Experts suggest rituals and prayers for the Full Moon Festival of January according to Vietnamese culture

(Dan Tri) - The full moon of January in the year of Giap Thin 2024 falls on Saturday, February 24 of the Gregorian calendar. According to traditional customs, Vietnamese families often prepare offerings to their ancestors and gods. Many people choose to go to the temple to pray for peace.

Why is there a concept of "offering all year round is not as good as the full moon of January"? The full moon of January is a holiday that many Vietnamese families consider important. Many people believe that "offering all year round is not as good as the full moon of January" so they often prepare thoughtful offerings to pray for luck and fortune all year round. The full moon of January also has other names such as Thuong Nguyen festival, Lantern hanging festival, Nguyen Tich festival, Nguyen Tieu festival... Cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue, Director of the Institute of Oriental Architecture and Culture Research, said that the reason why there is a folk saying "Offering all year round is not as good as the full moon of January" is because this day has a special meaning in the spiritual and religious system of Eastern people.

Cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue, Director of the Institute of Oriental Architecture and Culture Research, said that, like the full moon and first day of the month in other months, worship should be performed on the correct day and there is no need to choose an hour (Photo: Provided by the character).

This is a Taoist belief, spread to Eastern countries since ancient times. Taoist beliefs worship 3 gods: Thien Quan, Dia Quan, Thuy Quan, also known as Tam Nguyen (Thuong Nguyen, Trung Nguyen, Ha Nguyen). Tam Nguyen holidays: Full moon in January (Shang Nguyen festival), Full moon in July (Trung Nguyen festival) and Full moon in October (Ha Nguyen festival). The Full moon in January is the birthday (day of the death anniversary) of Thien Quan (Jade Emperor) or also known as Thien Quan Nhat Pham Tu Vi Dai De. This is the god who governs the entire Heavenly Court, overseeing the fortunes and misfortunes of the human world. According to Taoism, on this day Thien Quan will bestow blessings on the entire lower world, so people call it Thien Quan Tu Phuc (Thien Quan blesses). Therefore, people will choose the Full moon in January to set up an altar to pray for blessings, ward off disasters, perform the "star offering and disaster relief" ceremony... to pray for a year of peace and happiness. The full moon of January therefore becomes an important day among the festivals of the year.

Offering tray for the Full Moon Festival of a Hanoi family (Photo: Hong Anh).

