Unique sticky rice offering custom in An Lai village (Thanh Ha) on Doan Ngo festival

According to the people of An Lai village, the sticky rice feast is organized by the villagers on four occasions a year: Thanh Minh festival, Doan Ngo festival, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month and the 2nd day of the 12th lunar month (the last day of the 12th lunar month - the ceremony to offer the feast to the ancestors).

Mr. Pham Duc (68 years old), head of the Pham Tien family, branch 2 in An Lai village, said that cooking sticky rice originated from the custom of ancestor worship and is often carefully organized on important occasions of the year, especially when the seasons change.

The four occasions when the sticky rice is cooked are all at the time of changing seasons. “The sticky rice is very simple, consisting of only a tray of white sticky rice, a beautifully boiled rooster, a bottle of wine, betel and areca nuts, incense and candles,” said Mr. Duc.

This year, the Pham Tien family, Mr. Duc's second branch, has 42 men participating in cooking sticky rice. These men will take turns cooking the dishes in the four seasons of the year. On this May 5th, there will be 13 dishes offered at the family temple and the ancestral temple. The number of dishes will be calculated based on the number of men participating, ensuring that each dish is enough to divide into 6 portions.

The family whose turn it is to make sticky rice will have to prepare it early in the morning and bring it to the family temple. Then, they will gather at the family temple and perform the ceremony to offer to their ancestors. After the ceremony, everyone will sit together to enjoy the offerings, chat, and ask about each other's health and work. For those who do not attend, the members are responsible for bringing the portion home for the absent person to eat for good luck.

Mr. Pham Tien Hung, a villager, said he personally prepared dozens of trays of sticky rice for his family to worship their ancestors. “This is a good tradition to educate children to remember their roots, and at the same time to arouse the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance among family members and clans,” Mr. Hung said.

In the past, during the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, all the clans of the old An Luong commune (now An Phuong) organized to cook sticky rice. However, due to many factors, currently only the Pham Tien clan still maintains this custom.

The Pham Tien family has existed in An Lai village for nearly 600 years. This family has 2 branches, 5 branches with a total of 1,700 men. Because many people in the family go to work far from home, there are now temples of the branches in places like Kim Thanh (Hai Duong), An Thi (Hung Yen) or Quang Ninh, Hai Phong. On important occasions of the 4 seasons, everyone cooks sticky rice and burns incense.

According to Mr. Pham Tien Voi, head of the Pham Tien clan, when society develops, everyone is busy with their own work, so it is difficult for descendants in the clan to meet together. But thanks to this custom, brothers and relatives can sit together to talk, encourage, share, and advise each other. "If unfortunately a relative living far away encounters a disaster, we will know to help, not only that, mobilizing and supporting movements of the clan, village, and commune is also very convenient," said Mr. Voi.