Tet Trung Nguyen (Wandering Souls Day) Vietnam

Sunday, 20 June 2010 21:19

Last Updated on Saturday, 04 September 2010 12:12

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Tet Trung Nguyen (Wandering Souls Day), Vietnam is one among the most popular of the Vietnam festivals & events and is observed by Vietnamese all over the country who believe in the existence of the almighty.

Even though it is actually a Buddhist festival it is not restricted to the Buddhists only, but celebrated in houses, industrial units, business units, and government buildings along with being celebrated in Pagodas.

Tet Trung Nguyen in Vietnam has many nicknames like ‘forgiveness of the lost soul’, ‘lost Souls Day’ and ‘Wandering Souls day’, all names suggesting the theme of the festival. During this day people call upon the Lord Buddha and pray to him to dissolve all unjust accusations against their deceased ancestors and other spirits and also pray for their souls to rest in peace.

Tet Trung Nguyen (Wandering Souls Day), Vietnam had originated from an age old Vietnamese belief. They have the idea that after a person passes away his soul goes through a trial upon which the verdict is passed whether he should be sent to heaven or to hell. If the person is judged evil then he goes to hell and on Tet Trung Nguyen all spirits are set free for some time after the sun goes down. Then the spirits go to their homes in search of food and those who have no one roam about frantically searching for food and love.

So according to the traditional rituals the Vietnamese spread out huge buffets for these gloomy wandering souls and pray for them and also for their ancestors. They offer all kinds of delicacies including meat, rice, cakes and many others to please the hungry souls.

Vietnamese sometimes perform the Tet Trung Nguyen rituals outdoors to reach out to the wandering souls. The elders have rightly called this festival as one when, "the living and the dead meet in thought."