Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm offers incense in the Upper Sanctuary at the Upper Temple. — VNA/VNS Photo

PHÚ THỌ — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm offered incense in commemoration of Hùng Kings, the legendary founders of Việt Nam, at Kính Thiên Palace atop Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain in the northern province of Phú Thọ on April 26 morning (the tenth day of the third lunar month).

The incense offering ceremony was held in the special national historical relic site of the Hùng Kings Temple complex.

At the Kính Thiên Palace, a sacred site dedicated to the Hùng Kings, General Secretary and President Lâm, along with Party and State leaders and representatives from central and local agencies, offered incense, flowers in tribute to the ancestors who founded the nation, paving the way for the construction and development of a beautiful, prosperous, and civilised Việt Nam nowadays.

Following the incense offering, the top leader met with local residents and visitors, extending his greetings and well wishes for health, solidarity, and happiness.

He described the Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day as a deeply meaningful occasion for all Vietnamese people to honour and express gratitude to the nation’s founders as well as generations of ancestors who built and defended the country.

Recalling President Hồ Chí Minh’s famous words that “The Hùng Kings founded the nation; we must together protect it”, General Secretary and President Lâm emphasised the responsibility of the present and future generations in preserving and developing the country.

According to him, safeguarding the country today goes beyond defending territory. It includes preserving cultural values, protecting the environment, maintaining social order, strengthening public trust, and ensuring national development and prosperity.

He urged the Party organisation, authorities and people of Phú Thọ to continue preserving and enhancing the Hùng Kings Temple complex, ensuring it remains solemn, green, clean, beautiful, safe, and friendly. He also asked the younger generation to study hard, train well, uphold Vietnamese values, and deepen their understanding of the nation’s history and culture.

General Secretary and President Tô Lâm speaks to audiences at the Hùng Temple National Special Historical Relic Site. — VNA/VNS Photo

He called on Party committees, authorities, and Việt Nam Fatherland as well as mass organisations at all levels to remain attentive to public concerns, engage in dialogue with the people, address their needs and expectations, and ensure that policies effectively reach all communities, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas.

During the festive days, he also called on all forces on duty maintain a high sense of responsibility, provide attentive guidance to festival-goers, ensure security, public order, traffic safety, fire prevention and control, healthcare services, environmental hygiene, and other essential conditions, so that everyone visiting the Hùng Kings’ Temple feels safe and well cared for.

The press and media should continue to spread beautiful images of the festival, stories of kindness, civilised actions, and the historical and cultural values of the Hùng Kings’ Temple and the ancestral land.

General Secretary and President Lâm and other Party and State officials offered flowers at the bas-relief depicting President Hồ Chí Minh talking with soldiers of the Vanguard Brigade at Giếng Temple. — VNA/VNS Photo

Later, General Secretary and President Lâm and other Party and State officials offered flowers at the bas-relief depicting President Hồ Chí Minh talking with soldiers of the Vanguard Brigade at Giếng Temple and paid tribute at the Temple of Lạc Long Quân.

Legend has it that Lạc Long Quân (son of Kinh Dương Vương and Thần Long Nữ) married Âu Cơ (the fairy daughter of Đế Lai). Âu Cơ gave birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ separated. Lạc Long Quân went to the coast with fifty of the children while Âu Cơ went to the highlands with the rest.

Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Văn Lang and set up the capital in Phong Châu (now Việt Trì Ward in Phú Thọ Province), beginning the eighteen reigns of the Hùng Kings. The kings chose Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for bumper crops.

To honour their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month, which falls on April 26 this year, serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worship of the Hùng Kings, closely related to the Vietnamese people’s tradition of ancestor worship, was recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012. — VNS