Vu Lan season

(ĐN) - “Every night I light the sky lantern/Praying for my parents to live forever with me…”. I don’t know why, but every time I hear that song, indescribable emotions well up in me, especially in the seventh lunar month, when Vu Lan festival returns. Perhaps, that is the time when each child’s heart becomes more sensitive to family affection, when we stop for a moment in the hustle and bustle of life to think about our parents, about the people who gave birth to us, raised us and protected us.

Ever since I was a child, I have been familiar with the image of every full moon of the seventh lunar month, no matter how busy she was, my mother still carefully prepared the offerings to bring to the pagoda to pray for the peace of the whole family. After the ceremony, my mother gently pinned a light rose on her shirt, then gently bent down to pin a bright red rose on me. At that moment, I felt the warmth of my mother's hand, and felt a sweet happiness rising in my heart that I did not fully understand when I was a child.

Looking around the temple yard, I saw some people wearing white roses, their faces slightly sad. Being a curious child, I looked up and asked my mother why there was such a difference. My mother smiled gently, gently stroked my head and softly said: “The rose symbolizes gratitude, filial piety and the gratitude of children towards their parents. The red rose is for those who still have their parents, the light rose is for those who only have one parent, and the white rose is for those who have lost both parents…”.

Listening to my mother’s explanation, I looked around in bewilderment, my eyes stopping at the people who were silently pinning white flowers on their chests. Their faces were sad, their eyes filled with a loss that was hard to describe. I was still young, not really understanding that pain, but my heart suddenly ached, as if an invisible void had just opened up before my eyes. A fleeting thought made me shiver: One day, my parents would no longer be by my side, and I would also have to pin that white flower on my chest. In my immature imagination, I saw myself sitting quietly in the corner of the temple, crying for a loss that nothing could compensate for. That thought made my heart ache, both worried and scared, afraid that I would not have time to say all the loving words, not have time to repay my parents’ immense kindness to me.

When I was young, I lived in the protective arms of my parents without knowing how to appreciate them. At that time, I naively thought that everything my parents did for me was obvious, the duty of being a parent, forgetting that behind it was a world of love and silent sacrifice. I remember the times when I was stubborn and naughty, my mother just smiled slightly, sometimes sternly reminded me or gently coaxed me. But behind those smiles were tears of sorrow, many nights my mother quietly worried because her child refused to grow up.

Now that I have grown up and have my own family, every Vu Lan season, memories of that year come flooding back to me. The image of my mother gently pinning a bright red rose on my shirt is still there, but at the same time, the sad eyes of those who brought white flowers that year have never faded in me. That is what makes me realize more deeply the fragility of human life and understand that parents cannot be with us forever.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of life, sometimes I accidentally forget that my parents are getting older every day, and what they need is not something grand, but just simple care, the warm presence of their children by their side. Every Vu Lan season, looking back, I remind myself to cherish every moment I have with my parents, so that later when I have to pin the white flower on my chest, my heart will not have regrets for the things I have not done or said.

And perhaps, that is also the greatest meaning of Vu Lan season - not only an occasion to remember the gratitude of birth, but also a reminder for each child to know how to return, to know how to live slowly, to love more when parents are still close by. I understand that the red rose on my chest today is not only happiness, but also responsibility, a promise to myself to give my parents the most complete respect and love. Because one day, when the red flower fades, when I am forced to pin a white flower on my chest, that love and filial piety will still remain, shining in my heart, like an endless flow that nothing can separate.

Ha Linh

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/van-hoa/202508/bang-khuang-mua-vu-lan-e8c0845/