Vu Lan Festival: The Season of Filial Piety and the Rose-Pinning Ceremony
Learn about the Buddhist origins of Vu Lan on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, the legend of Mục Kiền Liên, filial piety, and the rose-pinning ceremony.
Results for "filial piety"
Coming-of-Age Ceremony at 18 and the Meaning of Filial Piety
The 18-year-old coming-of-age ceremony marks the move from school years to adult duties, with a gratitude ritual at its heart that expresses filial piety.
Traditional Vietnamese Funeral Customs and Their Meaning
Explore the main rites of a traditional Vietnamese funeral, from encoffining and mourning attire to burial and the 49-day rites, and their cultural meaning.
Why Do Vietnamese Hold Annual Death Anniversaries and What Does the Day of Gio Mean
The gio day is an annual memorial rite held on the lunar death date of a family member. This article explains its origin, meaning, and how it is understood.
Longevity Celebration for the Elderly - A Vietnamese Cultural Beauty
The longevity celebration honours grandparents and parents at ages 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100, showing filial piety and respect for old age in Vietnamese culture.
Ancestor Worship of Vietnamese People: Origins, Norms, and What Has Changed
Ancestor worship is a long-standing Vietnamese custom, a moral standard, and a key part of spiritual life, with altars, death anniversaries, and Tet rituals.
Offering at a death anniversary from far away: the Vietnamese customs of gửi giỗ and cúng vọng
Cúng giỗ vọng and gửi giỗ: per Toan Ánh, those far from home send offerings to the head of the family and also make an offering from afar.
Chôl Chnăm Thmây: Three Days of the Khmer Traditional New Year
Chôl Chnăm Thmây is the Khmer New Year, held in mid-April over three days with rituals like the Maha Sangkran procession and bathing the Buddha.
What offerings go on the đại tường memorial tray and how is mourning ended?
Giỗ hết đại tường marks the end of two years of mourning. It covers the offering tray, how to arrange it, and the sequence for xả tang in Vietnamese custom.
What Do Thấu Can and Thông Căn Mean in Bát Tự, and Why Do They Matter?
Thấu can is a stem exposed among the four pillars; thông căn is a stem rooted in a branch. Together they show whether that stem has real strength.
Traditional funerals in Hue: solemn rituals and the journey towards a civilized way of life
Hue funerals are a meticulous ritual system expressing filial piety and sacred farewell, now facing renewal under Decision 2322/QD-UBND to fit urban life.
Ghost Month, the 7th Lunar Month: Folk Taboos and Buddhist Perspectives
Ghost Month in the 7th lunar month: its origins, common folk taboos, and the Buddhist view of Vu Lan as a season of gratitude and filial piety.
Which Day Is Best for the Rằm tháng 7 Offering and What Should You Note? A Full Guide Following Vietnamese Custom
Rằm tháng 7 is when families make offerings to the Buddha, deities, ancestors and wandering souls, with guidance on timing, the tray and what to avoid.
The Grain Bin Binding Ritual - A Traditional Cultural Feature of the Nung People
The grain bin binding ritual of the Nung people in Bắc Kạn is a longevity celebration within the Ky Yen ceremony, wishing elders long life.
Muong Ethnic Wedding Customs
Explore the unique wedding customs of the Muong people in Thanh Hóa: from elopement and ancestor worship to bride-price negotiations and wedding day taboos.
The Legend of Bánh Chưng and Bánh Giầy and Lang Liêu: A Tale from the Hùng Vương Era
The legend of bánh chưng and bánh giầy: Lang Liêu, son of a Hùng king, offers cakes of glutinous rice. Where the tale is recorded and what it explains.
What does 'First day Tet for father, second day Tet for mother, third day Tet for teacher' mean?
The Vietnamese saying about the first three days of Tet: day one for the father's side, day two for the mother's side, day three for one's teachers.
Beliefs and Festivals of the Khmer Krom People
Theravada Buddhism sits at the center of Khmer Krom spiritual life, with the village pagoda and major festivals such as Chôl Chnăm Thmây and Ok Om Bok.
Banh Chung and Banh Tet: Origins and Cultural Significance of Tet
Banh Chung and Banh Tet trace back to the Lang Liêu legend of the Hung King era, symbolizing heaven, earth and prosperity.
Chử Đồng Tử - Tiên Dung: A Legend of Love and One of Vietnam's Four Immortal Saints
The legend of Chử Đồng Tử and Tiên Dung, a poor man and a princess whose love story ends in deification among Vietnam's Four Immortals.
Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: The Meaning of the 'Absolution of the Dead' Ritual in Folk Belief
The Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month blends Buddhist and Taoist roots, with offerings for wandering spirits.
