Phu Tho: festival dedicated to nation's legendary mother

ABO/VNA - A festival dedicated to Mother Au Co – the legendary mother of Vietnam – opened in Hien Luong commune of Ha Hoa district, the northern province of Phu Tho, on February 22 (or the seventh day of the first month of the Year of the Dog).

A palanquin procession taking offerings to the Au Co Temple (Photo: VNA)

The festival began with a ritual worshipping the guardian deity at the local communal house. A palanquin procession took offerings from the communal house to the Au Co Temple to pray for peace, good weather, prosperity and happiness.

The Au Co Temple festival marked the start of festive activities in Phu Tho in spring.
The temple was built under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong (15th century) and named a national historical and cultural relic site in 1991. On January 23, 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognised the worship of Mother Au Co at the temple as part of the national intangible cultural heritage.
 
Legend has it that Au Co, who was a fairy, descended to earth on the seventh day of the first lunar month. She met with Lac Long Quan and gave birth to 100 sons. Fifty of them followed their father to the sea and the other half followed their mother to the mountains in the upstream Red River.

(Source: NDO)