Full moon of July, looking back to ancestors and origins

Back to the roots

A few days before the Full Moon Festival of July, many fishermen from the coastal village of Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau) temporarily stopped their fishing trips, putting aside their daily hard work at sea to prepare for the Full Moon Festival.

Mr. Nguyen Van Linh (29 years old) in Hai Nam hamlet shared: “It has been 4 years since I was busy working far away and could not return home to celebrate the Full Moon Festival in July, so this year I decided to stay home to celebrate the Full Moon Festival. I have taken a few days off from fishing at sea to clean the house and shop with my family to prepare for the Full Moon Festival. In my hometown, this Full Moon Festival is the biggest Full Moon Festival of the year, every family organizes a tray of offerings to celebrate the Full Moon Festival and goes to the family temple to pay respect to their ancestors.”

Cozy atmosphere on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month at Nguyen The family temple (Thanh Chuong). Photo: Huy Thu

According to Mr. Linh, like previous years, this Full Moon, his family members will join hands to cook several trays of rice with familiar dishes such as sticky rice, boiled chicken, braised meat and other seafood specialties to worship their ancestors.

Perhaps not only his family but also many households in this coastal countryside, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is the time when brothers and relatives gather, turn to their roots, go to the family temple together to burn incense for their ancestors, hoping for good health, calm seas, and a bountiful harvest.

As Mr. Linh said, for the people of his coastal village, the Full Moon of the seventh lunar month is a “bonus festival” for seafarers. They can stay home to celebrate the Full Moon, socialize, connect, and choose new business trips.

Ancestral altar on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month in Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau). Photo: Hoai Linh

For the people of Thanh Chuong - the homeland of hill chicken and black plum specialties, this Full Moon of the seventh lunar month is a good price, crowded with customers, products are sold smoothly, thanks to that, the full moon celebration is also more bustling, the atmosphere of welcoming the Full Moon is also more joyful with the spirit of preserving, conserving and promoting traditions.

Mr. Tran Cong Thang (29 years old), residing in Thanh An commune, said: On the 15th day of the 7th lunar month this year, his family still follows the old tradition. On the 15th day, his parents still get up early to prepare a full and neat meal to worship their grandparents and a tray of sticky rice and chicken to bring to the family temple to worship their ancestors.

Unlike the Full Moon of January, when the ancestors are worshipped at the main temple, the Full Moon of July is given priority at the branches of the family. For him, from childhood to adulthood, there are many beautiful memories of the Full Moon of July. The most unforgettable memory is probably the time when the brothers in the family gather in a long line to carry the offerings to the temple to worship the ancestors, which is very joyful and emotional.

Although material life has changed a lot, every Full Moon Festival in July - Vu Lan Festival - the descendants of the family still gather together to pay their respects to their ancestors and roots.

Thanh Chuong youth carry offerings to worship on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Photo: Huy Thu

In Thanh An commune, there are currently many large clans such as Nguyen Canh, Nguyen Danh, Nguyen Van, Nguyen Huu, Nguyen Quoc, Nguyen Quang, Tran Cong, Tran Van, Tran Dinh... The common point of these clans is that they all maintain the traditional beauty of worshipping their ancestors on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Every 15th day, many children of the clans make a pilgrimage to their hometown. The preparation of the offerings as well as the organization of the ancestral worship ceremony are very thorough, civilized, and in accordance with the fine customs of the homeland.

With the concept of "The whole year has a Full Moon in July, the whole year has a Full Moon in January", not only in Dien Chau, Thanh Chuong... but also many other rural areas in Nghe An such as Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai Town, Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen... also organize Full Moon celebrations and Full Moon meals with a bustling, jubilant, and cozy atmosphere.

Depending on the customs, cultural traditions, and economic conditions of each region, the practice of worshiping and eating the Full Moon Festival of local people has its own unique features, contributing to the richness and diversity of cultural colors on the Full Moon Festival in July in Nghe An.

The Nguyen The family altar in Thanh My commune (Thanh Chuong) on ​​the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Photo: Huy Thu

Since ancient times, the Full Moon of the Seventh Lunar Month has been associated with the Vu Lan festival, which shows the gratitude of children and grandchildren for the birth and upbringing of their parents, and the deeply humanistic spiritual belief, which is the day of "pardoning the sins of the dead" with the custom of worshiping, praying for the souls of the wandering souls. These two cultural features have been practiced by the people, associated with filial piety, gratitude to parents, and remembrance of ancestors and origins.