New Rice Festival (Khụ Sự Chà): The Hà Nhì People's Thanksgiving to Ancestors
Khụ Sự Chà, the Hà Nhì New Rice Festival in Mường Nhé, Điện Biên, thanks ancestors with floating cakes, pig liver divination and glutinous rice pounding.
When Is the Votive Paper Burning Ceremony to See Off Ancestors After Tet, and What Should You Prepare?
Burning votive paper to see off ancestors after Tet usually falls between the 3rd and 10th of the first lunar month, most often the 3rd. What to prepare.
Hue Tet Feast: Echoes of Royal Cuisine in the Lunar New Year Meal
The Hue Tet feast blends royal essence with folk culture, shaped by a philosophy of frugality, elegance, harmony and transformation.
Comparison of traditional funeral rites across regions of Vietnam
Funeral customs across Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam differ in coffin size, burial timing and reburial, with Hue royal culture shaping Central rites.
What steps does the bốc mộ cải táng ritual involve? Customs and interpretations by region
The steps of bốc mộ cải táng as Phan Kế Bính records them: telling the ancestors, opening the grave, gathering the bones and reburial; current rules.
What is written on the hoành phi and câu đối above the family altar? Where are they hung, and how do they differ from Tết couplets?
Hoành phi is a horizontal plaque above the family altar, câu đối parallel sentences on side columns or walls, honoring ancestors and praising their merits.
Sene Dolta Festival of Southern Khmer People (Sen Đôn Ta, Pchum Ben, Ancestor-Repaying Ceremony): Timing, Rituals and Meaning
Sene Dolta (Sen Đôn Ta, Pchum Ben) in 2026 runs three days, 10 to 12 October. Temple and home rituals and meaning of the Southern Khmer ancestor festival.
Folk Beliefs About Taboos When a Household Has a Funeral
Folk belief holds that a funeral brings cold air affecting the living, so the sick stay away. Eastern medicine links this to yin-yang imbalance.
When a Person Dies in a Leap Month, Which Month Is the Death Anniversary Held? How to Calculate Tiểu Tường, Đại Tường and Húy Nhật
If someone dies in a leap month, in which month is the giỗ held? How tiểu tường, đại tường and the yearly anniversary are counted, per Giác Ngộ.
Year-end grave tending before Tết (tảo mộ, chạp mả): when it is done, what to prepare, and its place in ancestor worship
Tảo mộ, chạp mả cuối năm là tục sửa sang phần mộ tổ tiên trước Tết. Bài nêu ngày làm, lễ vật, tục chạp mả ở Huế, xứ Quảng và ý nghĩa thờ cúng tổ tiên.
When is a grave exhumed for reburial, and after how many years? Custom and what to know
Exhumation for reburial usually follows the end of mourning, often after three to five years; current rules require at least 36 months. What to know.
Prayers for the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: What the Three Texts Cover, Ritual Order, and What to Know
Rằm tháng 7 prayers include three texts for deities, ancestors, and wandering souls, with ritual order, offerings, and how to recite them.
What to Do When a Loved One Dies: The Sequence of Traditional Vietnamese Funeral Rites from the Moment of Death to Burial
What to do when a family member dies: the order of a traditional Vietnamese funeral, from shrouding and mourning dress to burial and the later rites.
Banh Troi and Banh Chay: The Culinary Soul of Cold Foods Festival on the 3rd Day of the 3rd Lunar Month
Banh Troi and Banh Chay mark Vietnam's Cold Foods Festival on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month, a localized day of honoring ancestors with these cakes.
Unique marriage customs of the Ba Na people
Ba Na weddings in Gia Lai feature alternating residence between both families and a wedding night spent awake keeping the flame alive.
Meanings of Each Fruit in the Five-Fruit Tray for Tet
The five-fruit tray for Tet carries wishes through bananas, pomelos, papayas and mangoes, with regional differences between North and South Vietnam.
Traditional Vietnamese Wedding Attire of Yesteryear: Symbols of Solemnity and Destiny
Explore in detail the traditional wedding attire of Vietnamese brides and grooms of old: from ao tac, khan dong, to ao mo ba mo bay.
Dong Chi and Tết Đông Chi: the shortest day of the year, che troi nuoc, ancestor worship, and why Dong Chi was once the year's starting point
Dong Chi is the 22nd solar term and the shortest day of the year. For the Chinese community it is Tết Đông Chi, a time for che troi nuoc and ancestor worship.
Tet worship rituals in northern Vietnam from the 23rd of the 12th lunar month to the vang ma burning rite: sequence, offerings and meaning
Northern Vietnamese Tet worship runs from seeing off the Kitchen Gods on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month to welcoming ancestors and the vang ma burning rite.
Quang Dũng
Singer of lyrical and pre-war music