People pay tribute to nation's founders
Thousands of visitors from across the country flocked to the Kings Hùng Temple Historical Site in the northern province of Phú Thọ yesterday to attend the incense offering ceremony commemorating the Kings Hùng, the legendary founders of Việt Nam.
The ceremony, which was held at Kính Thiên Palace on Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain in Việt Trì City, was attended by Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and other officials.
PM Chính, other officials of the Party, State, ministries, sectors, central agencies and localities, along with people from nationwide attended the event, expressing deep gratitude to the Kings Hùng, the legendary founders of Việt Nam, paving the way for the construction and development of today's beautiful, prosperous and civilised country.
Following that, the delegation offered incense at the Tomb of the Kings Hùng and laid wreaths at the bas-relief depicting President Hồ Chí Minh talking to soldiers of the Tiên Phong (Pioneer) Brigade at the Giếng Temple Intersection.
After the historic Điện Biên
Phủ Victory in May 1954 and the signing of the Geneva Accords in July the same year, Group 308 of the brigade returned to take over the capital Hà Nội from French colonialists. At Giếng Temple on September 19, 1954, President Hồ Chí Minh talked to the soldiers on their way to Hà Nội, underlining that the Kings Hùng founded the nation and Vietnamese people must together protect it.
The incense offering ceremony was the most important activity of the Kings Hùng Temple Festival and the Culture and Tourism Week of the Ancestral Land 2024, held from April 9 to 18 at the historical relic site in Phú Thọ Province.
One of the festival-goers, Trần Thị Cẩm from the northern province of Yên Bái, arrived at the Hùng Kings Temple at 6am.
“My family often gather together to prepare a feast to pay tribute to the national legendary ancestors at home, but this year we decided to go on a pilgrimage to Kings Hùng Temple to present our offerings,” she said.
“This is also an occasion for families to reconnect with our
national roots and uphold the traditions of patriotism and moral values, as well as to show gratitude to the previous generations who contributed to building the nation,” she added.
According to Lê Trường Giang, director of the Kings Hùng Temple Historical Site, the temple is recognised as the largest and oldest centre for practicing the worship of the Hùng Kings in Việt Nam.
Particularly, after the worship
of the Kings Hùng was recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012, the number of pilgrims visiting the historical site to pay respects to the national ancestors has been increasing. Every year, Phú Thọ Province welcomes millions of tourists to the Kings Hùng Temple during the Kings Hùng's Temple Festival.
This year the number of visitors to the festival increased significantly compared to previous years, especially in the days leading up to the main event. This achievement is a great success in the conservation and promotion of the cultural value of worshiping the Kings Hùng, he noted.
Besides Phú Thọ, many localities across the country with temples dedicated to the Kings Hùng like HCM City, Đắk Lắk, Cần Thơ or Hưng Yên have also organised a wide range of folk activities to commemorate the national founders.