CULTURE-SPORTS-TOURISM
Not only Vietnam but also a number of other countries consider the full moon day of the first lunar month to be a meaningful event. Eastern people in general, and Vietnamese ones in particular, think that lunar January is the beginning of a new year, the first month of the year,and they have a saying: “Well begun is half done”.
Not only Vietnam but also a number of other countries consider the full moon day of the first lunar month to be a meaningful event. Eastern people in general, and Vietnamese ones in particular, think that lunar January is the beginning of a new year, the first month of the year,and they have a saying: “Well begun is half done”.
Vietnamese people also have a proverb: “The whole year’spraying to the Buddha cannot be equated to the full moon celebration in Lunar January”. It shows how significant the celebration is in the cultural and spiritual life of Vietnamese people.It also is the reason why some Asian countries accepted its positive values and then turned it into a festive event imbued with their own cultural identity. It also has known as Tet Nguyen Tieu in Vietnamese.
According to some documents, the full moon celebration in the first lunar month is a traditional festival in China, it is popular and influences some Asian countries, including Vietnam. In that course of cultural interference, they adopted and transformed this New Year’s event in their own w oay.
The Vietnamese in the past followed Confucianism, and then considered Tet Nguyen Tieu to be the Festival of Top Winners of Court Confucian Exams ( called Trang nguyen). On the occasion of the bright moon at the beginning of the year, the king opened a banquet at the royal garden, summoned Trang nguyen to enjoy it, and flowers, to compose and chant poems, praise nature’s beauties and express thanks to the king for ensuring the nation’s peace and prosperity. People also made votive offerings their ancestors, express filial piety to their grandparents and parents, and thank them for blessings.
A common cultural feature of all 3 Vietnam’s regions,the North,the Central, and the South, is that people would go to Buddhist temples to pray for peace on this occasion. This is nice practice of the Vietnamese nation.
South Korea
In Korea, the full moon day of Lunar January is the day when the moon is brightest and biggest of the year.It also is when people wish for all the best in the new year. The typical dishes on this day are nuts, cereal rice, sticky rice, mixed vegetables, vegetables, etc.
There are also some communal ceremonies that take place. They perform rituals to wish all good things for the community. During this festival, Korean people organize traditional games together; in some rural areas people even climb high mountains with the desire to be the first to see the rising moon, with the belief that a new moon will bring a new year to be full of luck and good things.
China
The full moon day of the first lunar month is one of the important New Year holidays of the Chinese people in particular and the Eastern people in general. It takes place on Lunar January 15. This is also the last day of their traditional Spring Festival, known as Trang nguyen Festival or Lantern Festival.
Watching lanterns and eating floating cakes are the two main activities of this festival. Besides, there are also many other entertainments such as walking on stilts, lion dance, etc.
According to the traditional concept, the full moon day and the first day of a month not only has a sacred meaning, but also contains good things and luck. Therefore, people chose these days as an appropriate time to express their respect and aspirations to nature. The concept of nature here is understood as a sacred place where there are gods, Buddhas and ancestors who already belong to nature.
Today, the full moon celebration in the Lunar January is viewed as one of the sacred holidays at the beginning of a new year for the entire Chinese community, both at home and abroad. However, it is now called “Lantern Festival" with a lot of diverse cultural activities.
Japan
In the past, on the full moon day of the first lunar month, the Japanese would hold the “Koshogatsu” Festival.The main content of the festival was a ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest.Today, this festival is celebrated on January 15 of the solar calendar every year.
In general, on Koshougatsu, the events related to agriculture are held. To pray for a good harvest, people do such thing as decorating willow leaves with red and white mochi cakes attached onto them. Such cakes are called Mochibana.
On this day, the Japanese people eat Azukigayu (red bean porridge). It is a combination of plain rice and red beans, served with mochi. It is said that the red color of the beans has the power to ward off all evils. You will have a healthy year when you eat this red bean porridge.
The celebration of the first full moon of the Lunar calendar originated from China; however, some other countries had adopted and turned it into a cultural and spiritual event. In the course of world-wide cultural interaction, acculturation is inevitable. The important thing is how each nation approaches it to maintain its identity while enriching its own culture.
Nguyen Hien