State President offers incense to Vietnamese ancestors

The 10th day of the third lunar month every year is observed as the national death anniversary of Hung Kings in Vietnam.

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This year, the event falls on April 29. Pictured is the Party and State delegation led by State President Vo Van Thuong (third from left).

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Vietnamese people, no matter where they live, flock to Nghia Linh Mountain in Viet Tri city of Phu Tho province where Hung Kings Temples are situated, to pay homage to the ancestors.

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Legend has it that thousands of years ago Lac Long Quan married Au Co who later gave birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which soon hatched into one hundred beautiful children.

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The children were taught how to cultivate their lands and live nobly. But soon after, Lac Long Quan and Au Co started to grow unhappy. Lạc Long Quân always found his heart longing for the coasts while Au Co constantly yearned for the highlands.

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Lac Long Quan took 50 children to the coast and divided the areas for them to govern, while Au Co who took 50 others to the highlands, teaching them to breed animals and practice farming.

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The couple’s children are believed to be the ancestors of the Vietnamese nation, and honoured as “the children of the Dragon and the Fairy” in the present-day life.

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Vietnamese Party and State leaders pay tribute to the ancestors of the Vietnamese nation at Thuong (Upper) Temple.

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Bui Van Quang, head of the Phu Tho provincial administration, who is the celebrant of the ceremony, recalls the Hung Kings’ great contributions to the nation, saying in the sacred moment, millions of Vietnamese people turn their hearts to Phu Tho province to remember and appreciate the merits of the Hung Kings, the ancestors of the Vietnamese nation.

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“May the ancestors bless Vietnam with happiness, stability, prosperity, peace, and success in national development and international integration,” says the celebrant.