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Every year on the 7th lunar month's day, families conduct rituals to honor deities and set up a feast to pay respects to their ancestors, praying for the liberation of wandering souls and the family's peace.
What does the ancestral worship feast for the 7th lunar month include?
1. Buddhist offerings on the 7th lunar month
According to Buddhism, the grandeur of the offerings on the 7th lunar month is not crucial; what matters is the sincerity of each individual.
The 7th lunar month is also the day of Vu Lan Festival, so when making Buddhist offerings, you only need to prepare a vegetarian feast or a plate of five fruits. During the ritual, it's recommended to recite the Vu Lan Sutra before the Buddha.
Vegetarian dishes usually include: Vegetarian shrimp, mushroom spring rolls, young tofu with vegetarian sauce, vegetarian betel leaf rolls, vegetable soup... and families can also replace them with other vegetarian dishes to make the feast more abundant and appealing.
2. Ancestral and spiritual offerings on the 7th lunar month
For the ancestral and spiritual offerings on the 7th lunar month in the Northern, Southern, and Central regions of Vietnam, families often prepare savory feasts. Along with offerings of gold and paper-made items like houses, motorbikes, and phones...
The savory feast typically includes: Green bean sticky rice, boiled chicken, pork sausage, fried spring rolls, chicken salad, chicken heart vermicelli soup... Families can also adjust with similar dishes.
With savory dishes, you can make adjustments to suit the customs of each region and the financial conditions of the family.
Ancestral worship feast on the 7th lunar month
3. Ancestral worship feast for the prosperity deity
Ancestral worship feast for the prosperity deity includes:
- Fresh flowers (roses, marigolds, chrysanthemums...).
- Loose change, candy plates, incense, candles.
- Five fruits.
- 1 betel nut and 1 betel leaf.
- 3 cups of wine and 3 cups of water.
- Green bean sticky rice.
- Cigarettes.
- Rock salt, unhusked rice.
- Gold coins.
- Boiled pork, 3 prawns, 3 boiled eggs.
Depending on the family's circumstances and each region, you can also prepare roast pig, steamed rice cake, grilled snakehead fish... for this ancestral worship feast.
4. Ancestral worship feast for all souls on the 7th lunar month
On the 7th lunar month, it's also advisable to prepare an ancestral worship feast for all souls. This feast is usually offered on the afternoon of the 14th or 15th of the 7th lunar month every year to escort wandering souls back to the underworld.
Ancestral worship feast for all souls on the 7th lunar month includes the following offerings:
- 1 plate of salted rice
- 12 bowls of diluted rice porridge
- Five fruits tray
- 12 sugar cubes
- Clothes for wandering souls
- Gold coins, cakes, roasted corn
- 2 candles
- 3 incense sticks
- 3 cups of water
According to ancient beliefs, offering savory dishes would arouse the desires of wandering souls, so in the ancestral worship feast for wandering souls, you should only prepare the above offerings. And during the ritual, it's recommended to place the ancestral worship feast for the 7th lunar month in front of the main entrance of the house or business place, and recite the 7th lunar month invocation to show respect to ancestors, spirits, and escort wandering souls.
Families should not rigidly adhere to traditional ancestral worship feasts but rather opt for fresh, seasonal foods prepared according to their tastes.
Ancestral worship feasts on the 7th lunar month should not be vengeful requests, as it would reveal ulterior motives. Conducting the ritual is a gesture of sincerity, respect, and gratitude, stemming from pure intentions.
Mytour also shares the ritual prayers for the lunar 7th day, providing the most accurate guidance for those who wish to offer incense and prayers on the lunar 7th day each month without worries or doubts.
To assist you in preparing offerings for the first lunar month's lunar day correctly, we present an article on how to conduct rituals for the first lunar month according to Vietnamese customs. We invite you to read and gain the essential knowledge about this important festival.
To complete the ancestral worship ritual on the 7th lunar month alongside a bountiful ancestral feast, every family should also prepare the ancestral worship prayers. If any family hasn't obtained a template for ancestral worship prayers for the lunar 7th month, they can refer to ours.
Surely, many families are wondering at what time they should offer incense to wandering souls on the lunar 7th month? This is a common concern for many families, as everyone wants to organize a comprehensive lunar offering ceremony according to the most accurate rituals. Therefore, to understand more about when to offer incense to wandering souls on the lunar 7th month, let's follow the instructions on our system at Free Download.
