Hanoi celebrates 995th anniversary of the Pledge of Allegiance Festival at Dong Co Temple
In the middle of the courtyard of Dong Co Temple, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, an incense burner was lit. People gathered in a solemn atmosphere and recited the oath: “The unfilial children, the disloyal servants, God will destroy them.” That’s the main rite of the Loyalty Oath Festival of Dong Co Temple, which has been maintained in the capital for nearly 1,000 years. Thanks to its historical and cultural values, the festival has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. The festival is the only one that provides a place for mandarins of the past and Party members of the present to take an oath of loyalty to the country. It’s also an opportunity for the people to show gratitude to their ancestors and pray for national peace and prosperity. Dong Co Temple is located on Thuy Khue Street, about 300 meters from the southwestern shore of the West Lake. Legend has it that in 1020, Crown Prince Phat Ma (later enthroned as King Ly Thai Tong) led a troop south to fight the in