OVs visit the Hung Kings Temple relic site. Photo: Pham Ly

They offered incense to the Hung Kings at their temples on April 25, and planted trees at the Den Gieng (Gieng Temple).

They prayed for a prosperous Vietnam with an increasing position in the international arena and solidarity among the Vietnamese communities abroad.

The OVs offer incense to the Hung Kings. Photo: Pham Ly

Hieu said the incense-offering program is held annually by the COVA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conjunction with the provincial People's Committee, noting it has received a warm response from Vietnamese abroad.

It is intended to raise their pride of national traditions, pay tribute to the nation, and strengthen the great national unity bloc.

Also on April 25, the delegation had a meeting with representatives of the provincial People's Committee. They also commemorated the legendary ancestors of Vietnam, Father Lac Long Quan, and Mother Au Co.

The OVs plant trees at the Den Gieng (Gieng Temple). Photo: Pham Ly

Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then went on to give birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon, Lac Long Quan and Au Co separated. Lac Long Quan went to the coast with 50 of the children, while Au Co went to the highlands with the rest.

Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (modern-day Viet Tri city in Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 reigns of the Hung Kings.

The kings chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for bumper crops.

To honor their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the 10th day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worship of the Hung Kings, closely related to the ancestral worship traditions of most Vietnamese families, was recognized as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012./.

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