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Hung Kings Commemoration Day honors the legendary Hùng kings, whom Vietnamese tradition remembers as the nation’s founders. It falls every year on the tenth day of the third lunar month, so its Gregorian date changes. The principal ceremony is held at the Hùng Temple in Phú Thọ, while worship of the Hùng kings is practiced in communities elsewhere in Vietnam throughout the year.
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When is Hung Kings Commemoration Day?
The observance falls on the tenth day of the third lunar month. Because it follows the lunar calendar, there is no fixed Gregorian date. Vietnam Government News reported that the day fell on April 7 in 2025. The Vietnam National Museum of History identified April 25–27 as the 2026 holiday period and the tenth day of the lunar month as the holiday itself, making the 2026 observance April 26.
Vietnam has recognized the anniversary as a national holiday since 2007. The number of days off around it can vary: for example, a 2025 government report described three consecutive days off, April 5–7. That was the schedule for that year, not a permanent rule. Check an official annual notice for the date and work schedule in any other year.
Who are the Hùng kings, and what does the day mean?
The Hùng kings are remembered in Vietnamese national tradition as the country’s founders. The commemoration expresses gratitude to ancestors and acknowledges a shared origin; it is a statement of cultural memory and belief, not an independently established chronology of ancient rulers.
The observance’s importance is also expressed in a folk verse reproduced in English translation by the Dong Nai Union of Friendship Organizations: “No matter who goes back and forth / Commemorate the death anniversary on the 10th day of the third month.” The source does not identify the lyricist or establish this wording as a canonical translation.
Vietnam Government News attributes a related statement to President Hồ Chí Minh, speaking at Giếng (Water-well) Temple on September 19, 1954: “The Hùng Kings founded the country. Now we must safeguard the country.” The words were delivered in that historical setting and reflect the commemorative tradition’s link between national origins and responsibility to the country.
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Where is the main commemoration?
The largest annual ceremony takes place at the Hùng Temple on Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain in Phú Thọ. UNESCO describes the principal festival as lasting about a week near the beginning of the third lunar month. Its 2012 heritage description says “millions of people” converge annually on the site; that is UNESCO’s broad wording, not a precise audited attendance count.
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The main festival is only one expression of the tradition. Worship also takes place at sites around Vietnam throughout the year. UNESCO’s inscription concerns the living worship of Hùng kings in Phú Thọ, involving ceremonies, offerings, pilgrimages and performances—not just the anniversary-day event. Its decision describes participation by communities in more than a hundred villages in Phú Thọ and elsewhere, alongside local ritual leaders and safeguarding measures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happens during the festival?
Ritual and community culture come together in the ceremonies. UNESCO describes people from surrounding villages wearing ceremonial dress and competing to provide a palanquin and valued objects of worship for the main rite. Communities prepare rice-based delicacies, including square cakes and glutinous cakes. Processions, drums and gongs, prayers and petitions, bronze drum performances, Xoan singing and other verbal and folk arts are part of the documented practices.
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The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism lists offerings that may include sticky rice, fruit, wine, rice, salt, boiled chicken, raw pork, bánh chưng and bánh dày. It also describes incense burning, presenting offerings, reading a testament, prayer and folk games. Specific offerings and activities vary by place and rite; there is not one identical program followed by every household or temple.
Why is the worship recognized by UNESCO?
In 2012, UNESCO inscribed the worship of Hùng kings in Phú Thọ on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO’s description connects the tradition with ancestor reverence, spiritual solidarity, social cohesion, and Vietnamese cultural and moral identity. The inscription recognizes a community-supported living tradition and its safeguarding, rather than treating the festival as a single performance or a tourist attraction.
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How to decide where to experience it
The main Hùng Temple ceremony offers the large public festival; local worship sites provide other settings for encountering the tradition. Choose based on the year’s date and program, the location and travel time, and whether you want the principal gathering or a quieter cultural visit. Current access, transport, accommodation and event arrangements are not established by the annual lunar date, so confirm them with current official notices before traveling.
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