Experts suggest rituals and offerings for the Full Moon Festival in January according to Vietnamese culture

(Dan Tri) - The full moon of the first lunar month of the year of the Dragon 2024 falls on Saturday, February 24th 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 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 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 the Shangyuan Festival, Lantern Festival, Yuanjiao Festival, etc. 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 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, the offering should be made 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 Emperor Thien Quan) 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 ceremony to ward off bad luck"... 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.

Full Moon offering tray of a family in Hanoi (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 old feudal dynasties, the royal court held a very solemn Shangyuan Festival, with the Emperor directly presiding over the ceremony, praying for world peace , prosperity everywhere, and happiness for all people. In folklore, the Full Moon of January was celebrated in a very rich way in all regions. There is also a theory that during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming 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 Buddha. 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 the Full Moon of January Regarding the date and time of worshiping the Full Moon of January, cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue said that the Full Moon of January, like the full moon and the first day of other months, 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 Quiz, 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 several days in advance, which are all unfounded. Offering tray for the Full Moon Festival in January, offering 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 sincerity is shown, the whole year will be prosperous, lucky, and favorable. However, Mr. Tue said that this concept is not correct. "As mentioned above, worshiping 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 cause those beautiful customs to be distorted," 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, or 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, making many offerings 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, flowers, 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 will make everything go smoothly all year round.

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

Prayer for the Full Moon of the first lunar month as suggested by researcher Nguyen Trong Tue: The way of heaven is mysterious, good and bad fortunes cannot be 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 must 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 of the first rank , the Purple Star Great Emperor, to come to supervise. I respectfully invite: the deities of the family, the local gods, the Eastern Kitchen God of Destiny, the deities of the family, the five directions and five lands of good fortune, the five directions and five roads of the Dragon Vein God of Wealth, and the council of ancestors of the family... to come to witness the faithful's success. His Majesty the Heavenly Official's power reaches the three realms, his divine majesty is calm, his holy eyes shine. The Shangyuan Festival bestows blessings everywhere, the world looks up to him for rain and dew. Today is the occasion of the Shangyuan Festival, in honor of the saint's birthday, the Heavenly Official bestows blessings everywhere. I, the believer, sincerely clean my house, prepare flowers, incense, candles, offerings... and offer them before the altar with all my heart, asking for your blessings, to dispel evil, to ward off disasters, to resolve calamities. I wish for good health and peace, prosperity for all, for every home to be happy and prosperous, for every person to be happy and prosperous. I, the believer, sincerely repent and practice good deeds. I bow before the altar, hoping for your consideration.

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