By: Nam Nguyen | April 18, 2024
(To Quoc) - With heartfelt respect and gratitude for the merits of their ancestors, every year on the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day (the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month), a large number of people in the homeland of the Ancestors in general and Hung Lo commune in particular respectfully prepare offerings and incense to express their gratitude for the merits of the Hung Kings and the ancestors who contributed to building and defending the nation.
Since 2019, the Organizing Committee of the Hung Kings Commemoration Day has encouraged families in Phu Tho to prepare their own ceremonial meals, ensuring solemnity and warmth on the 10th day of the third lunar month. Since then, this practice has expanded and gained widespread support from the people.
Traditionally, every year, before the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day, Mr. Trieu Van Dao's family is one of 5,000 people in Hy Cuong commune, Viet Tri city (Phu Tho province) who prepare a meticulously arranged meal with heartfelt reverence to offer to their ancestors and the Hung Kings, and also as an opportunity to gather with their families and children.
Using locally available produce, Mr. Dao prepared a simple yet solemn offering meal, complete with traditional Vietnamese dishes, expressing his reverence and gratitude to his ancestors, commemorating the contributions of King Hung.
Traditionally, the offerings to the Hung Kings include banh chung (square sticky rice cake), banh giay (round sticky rice cake), and plain rice.
Sticky rice cakes (bánh chưng and bánh dày) symbolize heaven and earth. Plain rice (cơm tẻ) also originated from King Hung teaching the people how to cultivate rice.
The feast includes both sticky rice and non-sticky rice, representing the balance of yin and yang, creating a harmonious and complete meal.
According to Mr. Dao, preparing the offering meal to honor the ancestors who contributed to the founding of the nation is extremely meaningful, both as a way to commemorate the merits of the Hung Kings who founded the country and to teach descendants more about the Hung King worship belief. This activity aims to contribute to affirming the value of the Hung King worship belief as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
According to elderly people in the vicinity of Hung Temple, the tradition of offering meals to the Hung Kings has existed for a long time. It provides an opportunity for families to gather, with descendants from near and far remembering the contributions of the Hung Kings in founding and defending the nation. It also educates children about the pride of being people of the Hung Kings' ancestral land – the origin of the Vietnamese nation.
Folklorists all affirm that the Hung Kings worship belief – the ritual of worshipping the common ancestor of the entire nation – is a distinctive and unique cultural identity of the Vietnamese people and also a representative cultural heritage of humanity. Throughout history, this belief has contributed to fostering pride in our origins and creating a spirit of unity, patriotism, and love for our people. The Hung Kings' Commemoration Day is a day when the entire nation expresses gratitude for the merits of the Hung Kings, who founded the Van Lang state, the foundation of our nation, taught the people to cultivate the land and plant rice, bestowed spiritual energy upon the land, houses, crops, and livestock, ensuring bountiful harvests.
As human life becomes increasingly modern, the family meal remains the most sacred, warm, and loving place, because in the subconscious of every person, there is a heart that yearns for their roots. This is especially true during Vietnamese spiritual festivals. The meal offered to King Hung, when all family members are present, is a time for them to continue listening, sharing, and deeply upholding the principle of "drinking water, remembering the source," helping each person to improve their own character and personality.
The worship of ancestors with specific offerings and rituals, including the preparation of a ceremonial meal to present to ancestors on the National Commemoration Day, is the most distinctive and clearest cultural feature of the practice of the Hung Kings worship belief. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Tho province has also compiled promotional materials about the significance of the Hung Kings worship belief and the Hung Kings Commemoration Day, sending them to localities so that people can better understand their national origins.
On the main day of the Ancestor Commemoration Ceremony, the family of Ms. Vu Thi Hoa (Hamlet 2, Hung Lo Commune, Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province) prepares offerings and a meal to burn incense.
All of these offerings express reverence to the ancestors, with the hope of praying for bountiful harvests and the flourishing of all things.
Each family may have slightly different customs, but basically, the feast must include chicken, pork sausage, and sticky rice cakes (bánh chưng and bánh giầy).
For millennia, the Hung Kings Commemoration Day has been considered a major national holiday (National Day) and has become a sacred sentiment deeply ingrained in the hearts of every Vietnamese person. It is also a symbol of unique and profound cultural and spiritual values, reflecting the spirit of national unity and the beautiful traditional moral principle of "drinking water, remembering the source," remembering our ancestors and the Hung Kings who contributed to the founding and preservation of the nation.
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