Vegetarian festival  

The Vu Lan festival allegedly dates back to an Indian sutra which was translated into Chinese in the Third Century.

The sutra told the story of a pair of Buddhist disciples who enlisted the help of Buddhist monks to save their mother’s soul.

Legend has it that the woman had been reborn as a hungry spirit due to her evil deeds in life. The two believers gathered an assembly of monks to make offerings to her spirit and ease her suffering.

This developed into the Vu Lan festival, which thrived in Vietnam, where people continue to believe that the spirits of the dead return home to feast on this day.

Families all over Vietnam still put out offerings and burn incense for the dead.

When the incense burns out (and the spirits have “feasted” on the offerings) children are allowed to eat the fruit and other food on the altars.

In the last hundred years or so, the holiday has also taken on a special meaning for living mothers, and the festival has now become something like a Vietnamese Mother’s Day.

The Vu Lan festival falls on the seventh full moon of the lunar calendar. This year, it will be held on August 14.

Buddhists and non-Buddhists wishing to express their gratitude and love toward their mothers pin roses to their clothing and head for the pagodas.

People with living mothers wear red roses; those with deceased mothers wear white roses. The rose is a symbol of love and sharing among parents and their children, regardless of social background.

Vegetarian cuisine plays an important role in commemorating the departed spirits. As a result, the town’s vegan restaurants (who typically only see traffic during the end and middle of the lunar month, when Buddhists avoid meat) are pulling out all the stops.

This August, Shang Palace Restaurant has rolled out a special menu in honor of the upcoming holiday.

The dishes are made from fresh and delicious vegetables and flowers — such as deep-fried seaweed rolled with turnips, carrots and shimeji mushrooms, stir-fried luffa with wood ear mushrooms, steamed broccoli and asparagus served with pumpkin sauce and fried taro rolls with mango sauce.

Van Canh Restaurant has created a special vegetarian buffet for the event and decked the restaurant out in hay bales and other countryside nostalgia.

The vegetarian buffet will include 60 different dishes and continue through August 29. The restaurant serves lunch from 11:00 to 13:30 and dinner from 17:30 to 21:00.

Adults can get in for VND130,000 for lunch and VND160,000 for dinner. Children get in for VND80,000.

The Viet Chay Restaurant, on the grounds of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, has become a regular standby for Buddhists during the bi-monthly vegetarian days — the first and fifteenth of every lunar calendar month. In addition to its regular menu, this restaurant plans to create a series of new dishes in honor of the upcoming holiday.

The restaurant is open from 11:00 to 14:30, for lunch, and 17:00 to 21:30, for dinner. Adults will be admitted for VND120,000; children will get in for VND60,000.

Auscham seeks beneficiaries of fundraisers  
   
The AusCham Circus Spectacular Ball will take place on September 17 at the InterContinental Asiana in Ho Chi Minh City and November 26 at the Sheraton in Hanoi.

In preparation, the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham) is calling for recommendations of charitable organizations that deserve to receive funds raised from silent auction and raffle tickets at this year’s events.

Suggestions should be sent to execdirector@auschamvn.org by Wednesday August 10 for discussion and selection by Auscham’s charity sub-committees.

Last year’s ball in HCMC raised over US$12,000 for KOTO Saigon, a charity for street kids and other disadvantaged youth.

My Son relics logo contest launched

A contest to design a logo for the World Cultural Heritage My Son Champa relics has been officially launched, aimed at  both local and foreign organizations.

The event is co-organised by the UNESCO Office in Hanoi and the Management Board of the My Son Relics Complex.

Submissions for the contest will be accepted from now until October 30. All entries should be sent to the management board of the My Son Relics Complex in Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district in the central province of Quang Nam.

Nguyen Cong Huong, head of the management board, said an awards ceremony will be held in November

Museum receives Spratlys coral map

A map of the Spratlys Archipelago made from coral stones collected from the surrounding sea was presented to the Ha Noi Museum yesterday.

The activity of presenting coral stones for all cities and provinces has been organised by the Naval Force since 2009.

The presence of the invaluable souvenirs will educate Vietnamese people and their descendants on protecting the nation's territorial integrity, reminding them to look towards and act in the interests of Spratlys, a sacred part of the nation.

Vietnamese horror film earns $315,000

BHD Company, producer of the local horror film Giua Hai The Gioi (Between Two Worlds), has announced that turnover of the film over 10 days of screening nationwide was VND6.5 billion (US$315,000).

In comparison with last year, this year's summer movie season in Viet Nam has started quite late, with the release of Giua Hai The Gioi on July 22.

The high turnover on July 22-31 indicates audiences were satisfied with the film, said a press release from the producer.

Giua Hai The Gioi tells the story of a beautiful music student who tried to commit suicide but fails, and ends up marrying a mysterious construction contractor. She is haunted by spirit of a young girl.

The film features actor Dustin Nguyen who was presented the Best Actor award for his role as protagonist Vo in Canh Dong Bat Tan (Floating Lives) and the Spotlight Award for his great achievements at the 5th biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival early this year.

With an expenditure of VND4 billion, Giua Hai The Gioi is the second film of Vu Thai Hoa after the TV serial Song Cham (Slow Life).

Traditional crafts introduced in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Four traditional handicrafts associated with Hanoians' daily life in the past are reappearing at four addresses in the Old Quarter from August 5.

This chain of cultural events is organised by the Management Board of Hanoi's Old Quarter to mark the occasion of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2).

At Dong Lac communal house, No. 38 Hang Dao Street, dozens of Hanoian costumes such as ao dai (long dresses) for girls and clothes worn by officials, ladies, soldiers and working people, will be on display. The costumes from 1945 - 1954 remind people of the past and help them understand more about the life and customs of old Hanoi.

Kim Ngan communal house at No. 42-44 Hang Bac is presenting products from the Quynh Boi craft village in Bac Ninh province, a bronze casting village associated with the development of the land of Thang Long - Ke Cho. The works on display range from decorative items such as bronze drums, statues, and bells, to valuable bronze paintings, vases, and pots.

Lacquer art is being shown in the heritage house at No. 87 Ma May Street with a display and presentation of both traditional and modern items. The Hanoi Old Quarter Information Centre at No.28 Hang Buom Street will have an exhibition of Vietnamese ceramics.

“In the bustling life of modern society, traditional villages in Hanoi still have their own vitality, contributing to preserving the cultural identity of the 1000-year-old capital city. However, for a long time, the villages have not received proper attention. We are very happy to know that in the future, many projects will be implemented to preserve and develop traditional craft villages so as to maintain their rightful position,” said artisan Tran Van Vinh, Deputy Head of the Hanoi Artisans' Club.

PV