“The whole year is full moon in July…”, the saying of our ancestors from ancient times to the present still urges the footsteps of Vietnamese people in general and Ha Tinh people in particular from all over the world to return to their roots - the family temple every late summer and early autumn to show gratitude to their ancestors.

The Mai Dai Ton clan in Quan Nam village (Hong Loc commune, Loc Ha) organized a ceremony to bring their ancestors from the cemetery to the church, before the grand ceremony on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Since the birth of the land of “Hong mountain - La river” thousands of years ago, people have come here to live, reproduce and develop. Throughout the history of this land, hundreds of clans have been formed, from popular clans such as: Nguyen, Pham, Le, Bui, Ho, Duong, Phan, Cu… with thousands of people, to clans with only a few hundred people.

Each clan is divided into many different branches. However, the common point is that each clan and branch in Ha Tinh has its own ancestral temple.

The full moon of the seventh lunar month is considered the ancestral worship day, when descendants of each family return to the ancestral temple to offer offerings and incense sticks with respect to express gratitude to their grandparents, ancestors, and the creators of themselves and their family. The full moon of the seventh lunar month is even more important because the Ha Tinh people's tradition is imbued with the spirit of Buddhist and Confucian culture. The seventh lunar month is also the month of "Vu Lan Bon" - filial piety in the Buddhist story of "Muc Kien Lien saving his mother".

According to Confucianism, among all the moral qualities of a person, “filial piety” comes first. No matter how talented a person is or what position he or she has in society… if he or she lacks “filial piety”, he or she is not worthy of respect. Because, in the end, without parents and roots, where does one come from? The Vietnamese term “filial piety” is not only filial piety to parents but also filial piety to ancestors, clan, homeland, country… Therefore, the full moon of the seventh lunar month becomes sacred and is celebrated thoughtfully and solemnly by clans.

The Cu Dai Ton family temple in Trung Son village (Hong Loc, Loc Ha) is decorated in preparation for the full moon ceremony in July.

As a family with a history of over 335 years, through 13 generations of development in Ha Tinh, the Cu Dai Ton family in Trung Son village (Hong Loc commune, Loc Ha) currently has hundreds of households with 4 branches, over 460 men (males). According to their custom, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month every year, they hold a regular ceremony and every 10 years, they hold a big ceremony, which is a grand ceremony.

According to the plan, the full moon festival of the Cu family in the year of the Cat 2023 will take place for 5 days (from July 10 to 15) including 2 parts: ceremony and festival. The festival will take place with many exciting cultural and sports activities such as: men's and women's volleyball tournament; chess competition; blindfolded pig catching folk game... The ceremony includes: offering incense at Bien Son temple - a national historical and cultural relic, welcoming the ancestors of the branches to the great family temple, the enthronement ceremony, offering offerings to the ancestral altar, opening the great ancestral worship ceremony, performing the ceremony, the main ancestral worship ceremony, the ceremony to honor heroes and martyrs... In addition, there is also a program to award scholarships to children with excellent academic achievements.

The descendants of the Cu family prepare palanquins and parasols to carry the ancestors of the branches to the main temple.

Mr. Cu Huy Tich - Head of the Cu clan's ritual committee in Trung Son village (Hong Loc commune) said: "Once every 10 years, our clan organizes a grand ceremony to worship our ancestors on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Therefore, not only the ritual committee but also descendants near and far are excited to return to gather, offer incense to worship our ancestors and participate in the clan's activities. To organize the grand ceremony to worship our ancestors, we have planned since last year and built the script for the content since the beginning of the year. The logistics work of preparing the ceremony, practicing the ritual, coordinating with the local authorities and organizations to organize the festival... have been carried out by us since the beginning of the 6th lunar month".

Along with the preparations of the clan's ritual committee, the descendants of the Cu family are also extremely excited and eagerly awaiting the grand ceremony. Mr. Cu Huy Tuyen (70 years old, returning from Dong Nai) said: "We are descendants who have been working far from our homeland and clan for many years, so the grand ceremony to worship our ancestors is something we look forward to in our minds. Returning on this occasion, we not only get to offer incense to report to our ancestors about what we have done, express our gratitude to our roots, but also get to meet and reunite with our clan brethren...".

Thai Khac family temple (also known as Thai Kinh temple) in Dau Lieu ward (Hong Linh town) has been recognized as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic.

These days, the Thai Khac clan in Dau Lieu ward (Hong Linh town) is also bustling with preparations for the ancestor worship ceremony on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Mr. Thai Khanh - the patriarch of the Thai clan said: “Our Thai clan was formed on Dau Lieu land in the 15th century, starting from the first ancestor, Mr. Thai Ba Cong. Mr. Cong had a son, Thai Di Kien, who passed the bachelor's exam and became an official in Nghe An. Mr. Kien had a son, Thai Kinh (son-in-law of Mr. Bui Cam Ho), who passed the doctoral exam in Tan Vi in 1511 and became the Minister of Justice of the Le Dynasty...

In 2008, the Thai family temple - where Mr. Thai Kinh is worshiped - was recognized by the Provincial People's Committee as a provincial historical and cultural relic. Along with the annual ancestor's death anniversary, we solemnly celebrate the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.

Mr. Thai Khanh - Chief of the Thai family in Dau Lieu ward (Hong Linh town) prepares the ancestral altar to celebrate the full moon festival in July.

The Thai Dai Ton family currently has 5 branches in Can Loc and Hong Linh town, with more than 1,200 clans. In Dau Lieu alone, there are 170 clans. The Thai family also has 10 martyrs and 3 heroic Vietnamese mothers. According to the tradition of the Thai family, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month every year, although not required, most families of descendants in the family prepare offerings and bring them to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors. Depending on the conditions, the offerings are also displayed differently, but usually there will be a tray of sticky rice and a boiled chicken or a piece of boiled pork weighing about 2 kg.

Mr. Thai Quyen (72 years old, residential group 6, Dau Lieu ward) said: “For us, the amount of offerings to worship our ancestors is not as important as the sincerity. In the past, when there were no delicious items like now, women had to select each grain of glutinous rice, without any cracks or breaks, to make offerings, a task that took months. Now, glutinous rice and chicken are available, so preparing offerings to worship our ancestors is less difficult. However, all stages of making offerings to our ancestors must still be meticulous and clean. With that sincerity, we want to express our gratitude to our ancestors and also pray for our ancestors to bless our homeland with prosperity and our children with health and happiness…”.

Next to the ancestral temple, the Thai family also built a memorial to martyrs who were descendants of the family who sacrificed their lives in the resistance wars.

Along with the Cu family in Hong Loc, the Thai family in Dau Lieu ward, many families in localities across the province are preparing for the ancestral worship ceremony on the full moon day of the seventh lunar month. These days, in the sound of their drums, the footsteps of Ha Tinh people from all over the country become even more bustling, coming to the family temple to offer offerings and burn incense to show gratitude to their ancestors and origins.

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