The good mother stood in the kitchen for 4 hours, making a beautiful and perfect full moon feast for the 7th lunar month.

The full moon of the seventh lunar month is an important holiday in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people. Many families prepare a full feast to offer to their grandparents and ancestors.

For a long time, preparing the offering tray for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month has become a beautiful tradition of many Vietnamese families. Not only does it carry the meaning of gratitude and filial piety, the offering tray also conveys a message of purity, peace and connection.

Get up early in the morning to prepare food

Ms. Dao Thi Ly (38 years old, Hanoi ) believes that the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is one of the important holidays of Vietnamese people, when children and grandchildren remember their ancestors, grandparents and parents.

“Every year, when the full moon comes, I prepare a full meal to burn incense. This is not only a traditional ritual but also an occasion for family members to gather and strengthen their relationships,” she shared.

The full moon feast of July prepared by Ms. Ly. Photo: NVCC

To have a complete meal, she usually plans the menu and goes to the market the day before. Vegetables, roots, meat, and fish are all pre-processed, so the next morning she just needs to turn on the stove to cook and arrange. However, to prepare 8 main dishes, 4 side dishes, and a bowl of soup, she has to get up at 5am and spend 4 hours in the kitchen.

The basic dishes on this year's tray include roast bird, sea crab, bamboo shoot and pig's trotter soup, sticky rice, peanuts... All are neatly arranged.

Elaborate from preparation to display. Photo: NVCC

In particular, she also prepared 40 colorful chrysanthemums to decorate the altar, making the space more solemn and cozy. For Ms. Ly, this work is extremely meaningful, so she always puts all her heart and soul into it.

The fruit offerings were meticulously arranged by her. Photo: NVCC

The whole family cooks together

Every full moon of the 7th lunar month, the family of Ms. Chau Hoai Anh (37 years old, Hanoi) gathers to prepare two trays of food – one vegetarian, one non-vegetarian – to offer to their ancestors. This is an important occasion so the whole family prepares the ceremony and offerings together.

The vegetarian tray (left) and the non-vegetarian tray (right) were prepared by Hoai Anh's whole family. Photo: NVCC

Ms. Hoai Anh said that her mother-in-law will take care of preparing the altar, money, and fruit. Her husband will be in charge of cooking the savory dishes according to the menu suggestions from his wife, and she will be in charge of the vegetarian dishes and the arrangement and decoration to make the altar table more solemn.

The main dish of Ms. Hoai Anh's family's savory meal is chicken, including half grilled chicken, half shredded chicken mixed with salad, broth cooked with dried bamboo shoots, and stir-fried gizzards and squash.

Neat and sophisticated in the way it is presented. Photo: NVCC

Vegetarian tray includes: Green bean sticky rice with stir-fried mushrooms, mixed mushroom soup with lotus root, green bean and lotus seed sweet soup, fried mushrooms, tofu and other mushrooms with burnt edges, stir-fried vermicelli with mixed ingredients, vegetarian spring rolls.

Ms. Hoai Anh always prepares vegetarian dishes herself. Photo: NVCC

Not only Ms. Hoai Anh, many families also spend time and effort to prepare the most delicious, beautiful and neat offerings possible for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.

Ms. Vu Thu Huong (Hanoi) said she spent half a day preparing the offerings for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. Every year, her family arranges their work so that the 15th day is as perfect as possible.

To complete the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, which is also Vu Lan festival, Ms. Huong prepared 2 trays of food, 1 vegetarian tray, 1 non-vegetarian tray.

The savory tray includes 11 dishes: Boiled chicken with rose petals, peacock spring rolls, phoenix sausage, lotus sticky rice, golden lotus buns, steamed shrimp in coconut water, seafood spring rolls, stir-fried beef with potatoes, papaya salad with dried beef, cinnamon sausage, and ball soup.

Ms. Vu Thu Huong's full-course meal. Photo: NVCC

Vegetarian tray includes 11 dishes and 2 desserts: Happy mushroom rolls, As You Wish fried spring rolls, Lucky five-color rolls, Peaceful BBQ skewers, Lucky lotus sticky rice, Lucky lotus buns, Thanh Tinh areca flower sweet soup, Virtuous lotus jelly,...

Ms. Vu Thu Huong's vegetarian tray. Photo: NVCC

To make this elaborate menu, Ms. Huong has to buy and prepare the ingredients the day before, then bring them out the next day to continue processing and displaying.

"The full moon feast on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is not only a meal to enjoy, but also an occasion for children and grandchildren to show their respect and strengthen family ties.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life, preserving and cherishing this beauty is the way for us to nurture our spiritual life, aiming for lasting peace and happiness," Ms. Huong shared.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/me-dam-dung-bep-4-tieng-lam-mam-co-ram-thang-7-dep-my-man-172250906064554736.htm