Burning a lot of money for votive offerings is not enough to fulfill filial piety!

(Baonghean.vn)- Vu Lan Festival - the day when children and grandchildren show their gratitude to their deceased parents and grandparents. According to the thousand-year-old custom of the Vietnamese people, regardless of their status, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, children and grandchildren prepare offerings to commemorate the merits of their parents, grandparents and ancestors. Therefore, every family and every individual rushes to buy offerings for the deceased.

The votive paper is also worth millions!

A simple offering to grandparents and parents is made of paper, just a few sets of clothes, some gold coins, more luxurious is adding a "house", "car" to make the grandparents less tired. Simple offerings of only 50 - 60 thousand dong, called "sincere offerings", many people feel that this is thoughtful, grandparents and parents are sacred, they should witness for their children and grandchildren. However, when walking around traditional markets like Vinh market, I came across cyclos carrying massive "villas", "luxury cars", gold, white, blue horses decorated elaborately and brilliantly. When I asked, I found out that it was just an offering from a rich family, the transporter was not convenient to inform me, and I only had time to know that the total amount of offerings was up to... 8 million dong!

Is it really necessary to spend so much money on burning votive paper?

The votive offerings are extremely rich with a variety of types. From traditional items such as horses, dragon boats, shoes, sandals, etc., votive offerings now include modern items such as rice cookers, digital receivers, gas stoves, microwaves, washing machines, air conditioners, etc. In addition to "hell dollars", there are now 500,000 VND bills, which look exactly like the real thing, with only slightly different patterns and also many different prices. As for gold coins, the prices are also extremely rich: a plate of cheap gold coins costs only 2,000 VND, but a nail of gold coins including hell paper money, hell dollars, US dollars, 500,000 VND bills costs up to 40,000 VND, not to mention gold leaves and gold bars packaged separately. Each set of clothes costs on average from 20 to 30 thousand, with all kinds of office dresses, jeans, etc. Gas stoves and rice cookers are also around 20 - 40 thousand. A small horse costs about 20-30 thousand, a big horse costs from 60-80 thousand. A normal motorbike costs from 70-100 thousand, there are newer, more beautiful models that cost 150 thousand. But besides that, there are also simple motorbikes with small frames that cost only about 20-40 thousand. Cars are even more expensive, each one costs from 150-300 thousand (depending on the type). The same goes for houses, there are also ones that cost only about 200 thousand, but houses built in the style of a mansion or a large villa are not cheap, some cost up to several million. There are also complete sets of votive offerings that include almost all the necessary items in the house such as beds, wardrobes, tables and chairs, bowls, chopsticks, teapots, etc. Buying a complete set is cheaper than buying each item separately, only about 300-600 thousand/set. There are small sets including phones, mirrors, and combs for only about 30 thousand VND... That means people can buy votive offerings based on their income level, with a variety of designs and prices for customers to choose from!

When asked about the “Manufacturer”, most of the traders refused to reveal, they just said that the goods were imported from other provinces, if they liked something that the store did not have, customers could order it, whatever material they liked and at what price they just needed to call the manufacturer, and they would have it by tomorrow afternoon. It is true that the times are “fast as lightning”! Only then do we know that the lives of the dead, “noble or humble”, are probably thanks to the kindness of their descendants in the living world!

Ms. Ha - a long-time trader of votive offerings at Vinh market, said: "Perhaps due to the many fluctuations in the market economy, this year there are not as many customers as in previous years, but from early morning to 2 pm I only stop to have lunch. A year only has a few days like that, these days I cannot do all the work by myself, my daughter has to help, so I have to work one day and eat the next, I have to try, what can I do". In addition, traders of these spiritual items, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, receive phone calls from regular customers to pack their goods, some orders are up to tens of millions of VND. Showing me a thick book of invoices, Ms. Phuong of Vinh market said: "More than a dozen orders have been packed, since this morning my two grandchildren have had to help but are not strong enough to pack the goods".

On a day like this, people like Mrs. Ha and Mrs. Phuong can earn at least 2 million VND. The reason why they are trusted by customers is not necessarily because they have many years of experience in the profession, but rather because they are able to guide the setting up of the ceremony, prepare the ceremony, and sometimes even advise customers on the prayers.

It is normal for small traders selling votive offerings to earn 20-30 million VND per day!

depending on the ceremony

To prepare an offering for the “day of pardon for the dead”, some families only burn a few symbolic things such as gold coins, some fabric, and clothes. However, some thoughtful people want to prepare everything from A to Z, saying “as in this world, so in the afterlife”, so a full offering at a normal level “only costs a few million VND”, while a luxury offering that is specially ordered with “premium” materials can cost up to tens of millions of VND…

When asked about the meaning of these offerings by a middle-aged guest, he said: “As for beliefs, it depends on the heart. If I want my grandparents to be prosperous in the afterlife, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is the day they can receive everything, so I prepare everything for them from A to Z. My offering costs 3 million, including a maid for them, but that’s nothing compared to how much our grandparents and parents took care of us when they were alive” (!). A woman standing next to me disagreed: “Actually, all these paper items were invented by us living people. When our grandparents and parents are still alive, we have to be good and live well so that they will be prosperous in the afterlife. There are many people who, when their parents were still alive, just scolded them, but now that they have passed away, they show their filial piety by preparing offerings that lack nothing… I wonder if my grandparents and parents want to receive them?”

Buying things for the deceased, so that their relatives in the afterlife can have enough food, is the wish and spiritual practice of many people in modern society. Those “useful items” for the deceased will eventually turn to dust.

If every household "burns" a few hundred thousand dong on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the whole province will have spent tens of billions of dong...

So should we "make do with money"?

Thanh Nga