More than just dates
November 2024
A few months ago, I met a friend for lunch at Veggie Castle, a vegetarian buffet renowned for its endless delicious options. I usually choose their quiet and cozy Trúc Bạch branch. But this day was different. It was packed, bustling with noise and long queues, and it suddenly hit me: it must be either a new moon or a full moon day. I remembered what my friend, Cô Lien, had explained to me. According to the lunar calendar, the first and the fifteenth day of the lunar month are special days to honor tradition and spiritual order, to pray for peace, happiness, and health. On these days, many Vietnamese eat meat-free "ăn chay" to help cleanse the body and soul. But I, still firmly attached to the Gregorian calendar, hadn’t thought about it at all. Anyway, already there, we decided to stay, enjoy the buffet, and catch up on work and life matters.
Back at the office, I shared the story. My colleagues laughed, of course they knew it was a new-moon day. They explained that while they rely on the Gregorian calendar for dates related to work, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., they turn to the lunar calendar for spiritual matters and the bigger picture.
Side note: The lunar calendar was created under the Chinese emperor Huang Di in 2637 BC and was introduced to Vietnam during the period of Chinese domination. Since then, it has remained the reference for celebrating holidays, especially the Lunar New Year.
The First Full Moon of the year
The lunar new year begins with the Tết Festival, celebrated on the first day of the first lunar month, usually falling between mid-January and late February. It’s the most important festival of the year, and in many ways, it’s similar to our New Year’s Eve when it comes to gathering with family, enjoying traditional food (lots of it, often too much), and making resolutions. But here, the tradition involves many more unique customs for a fresh start. This includes not only preparing special foods, but also cleaning the house, decorating it with kumquat, peach, or apricot blossom trees to mark the beginning of spring, releasing goldfish into Westlake on Kitchen God Day, offering tributes to ancestors, giving children "lì xì" (lucky money) in red envelopes, and more. I’ll write a separate blog post about Tết later.
Votive Paper
On the evening of my new moon vegetarian lunch, I noticed that the air was full of smoke and ash - not the usual air pollution, but from burning papers. Burning paper is a spiritual practice on certain festival days, as well as on new and full moon days. People burn the most incredible 'votive papers' representing gifts: fake money, commodities, and luxury items like clothes, shoes, cars, motorbikes, iPhones, iPads, and even horses - all made of paper, of course. When burned, these gifts are believed to be sent to heaven, where they can be used by the ancestors. It’s also an expression of gratitude and a way to seek blessings from them and from the gods. That night, my landlady had set up a fireplace in the courtyard. Sitting on a small stool, she handed a lot of paper money over to the fire –a faraway look on her face, poking at the ashes with a wooden stick.
Whenever this ritual takes place, there’s this feeling in the air, I mean not just the scent of smoke but a special atmosphere, which I really like. I love going to the pagoda in my neighbourhood right on Westlake during these times, sitting on the small wall facing the lake and just being in the middle of it all. As in all the other pagodas, they use a large oven to burn the offerings.
There’s an entire street in the Old Quarter, Phố Hàng Mã, which translates to “paper offerings street,” where they sell these votive gifts. In recent years, however, paper burning has been criticized with regard to environmental pollution. “Each year, Vietnamese people burn nearly 60,000 tons of votive paper, equivalent to almost 228 million USD going up in smoke. This not only results in waste but also contributes to environmental pollution and fire hazards” wrote Vietnamplus.vn in June 2024. Although the Buddhist community has proposed giving up the practice of burning votive paper, and the Ministry of Culture requested in 2018 that objects not be burned during the Spring Festival, this tradition seems too deeply rooted in Vietnamese identity to change easily.
Another Full Moon Festival
There are other important festivals in the lunar calendar and the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most popular one. Celebrated in the eighth lunar month, usually in late September or early October, it’s known for its especially round full moon. Legend has it that on the midnight of the 8th full moon, a carp ghost terrorized people until they began making paper lanterns in the shape of a carp to scare it away. Nowadays, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known as the “Children’s Festival” and is much like a combination of Halloween and Thanksgiving. If you’re curious, check out my "Mooncake" blog.
More than dates
The lunar calendar connects the spiritual with the everyday, enriching life through rituals, customs, traditions, and stories. I like that and have developed my own little ways of integrating the phases of the moon into my daily routine. Lately, I've been looking up at the moon more often, and whenever I do, I find myself hearing a famous German lullaby from my childhood, 'Der Mond ist aufgegangen'.
Der Mond ist aufgegangen Die goldnen Sternlein prangen Am Himmel hell und klar. Der Wald steht schwarz und schweiget Und aus den Wiesen steiget Der weiße Nebel wunderbar.
| Behold, the moon has risen the golden stars, they glisten upon the heavens bright. The forests rest in shadows and from the quiet meadows white hazes rise into the night. |