Vietnamese people, partly influenced by Taoist culture throughout history, also have the custom of worshiping the Full Moon of January or the Shangyuan Festival. In the past feudal dynasties, the royal court held the Shangyuan Festival very solemnly, with the Emperor directly presiding over the ceremony, praying for world peace , prosperity everywhere, and happiness for all. In folklore, the Full Moon of January is celebrated in many different ways. There is also a theory that during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of Han was a devout believer in Buddhism, so on the Full Moon of January, he ordered the entire royal palace to light lamps all night to make offerings to the Buddhas. Folklore has followed this tradition of worshipping and praying for peace on the first full moon day of the year. Many people also consider this a suitable time to pray for peace for the whole year. Buddhists and the entire population therefore attach great importance to this day. In many places, people go to pagodas, many pagodas hold ceremonies to pray for peace... Date, time and rituals of worshiping on the Full Moon of January Regarding the date and time of worshiping on the Full Moon of January, cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue said that the Full Moon of January is like the full moon and the first day of other months, so it should be worshiped on the right day and there is no need to choose an hour. The procedures for the Shang Yuan festival will include two parts: the Shang Yuan ceremony and the Lantern Festival Night. The Shang Yuan ceremony is usually held during the day, people will set up an outdoor altar, write the "Thien Quan Tu Phuc" tablet and offer offerings including fruits and food. The Lantern Festival Night will include many fun activities and cultural exchanges, but according to ancient customs, there will be the Hoa Dang festival (releasing lanterns), Thien Dang (releasing sky lanterns) and accompanied by cultural activities such as lantern quizzes, poetry release, singing and dancing... According to custom, the Shang Yuan festival is usually held during the day of the Full Moon of January, there is no convention on a specific time. There are some opinions that it is necessary to worship before 12 o'clock or worship several days in advance, which are all baseless. Offering tray for the Full Moon Festival in January, worship text for the Full Moon Festival in January Many Vietnamese people believe that the bigger the ceremony, the more votive paper is burned, the more sincere it is, and the whole year will be prosperous, lucky, and favorable. However, Mr. Tue believes that this concept is incorrect. "As mentioned above, worshiping on the Full Moon Festival in January is a folk belief and it is also a festival with many beautiful customs, a unique traditional cultural feature. Therefore, we need to understand correctly and avoid interpretations and superstitions that distort those beautiful customs," said the Director of the Institute of Oriental Architecture and Culture Research. According to this expert, in terms of culture, the organization of the Shang Yuan Festival and the Lantern Festival should be in the direction of preserving the beauty of traditional culture. The main thing in worshiping is sincerity, there should be no extravagance, fabrication, and superstitions. The view that the bigger the ceremony, the more votive paper is burned, the more sincerity is shown is incorrect. Heaven and Earth are fair to everyone, good or bad depends on the thoughts and actions of each person. If doing things that go against morality and society, then offering a lot of votive paper is useless. Moreover, burning a lot of votive paper will cause waste, pollute the environment, and pose a high risk of fire, and should be limited. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, families also take care of the preparation of the offering tray. The offering tray on the 15th day of the first lunar month can include a savory and a vegetarian tray. The savory tray usually has 4 bowls, 6 plates such as boiled rooster, bamboo shoot soup, mixed stir-fry, spring rolls, ham, sticky rice, banh chung, salad... and other items such as incense, votive paper, candles, betel and areca, wine. The vegetarian tray usually has sweet soup, sticky rice, fruits and especially banh troi nuoc. Many people believe that eating banh troi on Tet Nguyen Tieu means that everything throughout the year will be smooth and prosperous.

Ms. Vu Thu Huong (in Hanoi) chose to offer floating cakes because she hopes that everything will go smoothly throughout the year (Photo: Hong Anh).

The prayer for the Full Moon of the first lunar month according to the suggestion of researcher Nguyen Trong Tue: The way of heaven is mysterious, good and bad fortunes are not changed by the human heart. Since ancient times, people have always wished for peace and happiness, but the secrets of heaven are unpredictable, the fortunes of the earth are difficult to follow, so they all have to rely on the Four Blessings of Heavenly Officials. Now at:... I, the believer, am:... On the occasion of the Shangyuan Festival, in honor of the holy birthday, have prepared incense, flowers, and food, and sincerely offer the offering. I respectfully invite the Four Blessings of Heavenly Officials, the first-class Purple Star Emperor , to come to supervise. I respectfully invite: The family's deities, the local gods, the Eastern Kitchen's Kitchen God, the family's deities, the Five Directions and Five Lands' Gods of Fortune, the Five Directions and Five Roads' Dragon Veins' Gods of Wealth, and the council of ancestors of the family... to come to witness the faithful person. His Majesty the Heavenly Official's power extends to the three realms, his divine majesty is solemn, his holy eyes shine. The Shangyuan Festival bestows blessings everywhere, the world looks up to him for his grace and rain. Today is the occasion of the Shangyuan Festival, the holy birthday, the Heavenly Official bestows blessings everywhere, I sincerely clean my house, prepare incense, flowers, candles, offerings... and present them before the altar, wholeheartedly praying, hoping that you will bestow blessings, dispel evil, ward off disasters, and resolve calamities. I wish for good health and peace, prosperity, peace and happiness everywhere, every family benefit, and everyone is happy and well. I sincerely repent, practice good deeds and become a good person. I bow before the altar, hoping for your consideration.

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