Hùng Kings' Festival Explained
| Holiday Name: | Hùng Vương Commemoration Day |
| Type: | national |
| Official Name: | Giỗ Tổ Hùng Vương |
| Observedby: | Vietnamese |
| Longtype: | Cultural |
| Significance: | Anniversary of Hùng Vương |
| Date: | 10th day of 3rd lunar month |
| Observances: | worship of Hùng Vương |
| Frequency: | annual |
The Hùng Kings' Temple Festival (Vietnamese: Giỗ Tổ Hùng Vương or Lễ hội đền Hùng) is a Vietnamese festival held annually from the 1th to the 10th day of the third lunar month in honour of the Hùng Vương or Hùng Kings. The main festival day, which is a public holiday in Vietnam since 2007, is on the 10th day.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Although the official name is the Death Anniversary of the Hùng Kings (Vietnamese: Giỗ Tổ Hùng Vương), the festival does not mark any specific date of death for any Hùng King.[6]
Festival
The purpose of this ceremony is to remember and pay tribute to the Hung kings who are the traditional founders and first kings of the nation. The festival began as a local holiday, but has become recognized as a national holiday starting in 2007. In 2016, the total number of visitors to the festival numbered seven million.[7]
The major ceremony
The ceremony takes place over several days, but the 10th day of the month is considered the most important. A procession starts at the foot of the mountain, and stops at every small temple before reaching the High Temple. Here, pilgrims offer prayers and incense to their ancestors.[8]
See also
- Giỗ
- Ancestor worship in Vietnam
References
- Web site: Vietnamese nationals return for Hung Kings' death anniversary . 2009-05-15 . VOV . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090407032841/http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/Vietnamese-nationals-return-for-Hung-Kings-death-anniversary/20094/103128.vov . 2009-04-07 .
- Web site: One day off to celebrate Vietnamese founders . 2009-05-16 . Ho Chi Minh City's government . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726175734/http://www.eng.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/eng/news/default_opennew.aspx?news_id=8186 . 2011-07-26 .
- Web site: NA meets on threshold of legislative elections . 2009-05-16 . VietNamNet . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080406092345/http://english.vietnamnet.vn/politics/2007/03/674288/ . 2008-04-06 .
- Web site: Hung Kings' Temple Festival - A Pilgrimage To The Sacred Land of Vietnam's Ancestry. Embassy of Vietnam in USA. 2009-05-17.
- Web site: NA meets on threshold of legislative elections . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727073824/http://www.na.gov.vn/htx/Vietnamese/default.asp?Newid=5172 . dead . 2011-07-27 . National Assembly of Vietnam . 2009-05-17 .
- Web site: Hung King Temple Festival. vietnam-beauty. 10 August 2011.
- Web site: Seven million visitors expected to attend Hung Kings festival in northern Vietnam. 2 October 2012. 16 April 2016.
- Web site: Party Chief pays tribute to Hung Kings. Vietnews. 10 August 2011.
