Tết Thanh Minh is a traditional Vietnamese festival that embodies the principle of “gratitude to the source” and respect towards ancestors. It is deeply ingrained in Vietnamese culture, and on this day, people from afar make arrangements to visit and clean their ancestors’ graves.
The festival Thanh Minh in 2024 falls on which day? Thanh Minh, being the fifth term among the 24 solar terms, is considered an annual traditional festival in East Asian cultures. This festival is observed 45 days after the Start of Spring (Lập Xuân). The term «Thanh Minh» literally translates to “clear and bright,” signifying the period after Vernal Equinox when spring rains have ceased, and the skies become clear and bright again. The duration of Thanh Minh typically starts around April 4 or 5, marking the end of the Vernal Equinox period. In 2024, Thanh Minh will be observed from April 4 to April 19 (Gregorian calendar).
According to tradition, during Thanh Minh, families pay homage to their ancestors by cleaning their gravesites and preparing special foods like floating cakes (bánh trôi) and stuffed sticky rice balls (bánh chay). In the past, our ancestors chose Thanh Minh as the ideal time for weeding and maintaining graves as the weather turns warmer and rainy, which promotes grass growth that can lead to grave mounds becoming overgrown or eroded, hence the need for maintenance.
What do Vietnamese people typically do during Thanh Minh? In Vietnam, Thanh Minh is a time for descendants to honor and remember their forebears. They prepare offerings and incense for the graves, clean the grave sites, and ask for their ancestors’ blessings for the health and peace of their families. Following the grave-tending, family members gather at home to set up an offering on the ancestral altar and share a meal together, fostering family bonds and connecting with their lineage.
Those who are away from their hometown can return to tend the graves at any time during Thanh Minh. On grave-tending day, people bring tools like hoes and shovels to clear out weeds and reinforce the grave mounds.
It is especially important to check the graves for holes or damage caused by termites, snakes, mice, or other small animals, as these can affect the spirit of the deceased. According to geomancy and burial customs, any damage to the resting place must be promptly repaired to prevent potential misfortune and to ensure peace and prosperity for the family.
Householders may recite ritual prayers or texts expressing sincere respect and invoking blessings for their family’s well-being, health, security, and successful endeavors.
In addition to cleaning and incense offering at the family graves, people also pay respects to unattended and ownerless graves, as well as to the local earth gods and wandering spirits in the vicinity, seeking peaceful maintenance and harmony.
What do people offer during Thanh Minh? Besides tending to graves, preparing an offering table or a feast is also a significant part of the day’s observances. Families attend markets to purchase supplies for the offering table, which varies according to local customs but generally consists of a humble meal inviting the ancestors to partake in familial unity, without grandeur or lavish ceremonies.
