Back to hometown for Vu Lan season

Mom promised to let my siblings and I go back to our hometown this weekend. My dad was busy with work so the three of us went back. I was so excited to go back to my grandparents' garden full of fruit trees and to fish in my grandparents' pond. Our houses were close together so whenever we went back to our hometown, my siblings and I split our time between visiting our grandparents and having dinner with each side of our family on each day. This time, Mom bought a lot of votive paper beans, fruits, and candies to bring back to our hometown. Mom said: "To offer to our ancestors during Vu Lan season, my child!"

I remember asking my mother about Vu Lan festival and I understood that Vu Lan season is the season of filial piety. My grandmother said: "It has become a tradition, my child, every full moon in July, people prepare to welcome Vu Lan season of filial piety. This is an occasion for us to return to our roots, remember and engrave the merit of our parents' birth."

My grandmother said: "This is a special moment, when people express their deep feelings to their parents with respect. Vu Lan is also a place where people strive for serenity and completeness, demonstrating their filial piety."

When we arrived at my grandparents' house, she was cleaning in the kitchen. She quickly washed her hands when she heard the voices of her children and grandchildren. She hurriedly went out to the yard:

- Ah! Are you kids coming back to your grandparents? Stay for a week this time! It's summer vacation. Your grandparents have been waiting for you. Come back to burn incense and thank your ancestors! That's good enough for your exams.

My brother quickly said:

- I haven't started school yet so I can play with my grandparents for a week, but my brother can only play on the weekends because he still has to go to school for the national team, grandma!

Seeing him explaining for me, I looked around to see where my grandfather was:

- Grandma! Where did he go that I didn't see him?

- He is in the garden picking custard apples! There are many custard apples that are almost ripe. You two wash your faces and hands and then go help him in the garden.

So while my mother was preparing the altar, my brothers and I ran out to the garden. He had picked a basket of custard apples. There were three more trees waiting for him and me to pick. He held up one fruit as a sample and told my brothers and me:

- Pick any fruit with big eyes like this. Don't pick the unripe fruit!

She had to bring out more baskets to hold custard apples and star apples. The scent of star apples was so fragrant that I kept sniffing. She taught me to weave baskets to hold star apples and hang them at the head of the bed to make them smell good. My grandfather picked the biggest and most beautiful custard apples to display on the altar and put them in a paper bag, telling my mother to bring them to my grandparents.

It wasn't the full moon day, but my grandparents had held Vu Lan ceremonies a few days earlier. Grandma took my siblings and I to the cemetery to burn incense at the graves of our ancestors. She introduced each grave and reminded my siblings and me:

- Remember, children? Vu Lan festival is to remind generations of the kindness of parents and ancestors. From now on, wherever you go, whatever you do, you must remember your roots, homeland, family, grandparents, and parents.

As she spoke, she gave each of us a handful of incense and told us to follow her lead. She placed the incense on each grave and bowed her head, clasping her hands respectfully. In the solemn atmosphere, gratitude arose in me. I was grateful to my paternal grandparents for giving birth to my father, and my maternal grandparents for giving birth to my mother. I was grateful to my parents for giving birth to my brothers and me. I didn’t know what my brother was praying for, but I clasped my hands and prayed to the ancestors to bless my family with good health and peace.

The ancestral worship meal at my grandparents' house was very warm. My mother prepared a savory offering tray with chicken and sticky rice. On the tray were bowls of food such as white porridge, candy and incense to worship our ancestors.

Every year, my grandmother makes offerings to all living beings. She arranges bowls of salt and rice, a pot of white porridge, candles and incense. She says this is a way to show compassion and kindness to all living beings.

The next day, my mother and I went to my grandparents' house. My grandparents have been in the habit of eating vegetarian food on the full moon day for several years now, ever since they were examined by a doctor and advised to change their diet to stabilize their blood pressure. So my mother and siblings were able to enjoy a delicious, unique vegetarian meal. The meal was not complicated or elaborate, only using fresh vegetables, tubers, and fruits from my grandmother's garden: boiled chayote, steamed okra with sesame salt, stir-fried sweet potato leaves with garlic, pumpkin soup with a bit of betel leaves, tofu with tomato sauce, and fried golden vegetarian spring rolls. Each of my grandmother's vegetarian dishes had a flavor, especially vegetarian food that brought joy and peace of mind, as well as spreading the grandparents' love to their children and grandchildren.

After the weekend, I had to say goodbye to my grandparents and return to the city. Seeing me diligently and voluntarily doing housework, my mother was very happy. Little did she know that the trip back to my hometown during Vu Lan season had helped me change. I understood that filial piety towards my parents should be shown right now, so that I will never have to regret it.