VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of people stood on the pavement and the road to attend the early-year rituals at Phuc Khanh, one of the most famous pagodas in Hanoi.

According to traditional beliefs in Vietnam, the fate of each person in a given year depends on the star of that year. There are nine stars: La Hau, Tho Tu, Thuy Dieu, Thai Bach, Thai Duong, Van Han, Ke Do, Thai Am and Moc Duc. Some of the stars are auspicious and some not, such as La Hau, Ke Do or Thai Bach.

To negate the bad influence of unlucky stars, Vietnamese often go to pagodas to perform early-year rituals. Pagodas collect fees and organize rituals for families.

Phuc Khanh is a famous pagoda and it collects low fees so the pagoda attracts many people.

Many shops on Tay Son street, where the pagoda is located, are turned

into parking lots, charging VND10,000 ($0.5)/motorbike.

At 7 pm, the road running past the pagoda is crowded with people who can’t get inside

Some bring plastic chairs with them to attend the one-hour rituals.

Many other sit on pieces of newspaper. After the rituals,

the road is covered by rubbish.

PV