The ancient Viet people believe that Death is not the end. When people die, their spirit will travel to the nether world where they will be judged for thier sins in their fo life by the Yama – the king of the underworld realm or the god of death. A bad spirit is sent to Hell to suffer for their crimes by being tortured and starved.
On the second day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, the Gates of Hell are sprung open to allow ghosts and spirits access to the world of the living. The"hungry ghosts" or restless spirits roam the Earth and The ancestors find their way back by tracing back the offerings and prayers of children, and upon feasting will bless them with good luck. Meanwhile hungry ghosts, the ones with no relatives, forgotten by descendants or those who died without proper burial have nothing offered to them and will angrily curse bad luck upon strangers. On the full moon, all of them have to return and the Gates of hell are closed again.
On second day of the the 7th month of the lunar calendar, the Gates of Hell are sprung open to allow ghosts and spirits access to the world of the living. The"hungry ghosts" or restless spirits roam the Earth and The ancestors find their way back by tracing back the offerings and prayers of children, and upon feasting will bless them with good luck. Meanwhile hungry ghosts, the ones with no relatives, forgotten by descendants or those who died without proper burial have nothing offered to them and will angrily curse bad luck upon strangers. On the full moon, all of them have to return and the Gates of hell are closed again.
Because of that, Vietnamese widely believe that July is the month that ghosts roam around and create trouble for just everyone. Many blame their bad luck in July on the ghosts so they offer food to bribe them, hoping the ghosts don’t harass people's lives and leave them alone and also do that to show mercy to the poor spirits, who are hungry and alone.
The most notable event of this month, July 15th is the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. Vietnamese families will prepare two feasts during the day. The first one is offered early, usually at noon, to ancestors. The second one, often offered sometime after sunset, is meant for the hungry ghosts. People sometimes go to temples to pray to deceased relatives, while monks ask Buddha to forgive condemned souls that have committed sins in their human days and are cursed to be hungry ghosts.
Many people also bring offering to the temples and donate for the purpose of feeding these ghosts. After the monks finish their prayers, people are encouraged to act the part of the ghosts and fight for the food. It is a day that everyone eases up and forgives the sinful souls. For their sins, these poor ghosts are already cursed to never be full again - they are pictured to have long pencil-thin necks and huge bellies. (Not to mention that food in hell is probably not that good either!)
July 15th is the only day during the year that sinful ghosts can feast. Because they cannot eat proper food, the second offering of people usually consists of congee in very liquid form such as porridge. Also, since Buddhism has that beings which do good and not harm living creatures will be rewarded, the offering to hungry ghosts are all vegan in nature. People trust that by restraining these ghosts from doing further evil - making them feast on no animal, they will be forgiven and one day regain their human form. It is a day of great compassion.
#MoonGardenHomestay - located in Ky Son village, Sơn tây, Hà nội, also offer this accasion to all our guests to explore and experience this Ghost Festival by yourselves and discover more the cultural value of Vietnam.
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