Should You Offer a Rooster During the Mid-Autumn Festival? Many Are Unaware of This Tradition.

Offering sacrifices on the first and fifteenth days of every lunar month has become a familiar custom for Vietnamese people. In the offering tray, there is usually a boiled chicken. However, the full moon of the eighth lunar month is a special occasion. This is because the mid-autumn festival moon worship is often combined with ancestor worship. Therefore, families often prepare two offering trays, one for worshiping ancestors indoors and the other for moon worship outdoors.

Is it appropriate to offer a chicken during the Mid-Autumn Festival?

The mid-autumn festival moon worship is often combined with ancestor worship. Therefore, families often set up two offering trays: one for worshiping ancestors indoors and the other for moon worship outdoors. Many families perform the ritual in the evening, first offering the tray to their ancestors, then gathering to eat dinner together before performing the moon worship ritual outdoors.

The offering tray for ancestor worship can be either vegetarian or meat-based, depending on the family’s preference. Vegetarian offerings typically include steamed rice, fruits, and tea, while meat offerings include boiled chicken, steamed rice, cold cuts, fruits, betel leaves, areca nuts, and tea. A boiled rooster is often chosen by ancestors to represent solemnity and majesty. The rooster also symbolizes the connection between the host and the divine, as well as their ancestors.

The outdoor moon worship offering tray typically includes autumn fruits such as pomelos, bananas, custard apples, pomegranates, and persimmons, as well as mooncakes. Specifically, bananas symbolize good luck, pomelos represent peace, persimmons represent abundance and wealth, custard apples represent fertility and growth, and pomegranates represent blessings and luck. These fruits are also characteristic of autumn. The mooncakes represent the moon or the concept of “round sky and square earth,” as well as the legend of the carp jumping over the dragon’s gate. To make the mid-autumn festival offering tray more vibrant, one can add decorations such as dogs made from pomelos and fruits, symbolizing the story of Cuoi and his loyal dog. Traditional lanterns such as star-shaped lanterns and paper lanterns are also used to ward off evil spirits. Tea, such as lotus tea and jasmine tea, can be offered as well.

The mid-autumn festival offering is usually presented on a separate tray from the ancestor worship offering and is typically placed outdoors or on a separate table. After dinner, the family gathers around the mid-autumn festival offering tray to enjoy the food and admire the moon.

Notes on Mid-Autumn Festival Worship

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival is about moon worship, it is usually held in the evening when the sun sets and the moon rises.

On this night, the moon is especially bright and clear, so people often set up chairs and tables outdoors to enjoy the moonlight, believing that the moon’s radiance brings good luck and positive energy. However, it is important to avoid staying up too late, as the night chill may cause illness.

Elderly people, young children, and those who are ill should refrain from going outside late at night.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is customary to light lanterns, carry paper lanterns, and perform other rituals to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.

This information is based on personal experience and observations.