Spending millions of dong to... burn votive paper
(Baonghean.vn) - In the first days of the year, locals and tourists from all over the world come to Ong Hoang Muoi Temple (Nghe An) to celebrate spring and pray for peace in the new year.
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| After Tet, people flock to Ong Hoang Muoi Temple in Hung Thinh Commune, Hung Nguyen District (Nghe An) to pray for peace and luck in life. |
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| In addition to burning incense, people also buy paper “horses” to burn. The paper horses are elaborately decorated and eye-catching. The paper horses here come in many sizes from 1-2m and cost from 300,000 to 500,000 VND each. |
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| Not only buying the “horse”, many people also pay from 400,000 to 500,000 VND for a set of petitions and a mannequin to bring to the temple to ward off bad luck. Depending on the believer’s desire for luck, peace, love, or ward off bad luck, they can prepare more or less offerings, the price of each offering tray ranges from 500,000 VND to several million VND. Therefore, the service of making paper horses to burn votive paper is very popular during this time. |
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| Many families spend from several million to tens of millions of dong on buying offerings to burn votive paper. Many services such as arranging offerings for hire, souvenirs, writing petitions, etc. have also flourished in front of the temple gate. |
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| Ms. Doan Thi Dung (38 years old, from Phu Tho province) and her family left on the night of February 10 to be in time for the ceremony at Ong Hoang Muoi Temple this morning. "Every year, at the beginning of the new year, my family goes to Nghe An to perform the ceremony at this sacred temple, praying for the family to have a peaceful, happy year and good luck in the new year," Ms. Dung said. In the photo: People share gold coins on the offering tray to pray for a prosperous and peaceful new year. |
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| According to the representative of the Hoang Muoi Temple Management Board, on average, people burn more than 50 sets of paper “horses” every day. In the photo: The “horses” are placed outside the shrine while people go inside to perform the ceremony. |
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| According to traditional beliefs, Lord Quan Hoang Muoi was a good general, so people turned him into a horse so that he and his soldiers could strengthen their forces and fight against foreign invaders. In the photo: After the ceremony, people brought the "horse" to the crematorium to be burned. |
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| The flowers on the tray are thrown in the trash, which is a waste. |
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| Also according to the representative of the Hoang Muoi Temple Management Board, although the management board recommends that worshipers should not burn paper horses because it can affect the environment, depending on the beliefs and needs of the people, it is very difficult to completely ban it. |
