If you – travelers – plan to visit Vietnam in the upcoming April, please remember to note down one of the most important festivals in Vietnamese culture will occur in the 16th of April. This day, we – Vietnamese, will celebrate the Death Anniversary of Hung Kings as for Vietnamese people’s belief, the death anniversary is more important than the birthday itself when memorizing the passed away. Indochina tours in Vietnam
So let’s begin with who are Hung Kings and why all of us,Vietnamese, celebrate them nationwide but not the other kings.
As been told by the legend, the first Hung king and the first King ever of Vietnam was the eldest son of Lac Long Quan and Au Co which was father and mother of Vietnamese people. The Hung dynasty then lasted for the next 17 kings with the name for the country back then was Van Lang until it ended in B.C 258 by the man named Thuc Phan later became An Duong King. During the period of which Hung Kings ruled which has been told to be 2,622 years, Vietnamese people had worked hard in agriculture and farming and developed a lot of inventions to save time and efforts while working. They had created the most famous and well-received food that still remains its reputation till now which are Chung and Day cake. The two cakes represent the symbols of the sky and earth with the ingredient not only can find easily around but also delicious and can be eaten by anyone. The creation of two cakes was also the reason why the fourth Hung King had come to power since the third King asked all of his sons to bring him the most unique food in both meaning and taste with the winner would be given the crown. To this day, both cakes are often made and consumed during Vietnamese New Year days to remember the origin of it; also when sitting around waiting for the cake to be ready, family members can have the small talks about each one’s achievements, issues and failure in the year which somehow bring people closer to each other.
The dynasty also get famous thanks to the tales of many princes and princess of which the most famous can be related to how the last Hung King held a contest to find the groom for his second daughter. The requirements to have the hand of the princess was to find and bring all of the rarities and special things. Two of the contestant, Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh – the God of Mountain and the God of Water, were the most potential. After all, Son Tinh was the winner but that did not satisfy Thuy Tinh; he claimed that was unfair and raised the water in all the rivers to drown Son Tinh and everyone down and would stop only when the princess belongs to him. However, as he raised the water, Son Tinh raised the mountain to block the flow and saved other people. Each could not win and kept fighting forth and back till Thuy Tinh was so tired the deciding to retreat. However, he did not give up and kept coming back every year. This fight is the metaphor of how the monsoon in Vietnam is each year and how brave and persevere Son Tinh aka Vietnam people to the power of nature.
Coming back to the topic, the anniversary will be held in several Hung Kings’ Temple across the center; however, the biggest one which attract most will be at PhuTho – the old capital back when Hung King still in power. The festival in Phu Tho attracts about almost 3 million people from all the provinces in the country. Each person come with the wish of showing respect to the Kings and learning about the history of Vietnam.
Often, the festival will happen on March 10th lunar calendar every year and this year will be April 16th. This day is now officially became National Holiday Day so everyone will have a day off work and have the chance to show the respect to the King in their own ways.
For you, my friends who come to Vietnam on this occasion, let try the two cakes: Chung and Day; although it’s often made in New Year, the cakes are still available in small street stalls or at the market for you to have a taste.
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