Gratitude meal to King Hung

Performed by: Nam Nguyen | April 18, 2024

(Fatherland) - With a sincere heart, grateful to the ancestors' merits, every time the Hung Kings' death anniversary comes on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month, many people in the homeland of the Ancestors in general and Hung Lo commune in particular respectfully prepare a meal and burn incense to show gratitude to the Hung Kings and ancestors who built and defended the country.

Since 2019, the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day Organizing Committee has encouraged families in Phu Tho to have a meal of gratitude, prepared by the family themselves, ensuring solemnity and warmth on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month. Since then, this activity has been increasingly expanded and received the support of the people.

According to tradition, every year, before the death anniversary of the Hung Kings, Mr. Trieu Van Dao's family is one of 5,000 people in Hy Cuong commune, Viet Tri city (Phu Tho) who prepare a carefully prepared meal with a sincere heart to offer to their ancestors and the Hung Kings, and also an occasion for their children's families to gather together.

From available local products, Mr. Dao prepared a simple but solemn offering tray, full of traditional Vietnamese dishes, expressing his respect for his ancestors with the meaning of gratitude and remembrance of King Hung.

Traditionally, the offering tray to the Hung Kings usually includes Chung cake, Giay cake and rice.

Banh chung and banh day symbolize heaven and earth. Rice was also invented by King Hung who taught people to grow rice.

In the tray of offerings there is sticky rice and non-sticky rice, as well as yin and yang, complete and harmonious.

According to Mr. Dao, preparing a tray of food to worship the ancestors who founded the country is very meaningful, both to commemorate the merits of the Hung Kings who founded the country and to teach descendants to understand more about the Hung King worship. This activity aims to contribute to affirming the value of the Hung King worship as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

According to the elderly in the vicinity of Hung Temple, the organization of the offering tray to the Hung Kings has existed for a long time, giving families the opportunity to reunite, and their descendants from near and far to commemorate the Hung Kings' contributions to building and defending the country. At the same time, educating children about the pride of being citizens of the Hung Kings' Ancestral Land - the origin of the Vietnamese nation.

Folklore researchers all affirm: The Hung King worship belief - the common ancestor worship ritual of the whole country is a typical cultural identity, unique to the Vietnamese people and also a typical cultural heritage of humanity. In the historical process, this belief has contributed to fostering pride in the origin and creating a spirit of solidarity, patriotism and love for the nation. The Ancestor's Commemoration Day is the day our whole nation pays tribute to the merits of the Hung Kings, who founded the Van Lang state, the foundation of the nation and taught people to plow the fields, plant rice, and give spiritual energy to the land, houses, crops, and livestock to thrive, and crops to be lush and bountiful.

As human life becomes more and more modern, the family meal is always the most sacred, warm place, a place filled with love, because in the subconscious of every person born, their heart turns to their roots. Especially in every spiritual occasion of the Vietnamese people. In the meal offering to King Hung when all family members are present, that is the moment they continue to listen, share, and deeply maintain the morality of "Drinking water, remember its source", helping each person to perfect their own qualities and personality.

Worshiping ancestors with specific offerings and rituals, including preparing a tray of food to offer to ancestors on the National Death Anniversary, is a unique and most obvious cultural beauty of the practice of Hung King Worship. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Tho province also compiled propaganda documents on the significance of Hung King Worship and the Hung King Death Anniversary to send to localities so that people can better understand the origin of the nation.

On the main day of the Hung Kings' death anniversary, the family of Mrs. Vu Thi Hoa (Hamlet 2, Hung Lo commune, Viet Tri, Phu Tho) prepared offerings and a tray of food to burn incense.

All show respect to ancestors, with the wish for good crops and growth of all things.

Each family will have a little difference, but basically there must be chicken, ham, and banh chung and banh giay on the tray.

For thousands of years, the Hung Kings' death anniversary has been considered a great national holiday (National death anniversary) and has become a sacred sentiment, deeply imprinted in the hearts of every Vietnamese person. This is also a symbol of extremely unique and profound cultural and spiritual values, expressing the spirit of great solidarity, the good traditional morality of "When drinking water, remember its source", remembering ancestors, the Hung Kings who had the merit of building and defending the country.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/mam-com-tri-an-vua-hung-net-dep-van-hoa-cua-nguoi-dan-dat-to-20240416180928136.htm