THANH MINH – HOLIDAY OF THE DEAD

Thanh Minh Day might be on par with the American Memorial Day. Families of deceased persons prepare offerings consisting of food, flowers, incense sticks, votive papers, etc., and pay a visit to the grave. A few days before the visit, family members clean the area surrounding the grave, paint the tombs and make preparation for the solemn visit on the special holiday.

The festival is also known as the Cold Food Festival (Tet Han Thuc) as people often eat cold dishes on this day.

Each year, Thanh Minh is conducted on the third day of the third month in the Lunar Calendar, and it aims at showing people’s respect towards their ancestors and their deceased relatives as well.

Before the Holiday, family members clean and tidy the graves of their ancestors and also the surrounding areas. On the date of Thanh Minh, individuals make solemn visits to the graves with offerings of incense, food, and flowers. At home, they eat Banh Troi (spheres made of glutinous rice flour, each with a piece of red sugar inside) and Banh Chay (spheres that are bigger than Banh Troi but contain sweet green bean paste instead of red sugar pieces) as cold foods.

Time: 3rd day of 3rd lunar month
Purpose: show respect to ancestors and deceased relatives
Activities: cleaning graves, praying, offerings, eating cold foods

Other Popular (Typical) Festivals, Holidays & Recreation In Vietnam

– Vietnamese Tet Nguyen Dan
– Hai Ba Trung Day
– Doan Ngu (Opening Ceremony Of Summer)
– The Whale Festival
– Trung Nguyen (Wandering Souls’ Day)
– Trung Thu, Mid-Autumn Festival
– Recreation Activities