Spreading the spirit of humanity

This year, in the context of the pandemic temporarily easing, localities in Nghe An happily welcomed the Full Moon Festival in July with a jubilant and cozy atmosphere. Before the Full Moon Festival, many children from far away from home made pilgrimages to their hometowns. Preparations for the Full Moon Festival in localities were also quite bustling, especially the purchase of offerings and decoration of family and ancestral altars.

Mr. Le Van Thinh (58 years old) in Quang Son commune (Do Luong) said that the Le Van family in hamlet 5, Quang Son commune has a long history with nearly 100 households. Organizing the celebration of the 15th of the 7th lunar month, on the morning of the 14th, more than 20 people gathered at the church and marched together into the mountains to burn incense for their ancestors.

On the morning of the 15th, according to ancient custom, each family prepared a tray of sticky rice and chicken and brought it to the ancestral altar to pay respect to their ancestors, except for families whose mourning had not yet ended, who did not have to prepare a tray. More than 80 trays of sticky rice and chicken were carefully arranged, covering all 3 altars of the upper house.

The chicken sticky rice offering for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is elaborately "designed". Photo: Huy Thu

During the ancestor worship ceremony, the team dressed in formal attire performed the traditional ritual, with a drum and gong orchestra, chanters, incense and wine offerers, and performers. Amidst the billowing incense smoke and the resounding music, the ancestor worship ceremony at the family temple took place solemnly.

After the ceremony, the family discussed common work and presented gifts to excellent students. This year, the Le Van family has nearly 70 students from kindergarten to grade 12 with good academic performance, achieving the title of excellent student, advanced student, passing university and college entrance exams, and were awarded prizes from 20,000 to 200,000 VND. According to Mr. Thinh, the family's Scholarship Fund has been established for decades and is awarded every ancestor worshiping occasion on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, to encourage children in the family to strive to study well.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Hung (30 years old) of Thanh Dong commune (Thanh Chuong) shared: On the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, my family gathers to worship at the middle-level temple, not at the great-level temple like on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. I am currently the patriarch of the 9th generation of the middle-level branch in Thanh Dong 5 village, Thanh Dong commune. My family branch currently has 26 households, which is the second branch of the large clan (with 3 branches).

According to old customs, on the afternoon of the 14th lunar month, the children and grandchildren in the family gather to clean the church, then visit the graves and burn incense for their ancestors in the cemetery. The women gather to cook and prepare the dishes. The elders arrange the altar, make betel, pour wine... From fruits to areca nuts, all are from the family, from the garden. The rooster for the feast was chosen by the grandmother several months ago.

Offering incense at the ancestral altar on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Photo: Huy Thu

The ancestor worship ceremony on the 15th of the seventh lunar month includes a proclamation ceremony and a grand ceremony. The afternoon proclamation ceremony is usually the most crowded, with both paternal and maternal grandchildren bringing offerings to the shrine. This year, the epidemic has temporarily subsided, so the clan slaughters a whole pig, and after the ceremony, the descendants gather to enjoy the feast. On the morning of the 15th, each household prepares a tray of sticky rice and chicken and brings it home to worship their ancestors.

The Nguyen Huu clan usually worships the 15th day of the 7th lunar month earlier than other clans, around 7am because their ancestors passed down that there was a man who worked outside the Lady Temple, so they had to worship early. After worshiping their ancestors, the clan leader praises their children and grandchildren who are good at studying and achieving high results, organizes the awarding of prizes, and discusses some tasks, such as renovating the church and cemetery, announcing income and expenditures, etc.

Mr. Hung added: "My husband and I work in Vinh. This year's full moon falls in the middle of the week, and the office does not allow us to take a day off, but my family still tries to arrange it to go back to our hometown and go to the family church, because the whole year we have the full moon in July."

Giving gifts to encourage learning after the ancestor worship ceremony on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month at Nguyen The family (Thanh Chuong). Photo: Huy Thu

Folklore says "People have ancestors, like trees have roots, like rivers have sources", the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is an occasion for descendants from all over to return to their roots, show gratitude to their ancestors and spread the humanistic spirit of the nation.

For people in the villages of Nghe An, the Full Moon of the seventh lunar month is a big festival for family and homeland. For those far from home, the Full Moon is an opportunity to bring their children and grandchildren back to visit their homeland, meet relatives and clans, express their feelings and report to their grandparents, parents and ancestors.

On the full moon day, people can share feelings, discuss building churches, merit, encourage learning, visit relatives, strengthen brotherhood and family relationships, encourage children and grandchildren to study hard and work to build an increasingly strong family line.

The economic and social life of the country and homeland is increasingly developing, the organization of the Full Moon worship and the Full Moon feast of the people of Nghe An may change somewhat to be more suitable with the modern lifestyle, but the traditional rituals and humanistic spirit are still preserved, promoted and spread in the community.