Vietnamese youth in Saint Petersburg continue traditional values ​​of Hung Kings' death anniversary

This year, Saint Petersburg - the second largest city in the Russian Federation - has the honor of being chosen as a key location in Europe to celebrate the Global Vietnam National Day.

Solemn ceremony performed by the Vietnamese community in Saint Petersburg. (Photo: Tam Hang/VNA)

On April 13, the Vietnamese community in Saint Petersburg (Russia) held a ceremony to commemorate the death anniversary of the Hung Kings and honor the descendants of the Hung Kings within the framework of the global Vietnamese National Ancestor Day (March 10 of the lunar calendar). According to a VNA correspondent in Russia, this year, Saint Petersburg - the second largest city in the Russian Federation - was honored to be chosen as a key location in Europe to celebrate the global Vietnamese National Ancestor Day. Attending the ceremony solemnly held at the hall of Saint Petersburg State University were more than 200 Vietnamese people, including students and trainees from schools in the city and many representatives of the Vietnamese community. In particular, the leader of the Ho Chi Minh Institute at St. Petersburg State University, Vladimir Kolotov, attended and spoke both as a son-in-law of Vietnam and as an expert with a deep understanding of Vietnamese culture, the traditions of the descendants of Lac and Hong that have been passed down over 4,000 years of history.

The ceremony to commemorate the death anniversary of the Hung Kings and honor the descendants of the Hung Kings within the framework of the global National Ancestor Day (March 10 of the lunar calendar) was held at the hall of Saint Petersburg State University. (Photo: Tam Hang/VNA)

After 4 times of organization, it can be seen that the Vietnamese holiday has created a widespread influence in Saint Petersburg. Attending this year's ceremony were many young people, in addition to students from Vietnam who came to Russia to study at schools in the city, there were also generations of children in the community who were born and raised in Saint Petersburg, along with Russian friends. Following Vietnamese tradition, the ceremony included a ceremony and a festival. Head of the Global Vietnamese Ancestral Day project in Saint Petersburg, Mr. Dao Dai Hai, reviewed the origin of the project to organize the Global Vietnamese Ancestral Day. He emphasized the sacredness of the two words "compatriots," and the meaning of the festival in connecting overseas Vietnamese, between compatriots at home and abroad. Professor Vladimir Kolotov quoted Uncle Ho's saying: "The Hung Kings had the merit of building the country, we, uncles and nephews, must work together to protect the country." According to him, this saying is the source of the great national unity bloc, becoming a strong internal force to help Vietnam gain independence, build the country, integrate internationally and contribute responsibly to the world community. At the ceremony, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese in the Russian Federation Tran Phu Thuan emphasized that the Global Vietnamese National Day project is truly a project of great humanistic value, with the mission of uniting the nation, positioning Vietnamese values ​​​​globally, and together with international friends, preserving representative intangible cultural values ​​​​of humanity...

Many Russian friends attended the Hung Kings' death anniversary ceremony, showing the spread of Vietnamese culture in the host country. (Photo: Tam Hang/VNA)

Towards the general public, Mr. Tran Phu Thuan called for the widespread dissemination of the humane traditions of the Vietnamese community in Europe in general, and in the Russian Federation in particular, while strengthening solidarity among overseas Vietnamese - descendants of King Hung. At the ceremony, the organizing committee also announced the community members honored by the Global Ancestor Day Project Board for their positive contributions. There are many ways to promote the spread of the Global Vietnamese Ancestor Day among overseas Vietnamese in the Russian Federation, one of which is to organize annual celebrations in the communities. For the second and third generations, family traditions and stories heard from parents in Vietnamese are the most practical way for children to approach the culture of their ancestors. Dao Van Anh, 19 years old, has heard from her father, Mr. Dao Dai Hai, about the legend of King Hung, and although she has never lived in Vietnam, today she truly feels the meaning of Hung King's Commemoration Day, seeing herself as a member of a large family of nearly 100 million Vietnamese people. Saint Petersburg is known as the cultural capital of the Russian Federation, home to top universities with long histories and a place that has trained more than one generation of intellectuals and leaders for Vietnam. The number of Vietnamese students studying here is always very large and is supplemented every year. Although the length of their studies varies, they identify themselves as a part of the Vietnamese community in Saint Petersburg, actively contributing to local activities through the Student Association and the Youth Union. Secretary of the Youth Union at the Saint Petersburg base, Do The Manh, said that the City Youth Union has supported the organization of the 2024 Ancestor's Death Anniversary, connecting students to participate to spread more strongly and widely the spirit of "remembering the source when drinking water." Whether at home or abroad, a value, a beautiful cultural tradition can only last if it is accepted and actively spread by the young generation. And those encouraging signs can be seen in the young people attending the 2024 Ancestor's Death Anniversary in Saint Petersburg. Tran To Nga, a preparatory student at the Ghersen National Pedagogical University who has been in Russia for half a year, said that when she was in Vietnam, she only remembered her parents burning incense on the Ancestor's Death Anniversary, and she herself had never been to the Hung Kings Temple, but now that she has participated in community activities, she understands the meaning of this cultural beauty.

The organizers of the photo exhibition about Vietnam introduced to Russian friends beautiful images of the country and people of Vietnam. (Photo: Tam Hang/VNA)

Not only valuing and participating in preserving and spreading traditions, young people also set themselves tasks and goals to strive to be worthy descendants of Lac Hong, as Pie Minh Thu, a first-year student at the Naval Academy, shared with a VNA reporter in the Russian Federation. Once they understand and appreciate the national identity, despite the difficult conditions abroad, the organizing committee still strives to recreate the main features of the holiday. The altar of the National Ancestor is solemnly set up with trays of sticky rice cakes and gac sticky rice. The celebrants in traditional costumes solemnly perform the sacrificial ceremony, offering to heaven and earth their wishes for national peace, unity and integration./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

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