Warm Lantern Festival in Nghe An
On the occasion of the Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month) of the year of the Snake, many rural areas in Nghe An are filled with the sound of sacrificial drums and the joy of reunions of descendants of different clans. This is an occasion for people to turn to their families and ancestors, showing their filial piety to the deceased generations.
Back to the roots
In the minds of Vietnamese people in general and Nghe An people in particular, the Full Moon Festival in January (also known as Tet Nguyen Tieu, Tet Thuong Nguyen) is a very important holiday, officially ending the Lunar New Year.
With the peopleThanh Chuong district, the ancestor worship ceremony in early spring is an important occasion, "every family goes to the clan". The Nguyen Van clan, Thuy Hong block, Dung town originated from Tien Hai district (Thai Binh). In 1740, the ancestor Nguyen Cong Trai migrated to Con Tieu land, Linh Thuy village, Thanh La commune (Thanh Linh). Up to now, it has gone through 15 generations, with 5 branches. This is a clan with a long tradition, and was awarded many royal decrees by the feudal court.
Every year, on each occasion of ancestor worship, during the announcement ceremony, descendants will offer betel, areca, wine, fruits... During the main ceremony, each family prepares a tray of sticky rice and chicken and brings it to the ancestor worship house. The ancestor worship ritual is performed in full accordance with ancient customs. During the ancestor worship ceremony in early spring, the clan has a program to give gifts to encourage learning to children with high academic achievements, celebrate longevity for the elders who reach the age of 70-80-90-100..., especially there are gifts for the households with the most beautiful sticky rice and chicken trays.
Mr. Nguyen Van An (32 years old), a descendant of the family, shared: Every time the ancestors are worshiped in early Spring, although I am busy with work, I still arrange time to attend with the thought "Life is due to the ancestors", "When drinking water, remember the source", no matter where I go, I still turn to my ancestors.
Depending on specific conditions, each clan has its own methods and regulations in contributing funds as well as the content of the ancestor worship program. Mr. Le Van Dat (31 years old) of Dong Van commune shared: His Le Dai Ton family temple in Xuan Loc hamlet worships the ancestor Le Canh Dan, up to now the 22nd generation. The ancestor worship ceremony in early spring is carefully prepared by the clan council.
On the morning of January 14, all descendants gather at the ancestral temple to visit the graves. The head of the family - the person in charge of the ceremony - is responsible for boiling water and preparing incense and lamps. After visiting the graves, everyone returns to the family church to have a family meeting, listen to the report on the past year's income and expenditure, develop the plan for the ancestral worship, and assign tasks to the branches.
On the morning of the 15th, every family prepares a tray of sticky rice and chicken and brings it to the family temple to worship their ancestors. The ceremony is held solemnly. The worship team and the music team wear traditional costumes, with neat ao dai and turban. After the ceremony, relatives on both sides of the family enjoy the first spring feast at the family temple.
Thanh Chuong district has many famous clans such as Nguyen Sy, Nguyen Canh, Chu, Bui, Ton, Tran, Phan Sy, Nguyen Nhu, Nguyen Huu, Le... Towards the 15th day of the first lunar month, the first day of Spring, the clans have many warm activities to celebrate their roots.
On this occasion, the Clan Councilfamilywill organize and prepare the Full Moon offering quite elaborately and thoughtfully… On the Full Moon day, descendants from all over the world turn to the family temple, expressing gratitude and respect for their ancestors. On the day of ancestor worship, families often report to their ancestors the achievements that their descendants have achieved.
The clan council organizes longevity celebrations for the elderly. The education promotion committee of some clans will organize commendations and present gifts to encourage learning and talent to children with good academic achievements...
The Spring Ancestor Worship Ceremony is an opportunity for descendants to express their respect to their ancestors, to interact, to learn about their relatives and bloodlines, to ask about their health and work, to strengthen their brotherly ties, and to pray for a lucky new year. The tradition of “going to the relatives to worship their ancestors” is being preserved, promoted and spread by Thanh Chuong people.
Community Engagement
After Lunar New Year, the Full Moon Festival in January is also considered a warm reunion festival for families, becoming a beautiful traditional cultural feature associated with the lives of Dien Chau people.
The Truong - Dang Cong ancestral temple (the communal temple of the Truong and Dang Cong families) in Dien Ky commune (Dien Chau district) was built in 1549, worshiping the two village guardian gods, Truong Cong Quang and Dang Phuc Thiem. Up to now, the descendants of Truong Cong Quang and Dang Phuc Thiem have developed to 23 generations with 31 large and small branches and nearly 1,000 households.
In recognition of the merits of their ancestors and their dedication to the Revolution, in 1997 the Truong - Dang Cong family was awarded the "Second Class Resistance Medal" by the State. Like many other families, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the family held a worship ceremony. Not only those living nearby but also most of the descendants in the family across the country remembered this tradition, returning to the family temple to burn incense and prepare offerings to their ancestors.
Mr. Dang Xuan Quang - member of the Truong - Dang Cong family council shared: "On the morning of the full moon day, many descendants gather at the ancestral temple to perform the main ceremony. The offering tray includes a pig's head, a rooster, sticky rice, rice wine, a plate of betel and areca nuts, and fruits. At this point, everyone lights an incense stick on the ancestral altar, praying for the souls of the deceased to be liberated, to bless the homeland, and to give the descendants of the family the best things."
Offering sacrifices to ancestors at the beginning of the year is a beautiful tradition, deeply rooted in the hearts of each person, expressing gratitude to their ancestors and family. In addition, this is also an occasion to pray for peace at the beginning of the year, hoping for national peace and prosperity, family and family to have peace, prosperity and happiness.
Dien Chau district has over 900 branches, sub-branches and clans, of which over 600 clans have built spacious clan temples and 350 clans have achieved the title of Cultural Clan. On the occasion of the 15th day of the first lunar month every year, all clans in Dien Chau hold a ceremony to worship their ancestors. This is a way for descendants to express their respect and gratitude to their ancestors and origins, in order to strive to do better in their work and studies.
Do Luong district also has many clans that hold ancestor worship ceremonies on this occasion.Full moon in January. For the Tran Duc family in Yen Son commune (Do Luong), the ceremony takes place from the afternoon and night of the 14th day of the first lunar month. Descendants take turns bringing offerings to the altar to express their respect and pray for their ancestors to bless them with good luck and good things in life.
Mr. Tran Tuan Thi, a son of the Tran Duc family, currently living in Vinh city, has arranged his work to return to his hometown on the occasion of the Ancestor Worship Ceremony. According to Mr. Thi, when entering the grounds of the main temple, hearing the sound of the sacrificial drum, meeting the people performing the ceremony in solemn ceremonial costumes, in the quiet atmosphere of incense smoke, one feels as if the ancestors are very close and are watching over their descendants.
In Yen Thanh district, most of the clans worship their ancestors on the full moon of January, so on this day, the whole village is bustling and excited. In particular, on this occasion, the rice fields also organize drum beating competitions between clans, making the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival even more bustling.
Each clan sends its drum team to participate in the competition. The winning team will bring joy to the whole clan, as well as hope for a year of abundance and prosperity. Therefore, the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival in the rice-growing Yen Thanh is no less joyful than the days of the Lunar New Year.
Along with Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Dien Chau and Yen Thanh, the countrysides of Quynh Luu, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan... are also bustling with the sound of sacrificial drums during the Full Moon Festival of January. The sound of drums and the smoke of incense act as a sacred bridge connecting the wishes and sincerity of descendants with their ancestors, a traditional cultural feature that anchors the human soul to its roots.
