According to Vietnamese folk beliefs, the 7th month of the lunar calendar is considered the month of ghosts . In Buddhism, the 7th lunar month is also the Vu Lan month, an opportunity to show filial piety to parents and remember the merits of predecessors.
On the full moon day of the 7th lunar month, many families will prepare two offerings. Among them, there is a salty meal to worship ancestors at the altar, a vegetarian meal to worship sentient beings, or also known as offering to ghosts in front of the yard or sidewalk.
Many feng shui experts believe that the worshiping ceremony should be performed during the day, before 12:00 a.m. on July 15, avoiding sunset or when the gates of the underworld are closed.
Offerings to spirits and living beings should be done in the yard. This is an open, airy location where surrounding spirits can easily come to enjoy offerings, without entering the house to harass the homeowner.
For families living in apartments, placing an offering tray is considered a difficult problem, making it difficult to find a suitable location. Suggested offerings can be placed on the balcony, living room door or hallway if permitted.
According to researcher Nguyen Xuan Cuong (Vietnam Center for Research and Preservation of Religious Culture), when worshiping the full moon spirit in July, you should pay attention to using vegetarian dishes. The offering tray includes offerings such as: Clothes for sentient beings, popcorn, sweet soup, porridge, sesame candy, gold coins, wine, rice mixed with salt, corn, sweet potatoes...
Many people believe that when worshiping ghosts, you should not use salty dishes to avoid arousing greed, anger, and ignorance. When worshiping, you must place it in front of the house and spread gold coins on a tray in the four directions East, West, South, and North. After finishing, rice and salt need to be spread on the yard and road and burned with votive paper.
With the full moon offerings in July on the ancestral altar, the homeowner does not need to be too picky but must be neat and clean. In addition to fruit sticks, each family and region can choose appropriate offerings according to customs.
In the North, people often prioritize sticky rice, chicken, sausage... Meanwhile, in the South they choose pork belly, eggs, shrimp... Besides, homeowners can offer dishes that their grandparents, loved ones and ancestors while still alive to pay their respects.
In general, each feast will be different depending on the conditions of each family. In addition to focusing on worshiping the full moon of the 7th month, each person can practice releasing animals, fasting, going to temples...
