According to the book "Vietnamese Traditional Worshiping - Rituals and Ritual Practices" (World Publishing House), the full moon worshiping ceremony of July or the Vu Lan filial piety ceremony originated from Mahayana Buddhism, through the story of Mr. Muc Kien Lien saving his mother from the devil's realm.
According to Buddhist legend, Muc Kien Lien was one of the great disciples of the Buddha. After witnessing the divine intelligence, he knew that his mother was suffering in the hell, so he tried to save her. Muc Kien Lien brought rice to offer, but the food just brought to his mother's mouth turned into fire, making him extremely heartbroken.
Unable to free his mother himself, Muc Kien Lien sought guidance from the Buddha. The Buddha said that the strength of a person, even with divine intelligence, is not enough to resolve his mother's karma; it is necessary to ask for the joint efforts of monks from all directions.
The Buddha taught him to prepare offerings and sincerely offer to monks on the full moon day of July. Mục Kiền Liên followed the teachings and thanks to that merit, his mother was liberated from the devil's burden.
From this story, the full moon day of July in Buddhism gradually becomes an occasion for children and grandchildren to remember, express gratitude and practice filial piety towards parents and grandparents.
And the July wandering soul worshiping ceremony originates from folk beliefs of the Chinese people. This belief believes that the 7th lunar month is an unlucky month, containing many risks and bad luck, so it is absolutely forbidden to build houses, weddings, or open houses.
July is also the month of exorcism for wandering people, the King of Hell opens the gates of hell so that all wandering souls and devils can return to the mortal world.
This custom originates from the belief that wandering souls and devils causing trouble bring bad things, not good things, and at the same time is also an expression of pity, sharing the hunger and thirst of wandering souls and devils without shelter to have a prosperous day.
In Vietnam, the wandering soul worshiping ceremony also has a similar meaning and stems from love for wandering souls and devils who are hungry and thirsty. Our ancestors said, "helping others does not expect them to repay", the July wandering soul worshiping ceremony also expresses the lifestyle and kind nature of Vietnamese people.
The meaning of the Vu Lan filial piety ceremony is to redirect their merits to their parents by doing things such as releasing livestock, giving alms, or setting up altars to display vegetarian offerings to monks and nuns.
In 2026, the full moon of the 7th lunar month falls on Thursday, August 27th, 2026 Gregorian calendar. According to customs, families can hold ceremonies on the full moon or worship early in the previous days, depending on the conditions and customs of each household.
Offerings for the full moon of July include offerings to ancestors and offerings to wandering souls. Depending on the family circumstances and different regions, the offering tray is also arranged and prepared differently.
In which, offerings to ancestors: Pure vegetarian meal trays, fruits, cakes (depending on the heart), incense, lamps (or candles), votive money, water... ;
Offerings for wandering souls include offerings in front of the house or balcony including cakes, candies, coconut cakes, banh u, ambarella, guava, sugarcane, raw sweet potatoes, popcorn (rice or corn), rice, salt, votive paper clothes, thin porridge, water...
After arranging offerings on the ancestral altar and the wandering souls' altar (usually offerings are placed on a mat or tarpaulin on the ground), the homeowner burns incense at the Buddha altar (if any), ancestors in the house and in the wandering souls' altar, sits folded or kneels in front of the ancestral altar and proceeds to recite prayers.
