A festival to commemorate the nation’s legendary mother Au Co began in Ha Hoa district, the northern midland province of Phu Tho on February 6, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
Legend has it that Au Co, a fairy and the daughter of De Lai, descended to earth on this day. Later, 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.
When the family arrived at Hien Luong commune, mother Au Co and her children were so captivated by the area’s fertility and stunning landscapes that they decided to settle there, and this was where the eldest son was crowned as King Hung.
They practised water rice cultivation to provide food, planted mulberry trees, and bred silk worms before Au Co returned to heaven on the 25 th day of the twelfth lunar month.
With a palanquin procession, art performances and folk games, the three-day festival is held in the run-up to the Hung King festival on April 18, the tenth day of the third lunar month.