I had hoped that communism had erased the stronghold of religion in Vietnam. I was wrong. Although like everything else I’ve encountered in this country, things are stranger than I expected.

Pagoda

Almost all the population is Buddhist, they believe in a form of ancestral worship, the afterlife and karma. Even though many of the younger generation don’t have a strong belief they still consider this part of their culture. The Vietnamese follow a lunar calendar and go to pray at one of the many Pagoda style temples that decorate the city at the beginning and middle of every month. That’s where things get strange.

Yep those are coca cola cans!

From my time in Japan I expected the entrance of the temple to be filled with small stalls selling stuff. Bringing offerings to the temple is also quite typical. What I didn’t expect is the type of offerings. A pyramid of coca cola cans set at the top of each altar along with a similar pyramid of beer cans made me gawk in shock. Although I guess there is some sense to it, if this is what you like in this life you might miss it in the afterlife.

How about buying some fake cash?

People left big trays filled with offering that included fruit, Oreo’s, drinks and loads of cash.  Some of the amounts of cash looked to be awfully big until I noticed you could actually buy fake cash outside of the temple to put in your offering! Seems Judaism isn’t the only religion with a long cheat sheet.

I was wandering what happens to all the food but it turns out people just leave the offerings in the temple for a few minutes, moving them from room to room so they can be blessed by the different gods and ancestors. Later they take their plates back and the food and money are considered blessed.

There were trays to leave donations for the temple and also monks taking donations and in return for some type of food that has been in the temple for a long time so it’s “super blessed”

I asked if people weren’t afraid their offerings would be stolen, but the notion itself seemed outrageous as steeling from ghosts will mess up your Karma for life.