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On the afternoon of August 19, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, people gathered at Khanh Van Nam Vien in Minh Phung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, for the Xa toi vong nhan ceremony, a long-observed Taoist ritual maintained by the city’s ethnic Chinese community.
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The ceremony at Khanh Van Nam Vien runs from the first through the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and includes a series of rituals, including the opening ceremony, prayers for departed souls, the symbolic opening of the gates of hell and, most notably, the bridge-crossing ritual.

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Duong Quang Loi, from Cau Ong Lanh Ward, said each stick of incense is regarded as representing a soul. Throughout the ceremony, family members must keep the incense burning until the ritual ends, reflecting the belief that the spirits of ancestors and loved ones can follow the incense smoke back to their descendants. Attached to the incense are small envelopes, pomelo leaves and oriental arborvitae leaves, which are believed to prevent wandering spirits from following the souls home.

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Before the bridge-crossing ritual, Chau Hue Bang, head of the management board of Khanh Van Nam Vien, presided over the Xa toi vong nhan ceremony in the main sanctuary.

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Taoist master Han Bich, together with other male and female Taoist practitioners, recited scriptures and performed invocations to begin the bridge-crossing ceremony.
In Taoist belief, the seventh lunar month is commonly associated with wandering spirits. It is believed to be the time when the King of Hell opens the gates of the underworld, granting reprieve to souls suffering there so they may return temporarily to the world of the living, bless their descendants and potentially move on to another incarnation.
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After the prayers, people slowly filed into the courtyard, carrying ancestral tablets and burning incense as they prepared to cross the bridge. The procession is one of the most important parts of the ceremony.

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Participants carried the tablets of departed relatives and incense across a temporary bridge erected within the temple grounds.
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According to the belief surrounding the ritual, the bridge represents a connection between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. Carrying ancestral tablets across it symbolizes guiding departed souls through obstacles on their journey and praying for them to find release and peace.
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As they crossed, participants scattered small-denomination banknotes beneath the bridge. The money is symbolically offered to hungry ghosts believed to guard the crossing, helping the spirits of their loved ones pass safely.
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Lan Anh held the ancestral tablets of her parents as she crossed the bridge, hoping their spirits could return to the family when the gates of the underworld opened and ultimately find peace.
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At the end of the ceremony, all the ancestral tablets were ceremonially burned in a tower near the entrance, bringing the week-long Xa toi vong nhan observance to a close.

Nguyen Hue