Going to pagoda at Ghost Festival in Vietnam

Hi Hivers,
Today I would like to write about Ghost Festivall and what I did that day. Ghost Festival is one of the major festivals in Buddhism in Vietnam. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the 7th lunar month. The 15th of July in lunar calendar is called Ghost Day, and the seventh month is called Ghost Month. According to custom, it is believed that in the seventh lunar month, all ghosts will be released to earth from hell. These ghosts can destroy other people's businesses and families. So people will prepare things such as sticky rice, tea, dishes, cakes, candies, fruits and some worship items for outdoor worship to offer to the ghosts so that they don't ruin their business and family. The 15th day of July in lunar calendar is also considered as the festival of filial piety, the day when people show their filial piety to their parents. On this day, people often call or visit their parents, in addition, they can do things to show filial piety such as giving gifts, cooking for their parents. Many people also go to the pagoda on this day to pray for peace for themselves, their families and especially their parents. So today I also decided to go to a pagoda to do that.

Today I also went to a pagoda near my place, Khanh Lam Pagoda, to pray for peace for me and my family. Although it was a very large pagoda perched on a mountain top and surrounded by forests, when I went there there were few people there. Because the population of the area I live in, Mang Den is not many and there are not many tourists in this season, so the pagoda is quite deserted. A very peaceful feeling. After praying I went for a walk around the pagoda. I must say the pagoda is so big, it took me nearly 30 minutes to explore all its different areas. I also came across a few people while walking around. Everyone was very cheerful and friendly. Perhaps the atmosphere in the pagoda helps people become closer.

The steps leading up to Khanh Lam pagoda