Vietnamese believe that the soul of a dead person, even though dead for several generations, still rests at the side of their descendants on earth. The dead and living persons still have spiritual communion; in way of life, individuals should not forget that what they relish and the way they feel is that the same for his or her dead relatives.

On the last day of each lunar year, an saying cult, cung tien thuong, is performed to ask the dead forefathers to come home to celebrate Tet holidays with their families. Throughout the last days before Tet, all members of the family visit their ancestors’ graves; they clean and embellish the graves, within the same manner that the livings clean and embellish their homes to welcome the New Year.

On the anniversary of an ancestor’s death, descendants and relatives unite and prepare a feast to worship the dead individuals and to raise for health and happiness for themselves. From generation to generation, ancestor worshipping customs are religiously conserved. There are some tiny variations between those customs among the numerous Vietnamese ethnic teams, however the common theme of fidelity and gratitude towards the ancestors remains.

Source:vietnamtourism.com

Vietnam guide, Vietnam travel guide