Worshiping customs on the 15th day of the first lunar month

(Baonghean.vn) - In the year, perhaps January is the month with the most festivals because our ancestors believed that "January is the month of entertainment"... And the most "celebrated" and "biggest" festival is the Full Moon Festival in January! That is why since ancient times, Vietnamese folklore has passed down the saying: "Worshiping Buddha all year round is not as good as the full moon day in January".

1. Full Moon Festival in January

People go to the pagoda on the 15th day of the first lunar month to pray for peace for the whole year.

The Full Moon Festival in January was introduced into Vietnam following the Chinese Lantern Festival custom. The Lantern Festival means the first full moon night of the new year (Nguyen means first, Tieu means night.) The Lantern Festival is the first full moon night of a year (the full moon day of the first lunar month). The Lantern Festival is also called the Shangyuan Festival because there is also the Trung Nguyen Festival (the full moon day of the seventh lunar month) and the Ha Nguyen Festival (the full moon day of the tenth lunar month).

Because of the influence of the three religions (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism), Vietnamese people also have the Shangyuan Festival which we often call the Full Moon Festival in January:

"On the full moon of January, whoever is diligent will carry it,

On the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, some people carry it, some don't.

Full moon in October, ten people, ten baskets.

2. The full moon of January in the Vietnamese mind

The ancient and modern Vietnamese who follow Confucianism consider the Full Moon Festival in January as the Trang Nguyen Festival. On the occasion of the brightest moon of the year, the king held a grand banquet in the royal garden, inviting the Trang Nguyen to attend the festival, enjoy the scenery, watch the flowers, compose poems, and praise the beauty of nature and the king's virtues that brought peace and prosperity.

Vietnam Poetry Day - the cultural beauty of the Vietnamese Full Moon Festival in January...

For nearly 10 years now, the Vietnam Writers Association has chosen the 15th day of the first lunar month as Vietnam Poetry Day to honor poetry. All provinces and cities celebrate Poetry Day as a festival and President Ho Chi Minh's poem Nguyen Tieu is always the opening "speech" to welcome...

For Buddhists, although the Full Moon of January is not an important Buddhist holiday compared to the Full Moon of April (Buddha's Birthday) and the Full Moon of July (Vu Lan), it coincides with the Shangyuan Festival and the Lantern Festival in folklore. At the same time, this day is the first full moon of the new year, the most suitable time to pray for peace for the whole year, so it attracts the participation of many Buddhists and the entire population.

3. Worshiping customs on the 15th day of the first lunar month

In folklore, with the majority of people following the custom of ancestor worship, the Full Moon of January is first simply understood as the big full moon day.

Depending on beliefs and professions, some families worship Buddha, some worship the local god, the god of wealth, or the spirits of the dead... But no one can forget to set up a tray of offerings to worship their ancestors, express filial piety to grandparents and parents, and thank the heavens for blessing their children and grandchildren with peace and prosperity...

Worshiping on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

The ancestral worshiping tray on the 15th day of the first lunar month will vary according to each family's beliefs and depending on each region...

Buddhist families will make vegetarian offerings and eat vegetarian food. Offerings often include vegetables, betel and areca nuts, sweet rice, bean dishes, stir-fried soup, etc.

In rural temples and villages, the food served is only fermented bean paste, fruit cooked with tofu, peanuts, and peanut oil, without adding many spices, so when eating, people often tell each other: vegetarian food must be mixed with many dishes in one bowl to be delicious.

In the Central region, many people who do not follow Buddhism offer sweet soup and sticky rice on the full moon day. The savory feast also includes rice and soup dishes, although it is not as sumptuous as on Tet holiday...

A common cultural feature of the 3 regions of North, Central and South of the Full Moon Festival in January is the flow of people from old to young, going to the temple to pray for peace in the spring. This is considered a beautiful custom, a cultural activity of the Vietnamese people.

Full Moon Festival in January. Illustration photo.

No one knows whether the prayers reach the ninth heaven or not, but everyone believes that after going to the temple at the beginning of the year or returning from the festival, their souls are lit up and tomorrow life will be more beautiful.

Despite the many changes that have taken place in the world, the moon of January remains the same, round and bright in the spring sky. The old moon is the new moon, the full moon is the waning moon. When the winter moon wanes, the spring moon awaits. That is the moon that shines on the first full moon festival that begins a year: the Full Moon of January!

Peace

(Synthetic)