Vietnam Ancestral Global Day to be celebrated in three continents

An art performance by overseas Vietnamese in Germany to celebrate the Hung Kings Memorial Day 2017.(Photo: VNA)

The Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese, VAGD Project Mobilisation and Vietnamese embassies and expats in Laos, Thailand, Japan, Canada and Poland will run the events.

The day is designed following a shared format, which consists of three parts – incense offering to pay tribute to Hung Kings; art and musical performances; and scientific seminars and workshops.

Legend has it that the Hung Kings ruled Vietnam from 2879 BC until 258 BC and they are considered the founders of the nation. To honour the Kings, the 10th day of the third lunar month is designated as their national commemorative anniversary date. 

The worshipping rituals of the Hung Kings are closely related to the ancestral worshipping tradition of most Vietnamese families which forms an important part of people's spiritual life. It was recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.

The annual Hung Kings’ Temple Festival is usually celebrated by overseas Vietnamese in a similar fashion to that at home. However, in the past, as expats held the celebrations sporadically and without a centralised format, they generally attracted little attention from community members and international friends.

Since 2015, the VAGD Project has moved towards three key goals: To preserve and spread the Intangible Cultural Heritage “Hung Kings’ worship rite” abroad; to hold discussions, seminars and workshops to connect and promote intercultural exchange between Vietnamese and other cultures in the world; and to build a strategy to spread and advertise Vietnamese cultural (spiritual) values in the life of overseas Vietnamese, host countries and international friends.

The non-profit socio-cultural project aims to bring public values to overseas Vietnamese all over the world./.

VNA