Thuy Vi/Thanh Nien News
Buddhist temples across the world are gearing up to celebrate Vu Lan, or Ullambana, in the seventh lunar month known as the season of filial piety. It is a religious Mother’s Day so to speak, a time to honor mothers both living and deceased.
Buddhist nun, Nhu Nguyet, has a red rose pinned to her at the Westminster
temple Duoc Su. Red roses will be given to those whose mothers are still alive,
symbolizing the blood that ties together the bond for generations. It commemorates
the Vu Lan holiday. (Photo by Geraldine Wilkins/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Images)
As part of the tradition, many wear roses on their shirts: red roses for those whose mothers are alive and white roses for those whose mothers have passed.
Buddhist followers traditionally believe that when they come together to pray for their departed parents, they can atone for their parents’ past mistakes and save them from being punished in the underworld.
The practice of wearing roses only became popular in Vietnam around 50 years ago after Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, whose mother had passed, wrote an essay to praise mothers in Saigon in 1962 with inspiration in his previous visit to Japan where he was given a white carnation by a Japanese student.
The roses and the whole Vu Lan festival have religious values, but they are also symbols of the deep love many have for their parents. These days, instead of going to the temples, many choose to pay tribute through social media by posting photos of them with their mothers or by changing their profiles with images of red or white roses.
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