'All in all on the 15th day of the first lunar month'

Sacrificial ceremonies in "noble and noble" families

One of the large-scale ancestor worship ceremonies on the 15th day of the first lunar month is the one held by the Ho family in Quynh Luu district. Over 640 years of formation and development, the Ho family has produced many famous people who have contributed to embellishing the glorious history of their homeland. They are Ho Thom - Emperor Quang Trung (1753 - 1792), the queen of Nom poetry Ho Xuan Huong (1772 - 1822); the third-class Doctor Ho Si Duong (1622 - 1681), the second-class Doctor Ho Phi Tich (1665 - 1734)...

It has become a tradition that every year in the middle of the first lunar month, descendants of the Ho family from all over the country gather at the main temple to attend the ancestral worship ceremony.

Ancestor worship in early spring is a beautiful tradition of the Ho family and many other families in Quynh Luu district - Nghe An. Photo: FC

In the Spring of Canh Ty 2020, due to the nCoV pandemic, the Ho family only held ancestor worship ceremonies within a limited area of ​​Nghe An province and neighboring provinces with clan representatives. Accordingly, from February 2 (the 9th day of the first lunar month) to February 5, great ceremonies took place in Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, at the Nguyen To temple (Ngoc Son commune, Quynh Luu district), the Tuc Yet ceremony and offerings at the great temple in Quynh Doi village.

For the Ho brothers, the Spring ancestor worship ceremony is also an occasion to honor individuals who have made contributions to glorifying the family.

The ceremony that many members of the family look forward to is the ceremony of the Nguyen Tat family in Do Luong district. The Nguyen Tat family in Tan Son commune has gone through 26 generations, currently has 2,500 members. Existing for many centuries, with typical values, the Nguyen Tat family temple has been recognized as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic. Every year, the Nguyen Tat family holds a ceremony to worship their ancestors on the 14th and 15th of the first lunar month.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tat Dung, a son of the family, to prepare for the solemn Full Moon Festival of January, the family has arranged a very specific schedule of activities, from dividing the descendants in the communes to offer incense, take care of the ancestors' graves, to cleaning and decorating the church... In this year's Ancestor Festival program, the Nguyen Tat family organized a cultural exchange night with the theme of "remembering the source of drinking water", listening to the family's biography, giving gifts to encourage learning, holding a ceremony for the young page and the Ancestor Festival.

Full moon decoration at Tran Vo family school in Thanh Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district.

The Tran Vo family in Thanh Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district is the first and only family in the locality to have a temple recognized as a provincial historical and cultural relic. The Tran Vo family's temple currently worships 11 generations. According to traditional customs, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the descendants of the family often bring offerings to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors. What is special is that this year, with the consensus of all levels, the descendants of the family have renovated and upgraded the ancestral temple to be spacious and clean.

Mr. Tran Vo Hiep - the 12th generation descendant of the family shared: It is an honor and pride to be born and raised in the Tran Vo family with a long history. Every time I return to offer incense to my ancestors, I feel very sacred. From a deep understanding of the tradition of my ancestors, I think I need to make more efforts to gradually improve myself, promote the tradition of my family, contribute to building my family and homeland, and continue the tradition of previous generations.

"The whole year has the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, all have the 15th day of the 1st lunar month"

Not only in Quynh Luu, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong… but many other rural areas in Nghe An such as Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen… also celebrate Tet Thuong Nguyen - Tet Nguyen Tieu with a jubilant and bustling atmosphere.

Before the full moon, brothers and sisters in families and clans visit graves, go to cemeteries to burn incense and pray to their ancestors, and invite the spirits to the ancestral altar for reunion. The work of preparing for the full moon, redecorating the church, purchasing utensils, musical instruments, preparing the fruit tray, etc. is highly valued by clans. On this occasion, clans often establish sub-committees (rituals, music, logistics, reception, etc.) to organize, manage, and prepare the full moon offerings quite elaborately and thoughtfully.

Full Moon offering tray on the altar of Tran Vo family in Thanh Chuong.

The preparation of food and offerings for worship at the church is the most important concern of each clan. If a clan organizes a common ceremony, the brothers in the clan contribute money to prepare the ceremony, or the branches divide the order of preparation by year.

Some clans organize their own ceremonies, families who prepare their own offerings usually make chicken sticky rice. Each family prepares one offering, and on the full moon day, they go to the church to worship. In Nghe An, on this full moon day, the church prepares hundreds of offerings to worship with all kinds of chicken sticky rice, famously the Hoang Van Dai Ton family in Do Luong. Depending on the tradition and regulations of each clan, each clan has its own way of preparing the ceremony.

Incense offering and wine offering ceremony on the Full Moon Festival at the family temple.

Offering to ancestors on the full moon day or offering on the full moon day is an important ritual during the Thuong Nguyen Festival. Unlike Tet when every family makes offerings, the full moon day of the first lunar month is usually only offered at the family temples, creating the tradition of "going to the family in the first lunar month".

On the full moon day of the first lunar month, descendants from all over the world turn to their family temples. Even though they are busy with a thousand and one things, they still arrange to come back to give thanks and pay tribute to their ancestors. Especially, they attend the sacred ancestral worship ceremony with their paternal and maternal relatives. The ancestral worship ceremony is solemnly organized by each family with all the traditional rituals, such as offering incense, offering wine, reading the funeral oration, etc. The ritual committee usually wears a long dress and a turban, has a master of ceremonies, chants the ceremony, and performs the ceremony with the solemn accompaniment of drums and gongs.

The bands of the big clans in Yen Thanh, Do Luong Thanh Chuong… often practice ritual music to perform on the full moon day, especially when worshiping their ancestors. The ritual music of the clans has created its own unique melody for the ritual music in the countryside of Nghe An.

Sacred ancestor worship ceremony at Tran Vo family temple, Thanh Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district.

Ancestor worship day is not only an important holiday to pay homage to one's roots and ancestors, an occasion for people to gather, exchange, and discuss their origins, kinship, bloodlines, and ask about health, work, and studies, and strengthen brotherly ties, but it is also a space to honor the academic achievements, work, and contributions of children and grandchildren, and to encourage families to study.

Mr. Ho Sy Bang, who lives in the Russian Federation, returned to his hometown to attend the ancestor worship ceremony on the 15th day of the first lunar month in Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district, and said: "In the hearts and feelings of those who are far from home, returning to their hometown to attend the ancestor worship ceremony on the 15th day of the first lunar month is something that almost everyone looks forward to. Even though many people may not be able to return to their families for Tet, they will, in one way or another, return to their hometown on the 15th day of the first lunar month."

The full moon of January - Tet Thuong Nguyen is the day for everyone to turn to their roots with sacred and precious feelings. Over thousands of years, this traditional and humane beauty of the nation is being preserved and promoted by people everywhere.