State President Luong Cuong offers incense at Ngoc Son Temple (Photo: Thanh Long/World and Vietnam Newspaper).
The event formed part of Homeland Spring 2026, an annual programme organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the Hanoi People’s Committee.
After the ceremony, the state president, his wife and overseas Vietnamese representatives took part in the traditional release of carp into Hoan Kiem Lake.
The event took place just days before the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, which in Vietnamese tradition marks the farewell ritual for the Kitchen Gods as they depart for heaven.
Earlier, the overseas Vietnamese delegation visited President Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and laid wreaths at the memorial for heroic martyrs on Bac Son Street in Hanoi.
Later on February 8, Luong Cuong is scheduled to extend Lunar New Year greetings to overseas Vietnamese and strike the ceremonial drum to open the spring festival during the Homeland Spring 2026 cultural exchange programme at the National Convention Centre.
Homeland Spring 2026 runs from February 6 to 9 in Hanoi, with linked activities in Ninh Binh Province, and is attended by about 1,500 overseas Vietnamese.
