For people in the lowlands, on the occasion of the Full Moon of the Seventh Lunar Month - Vu Lan Festival to show filial piety to parents or the day of pardoning the dead, people often prepare offerings to their ancestors or eat light vegetarian food. For the Tay and Nung people in Cao Bang, the Full Moon of the Seventh Lunar Month - "Pay Tai" Festival - is one of the two most important Tet holidays of the year, after Tet Nguyen Dan.
The “Pay Tai” or “Pay Chuong Tai” ceremony takes place on the 2nd of January and the 15th of July every year. The Tay and Nung people believe that after getting married, women must take care of their husband’s family’s business with their husband and children all year round, and must take care of the incense and worship their husband’s ancestors. Therefore, the 2nd of January and the 15th of July are occasions for women to return to their parents’ home with their husband and children to take care of them themselves. This not only shows filial piety to their parents, but is also an opportunity for the groom to express his gratitude to his parents-in-law for their hard work in giving birth to and caring for the girl he married.
Women and their husbands and children often prepare very early for this important holiday. In addition to the traditional ceremony, their family also buys many things that grandparents like .
According to the traditional customs of the Tay and Nung people, "Pay tai" or also known as Chauu nen, Duong tai means going to the maternal home. The meaning of the phrase Pay tai is the day for children to show their gratitude to their parents and ancestors, the people who gave birth to and raised them.
The traditional “pay tai” ceremony includes: a castrated rooster (or a pound of pork), sticky rice cakes, 2 pairs of banh chung (square glutinous rice cakes) and a jar of wine. If the couple is financially better off, they can buy some candy and a pound of sweet soup as gifts for their parents, siblings and relatives. Once everything is prepared, the couple will carry the gifts to their parents’ house with their children, if any. This is one of the customs and practices that shows the beauty of the traditional culture of each locality and each ethnic group, creating a unique cultural picture with many different nuances.
Over many generations, up to now, the Tay and Nung people in Cao Bang still maintain the custom of “Pay tai”. Returning to the family and preparing a meal to worship ancestors on the second day of Tet not only shows filial piety, remembering the gratitude for giving birth and raising parents of women but also reflects the tradition of “remembering the source of water” in general of Vietnamese people. The reunion meal on the day of return is the bond of family affection of the Tay and Nung people, and even higher is the spirit of solidarity, attachment to the community, village, and country.
For the Tay and Nung people, no matter where they live in the S-shaped strip of land, they cannot forget the custom of “Pay tai”. Although the way of doing things and customs are different in each place, the filial piety towards parents and ancestors on holidays and Tet all contain good traditional cultural values of the whole nation. Therefore, this custom needs to be preserved and further developed in the current era of increasingly developed society, contributing to preserving the common cultural space of ethnic groups.
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