According to folk belief, lunar July is called “tháng cô hồn” (month of the lonely ghost). Lunar July is believed to be an extremely unlucky month due to the opening of the gates of hell, which allows free spirits to visit those on Earth.
Discovering the Roots: The Origin of Lunar July Rituals
This holiday originated from Chinese Taoism, which states that every year, on the second day of lunar July, the King of Hell will open the Demon Gate for every hungry spirit and imprisoned sinner to return to the mortal world.
From the gifts and prayers of their descendants, ancestors’ spirits might be traced back to their place of origin. However, there are no offerings for lonely souls who have no living family members or who passed away without a proper funeral. When they are allowed to freely roam the living world, they fiercely curse bad luck upon strangers in a spiteful manner.
This door will then close on the night of lunar July 14.
Feasting for the Forgotten
In order to prevent hungry ghosts from disturbing their lives, at the midpoint of the month (July 15), those in the mortal realm prepare ritualistic meals and burn incense and joss paper. Aside from sending offerings to the hungry ghosts in one’s own family, mortals must also place food and paper sacrifices in their front yard so as to appease the passing lonely spirits, who have no family left to take care of them. This ceremony is called “lễ xá tội vong nhân” — a ritual to appease angry and hungry spirits.
The Rituals of Snatching Offerings
Before the end of the ceremony, we often see the heads of houses bringing out a platter of spare change, popcorn, boiled sweet potato, cakes and candies, among other confectionery, out onto the street. The neighboring children will then snatch as much as they can from this platter. These are the foods that were offered to the hungry souls, and this custom is called giựt cô hồn. It is believed that the more people share the food, the more luck will be bestowed on the host, and the snacks are perfectly safe to eat.
There is, however, one thing to keep in mind: when someone has already gotten their hand on something, you cannot take it. And if your stuff is snatched by someone else, you should not resist, since it is most likely a hungry spirit reclaiming its food.
Local Lore: Taboos to Avoid During July in Vietnam
As Lunar July is deemed an unlucky month, there is a variety of taboos for this period in order not to annoy those souls as well as to avoid bad luck or being trapped and brought to hell. Below are some popular taboos:
- Not to dry clothes at night because Vietnamese believe that ghosts can “borrow” them to wear which makes you unlucky.
- Not to call each other’s names in the middle of the night, this might make the ghost remember the name of that person and may haunt him/her.
- Not to arbitrarily burn votives in the month of the ghost. This could lead to attract more ghosts wandering around you and bother your life.
- Not to hang wind chimes near your bed. The wind chimes will call hungry ghosts to your house and bother your sleep and your life.
- Not to swim in the 7th month of the lunar calendar, especially in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes, the ghost will pull your legs from under the water.
- Not to cut your hair in the ghost month. The Vietnamese said that: “one hair manages 3 demons”, if it is cut in this month, the demons would easily access you and bring a lot of bad luck to you.
