Sacred Full Moon Day in July in Nghe An

Back to the roots

Every year, on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, thousands of Buddhists and people of Dien Chau district come to attend the Vu Lan ceremony to show their gratitude to their parents at Co Am pagoda, Dien Minh commune. Each person who comes to the pagoda has a wish, but everyone remembers their parents, ancestors and roots.

Ms. Pham Thi Vinh, Hamlet 4, Dien Yen Commune said: “Every year on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, I come here to pray for my parents to always be healthy, live happily, and live long with their children. I also pray for my children to be well-behaved and obedient to their parents.”

With the concept of "The whole year has the Full Moon of the seventh lunar month", the people of Dien Chau coastal area consider the Full Moon of the seventh lunar month as a sacred holiday. On this occasion, more than 1,400 boats return to port, everyone will go together to buy thoughtful offerings, gather with their parents to recall memories, and remember the gratitude for giving birth.

Fisherman Cao Van Ba, owner of an 800 CV boat in Dien Bich commune, fishes in the open sea, but on the afternoon of the 14th, the boat docked so that the 8 crew members could return home to celebrate the full moon. He shared: “People in coastal areas consider the full moon of the seventh lunar month very sacred. Every boat docks at home, prepares a tray of offerings to ancestors, shows filial piety to parents, then the crew meets together to chat, gather, unite and encourage each other to overcome difficulties.”

Along with worshiping and organizing filial piety activities at home, many Dien Chau families have organized ancestor worship ceremonies or worship ceremonies at the church on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. With the philosophy of "Drinking water thanks to the source", no matter where you live, you always turn to your roots.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh - Head of the Nguyen family in Dien Ngoc commune, the family chooses the 15th day of the 7th lunar month as the day to worship their ancestors. On that day, the elders often tell stories about the achievements, career and life of their ancestors so that their descendants can remember and be proud of them. At the same time, they pray for their ancestors to bless their descendants with good health, good education, and progress in work, for the family to unite and promote learning and talent.

Remember the favor

Like in Dien Chau, many families in Do Luong also hold ancestral worship ceremonies on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. As a traditional custom, the Nguyen Van temple in block 6 of Do Luong town holds a ceremony at 5:00 p.m. on the 14th day of the 7th lunar month. Before preparing for the ceremony, everyone gathers at the temple, wearing traditional ao dai. The incense offering and offerings take place in a disciplined and orderly manner.

On the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, descendants from all over the world turn to their family temples. Despite being busy, they still arrange to return to give thanks to their ancestors and attend the sacred ancestral worship ceremony with their brothers and sisters. The ancestral worship ceremony is solemnly organized by each family with all the traditional rituals such as: Quan tay so (washing hands thoroughly before performing the ceremony), cuu tam ve ve (checking whether the offerings are complete on the altar or not), offering incense, offering wine, reading the funeral oration, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Thanh, a resident of Minh Son commune, said: “No matter how busy I am, I always attend the ancestral worship ceremony because it is my responsibility to my family and ancestors. Only with my family and ancestors can I have myself, a shady tree with hundreds of fragrant branches.”

Do Luong currently has over 1,000 clans. In addition to worshiping at the ancestral temple, branch temple, and sect temple, almost every family worships the Full Moon Festival in July at their home. In addition to the meaning of remembering ancestors, the Full Moon Festival meal is also an occasion for families to reunite, chat, and recall memories...

Every year, at the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn, in the hearts of every child of Yen Thanh rice fields in every countryside, they turn to their roots, to the Full Moon of July to remember the merits of their ancestors. They gather at the family temple to prepare and decorate the altar and the offering tray to their ancestors with a heart of gratitude and respect.

As a granddaughter of the Truong Van family, for decades, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ha has always advised her children and grandchildren to arrange all their work, and take advantage of the opportunity to return to the ancestral temple of the 3rd branch, the 3rd sect of the Truong Van family in block 4, Yen Thanh town to prepare for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Despite her "rare" age, her hands are still nimble, peeling areca nuts and betel leaves, contributing her efforts with her children and grandchildren to arrange a full tray of offerings on the ancestral altar with the flavors of the homeland.

Mr. Truong Van Tri - Head of the 3rd branch, 3rd faction of the Truong Van family shared: For our family, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is the most important. Therefore, descendants all return to the family temple to offer offerings and incense with a sincere heart to express gratitude to their grandparents and ancestors.

Offering on the Full Moon of July is a beautiful traditional cultural feature that has been preserved for many generations. Therefore, most families and clans in Yen Thanh rice district organize it with the thought of remembering the ancestors who gave birth and built the family line, as an occasion to remind everyone to look back to their roots and show respect to their ancestors.

Along with Dien Chau, Do Luong and Yen Thanh, many clans in Nghe An countryside such as Hung Nguyen, Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong and Anh Son also hold ancestor worship ceremonies. Thereby, demonstrating the traditional beauty and cultural identity that are always maintained and developed by the people in today's life...