Full moon of July, towards ancestors and origins

Back to the roots

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

Mr. Nguyen Van Linh (29 years old) in Hai Nam hamlet shared: “It has been 4 years since I have been busy working far away and have not been able to return home to celebrate the Full Moon of the 7th lunar month, so this year I decided to stay home to celebrate the Full Moon. I have taken a few days off from hauling "gia" at sea to clean the house and shop with my family to prepare for the Full Moon. In my hometown, this Full Moon is the biggest Full Moon of the year, every family organizes a tray of offerings for the Full Moon and goes to the family temple to worship 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 specialties of the coastal village 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 July 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 wake 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 worshiped 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 when the brothers in the family gather in a long line to carry the offerings to the temple to worship the ancestors, 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 respect 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. On this full moon occasion, 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 the Full Moon of July, the whole year has the Full Moon of 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 the Full Moon festival and eat the Full Moon festival with a bustling, jubilant, and cozy atmosphere.

Depending on the customs, cultural traditions, and economic conditions of each region, the practice of worshipping 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 Day of the seventh lunar month 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 subsided, 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 July, 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 worship 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 Full Moon Festival in July is elaborately "designed". Photo: Huy Thu

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

After the ceremony, the clan discussed common work and presented gifts to excellent students. This year, the Le Van clan has nearly 70 students from kindergarten to grade 12 with good academic performance, achieving the title of excellent students, advanced students, passing university and college entrance exams, and were awarded prizes ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 VND. According to Mr. Thinh, the clan's Scholarship Fund has been established for decades and is awarded every ancestor worshiping day on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, to encourage children in the clan 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 branch currently has 26 households, which is the 2nd branch of the great 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 sisters gather to cook and set the trays. The elders arrange the altar, prepare betel, pour wine... From fruit 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 July has 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 makes a tray of sticky rice and chicken and brings it home to worship the ancestors.

The Nguyen Huu clan usually worships the Full Moon of July earlier than other clans, around 7am, because their ancestors passed down that there was a person who worked outside the Ba Chua Temple, so they had to worship early. After worshipping their ancestors, the clan leader praises his children and grandchildren who have achieved good results in their studies, organizes the award ceremony, and discusses some tasks, such as renovating the church and cemetery, announcing income and expenditure, 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 we have the full moon in July all year round."

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, "Humans 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 the world 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 hometown. For those who are far from home, the Full Moon is an opportunity to bring their children and grandchildren back to 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, making merit, encouraging learning, visiting relatives, strengthening brotherhood and family relationships, and encouraging children and grandchildren to study hard and work to build an increasingly strong family line.

The socio-economic 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.