Ghost Festival Celebrated in Vietnam – A Time to Remember One’s Ancestors

The Ghost Festival, also known as the Wandering Souls Day or the Vu Lan Festival, was celebrated last month in East and Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam. This annual event takes place on the 15th day of the lunar calendar’s seventh month and this year, it fell on 30th August 2023. One of the main beliefs connected to this festival is that during this period, the gates of hell open and tormented souls or spirits from the afterlife wander the earth and visit their former homes. Thus, families gathered and placed offerings such as fruits and flowers as well as said prayers at the graves of their ancestors on the night before the Ghost Festival; alternatively, people placed these offerings and lit incense at the ancestral altar at their homes.

Another custom observed was the burning of paper money as well as clothes and other items made from paper; it is believed these can be made use of by the spirits in the afterlife. Locals also headed to Buddhist pagodas to pray for their ancestors as well as to make offerings. Such fascinating customs can be experienced by travellers staying at luxury resorts in Vietnam within easy reach of key attractions; these include properties like Anantara Quy Nhon Villas which one can look to stay at during such well-known festivals and visit villages and religious sites like the Long Khanh Pagoda.