often chose their own auspicious days according to their fate and enthusiastically paid homage to the Hung Kings throughout the year, especially in the spring and autumn seasons without specifying which day. The local ancestral worship ceremony was held on the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month combined with the Land Deity ceremony. Usually, when distant descendants come back, they would hold the ancestral anniversary one day earlier (March 11) instead of organizing a large national-scale event.
Therefore, the worship time usually lasted continuously, costing money and not clearly expressing respect, not being able to gather the people’s hearts. Realizing this, in 1917 (Khải Định dynasty), the Phu Tho Palace, led by Le Trung Ngoc, made a proposal to the Ministry of Rituals, requesting to set the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month as the annual national worship day. Since then, every year on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month, the Vietnamese people have turned their faces to the root land – Hy Cuong commune, Lam Thao, Phu Tho to honor the merits of the Hung Kings. The 10th day of the 3rd lunar month is called Hung Kings’ Death Day.
Up to now, Hung Kings’ Death Day is still considered the Ancestral Memorial Day, an important national festival. Workers have a day off on this day.
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