Practical Guide: How to Choose Auspicious Dates and Times for Weddings and Groundbreaking in Vietnamese Folk Belief

What is the custom of choosing an auspicious date and good month?

Since ancient times, Vietnamese people have been in the habit of choosing an auspicious date and good month before undertaking important matters such as weddings, ground-breaking, building a house, or opening a business. This is a beautiful cultural trait that expresses the wish for favourable conditions and good luck in one's affairs. Folk belief holds that choosing a good date and time will help everything go smoothly, bring family happiness, and make work go well.

It should be emphasised that this is a widespread custom meant for reference. The way of choosing a date can differ depending on region, family, and the person consulted. There is no single "only correct" method. This article merely gathers the most common practices so that readers can consult them and apply them flexibly.

Summary table of auspicious days in April 2025 with good hours and recommended tasks, following the example in the article.

What are the basic principles when choosing a date and time?

How do you determine the task at hand in order to choose a suitable date?

Not every auspicious day suits every task. According to folk tradition, each day has its own tasks that should be done. For example, on two different Hoàng Đạo days, one may be suitable only for offerings, while another is suitable for weddings and ground-breaking. Therefore, you first need to determine clearly whether your family's matter is a wedding or ground-breaking, and only then look up the days with the appropriate notes.

What are the common inauspicious days to avoid?

Folk tradition usually avoids the following days when undertaking major matters:

• Tam Nương day: considered an inauspicious day, prone to misfortune.
• Nguyệt Kỵ day (the 5th, 14th, and 23rd of the lunar month): following the saying "the fifth, the fourteenth, the twenty-third, whatever you do fails and comes to nothing".
• Sát chủ day, thọ tử day: days believed to be ominous.

What are Hoàng Đạo days and Hoàng Đạo hours?

According to the traditional calendar system, each day of the month is in turn assigned to one of twelve presiding deities. The six deities in the Hoàng Đạo group are Thanh Long, Minh Đường, Kim Quỹ, Kim Đường (some books record this as Thiên Đức or Bảo Quang), Ngọc Đường, and Tư Mệnh. The remaining six deities in the Hắc Đạo group are Thiên Hình, Chu Trước, Bạch Hổ, Thiên Lao, Huyền Vũ, and Câu Trận. A day presided over by a Hoàng Đạo deity is called a Hoàng Đạo day, and a day presided over by a Hắc Đạo deity is called a Hắc Đạo day.

A clear distinction is needed: the twelve presiding deities mentioned above form one cycle, while the twelve trực of Kiến, Trừ, Mãn, Bình, Định, Chấp, Phá, Nguy, Thành, Thu, Khai, Bế form another cycle. Each trực in the cycle of twelve trực has its own tasks that should be done and tasks that should be avoided. When you consult a calendar, you will see days noted with both the presiding deity and the name of the trực; these are two independent layers of information, not one. This is a convention of calendar books; different schools may record the names and order slightly differently, so when looking things up you should cross-check with the trực table of the tool you are using.

Within a day there are also Hoàng Đạo time frames considered good hours for conducting ceremonies. Hoàng Đạo hours are calculated according to the twelve zodiac animals of the day, and each day has certain time frames regarded as the moments when auspicious deities hold sway.

Below is an example of how auspicious days and good hours were noted, as published in the Tuổi Trẻ newspaper for April 2025 (solar calendar):

• 3/4/2025 (lunar 6/3): On the day of Tư Mệnh Hoàng Đạo. Good hours: Tý (23:00-0:59), Sửu (1:00-2:59), Thìn (7:00-8:59), Tỵ (9:00-10:59), Mùi (13:00-14:59), Tuất (19:00-20:59). Recommended tasks: Signing, transactions, levelling roads, digging soil.
• 9/4/2025 (lunar 12/3): On the day of Kim Quỹ Hoàng Đạo. Good hours: Tý (23:00-0:59), Sửu (1:00-2:59), Thìn (7:00-8:59), Tỵ (9:00-10:59), Mùi (13:00-14:59), Tuất (19:00-20:59). Recommended tasks: Offerings, engagement, betrothal ceremony, marriage.
• 15/4/2025 (lunar 18/3): On the day of Tư Mệnh Hoàng Đạo. Good hours: Tý (23:00-0:59), Sửu (1:00-2:59), Thìn (7:00-8:59), Tỵ (9:00-10:59), Mùi (13:00-14:59), Tuất (19:00-20:59). Recommended tasks: Engagement, betrothal ceremony, marriage, moving house, ground-breaking, roof-pouring, opening a business.

What is the practical guide for a wedding ceremony?

Step 1: How do you choose an auspicious date?

• Use the lunar calendar to determine the birth dates, months, and years of the bride and groom.
• Consult the perpetual calendar or websites and apps for choosing auspicious days to find days noted with "engagement, betrothal ceremony, marriage" as recommended tasks (such as the examples of 9/4, 10/4, 12/4, 15/4, 17/4, 18/4 in 2025 mentioned above).
• Avoid choosing Tam Nương days, Nguyệt Kỵ days, and days that clash with the ages of the two people.

Step 2: How do you choose a good hour to hold the ceremony?

• On the chosen day, continue to look up the Hoàng Đạo time frames noted alongside it.
• Usually, the betrothal ceremony and wedding are held in the morning or early afternoon, between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Based on the list of good hours, give priority to the Thìn hour (7:00-8:59) or the Tỵ hour (9:00-10:59) for the ceremony of the bride leaving for the groom's house, because this is the early morning period, the air is cool, and it is convenient for travel for both families.

Step 3: Preparing the offerings

Depending on the region and the family's circumstances, the offering tray may differ. Below is a list of common offerings usually seen in the betrothal ceremony of Vietnamese people:

• Betel and areca tray (usually an odd number: 5, 7, 9, or 11 trays depending on the region).
• Green rice cake tray, bánh xu xê or bánh su sê.
• Wine and tea tray (usually 1 or 2 bottles of wine, a box of tea).
• Fruit tray (a five-fruit tray).
• Sweet soup and cigarette tray (depending on local custom).
• Tray of jewellery or cash (depending on the family, usually the last tray in the groom's procession).
• Wedding áo dài for the bride (in some offering trays).
• Roast pig or gấc sticky rice (depending on the region, usually an offering accompanying the official wedding day).

Step 4: How to arrange the offering tray and conduct the ritual

• Arrange all the offering trays on a table, cover them with a red cloth, and they may be placed on a tray or on the ancestral altar of the bride's family.
• The representative of the groom's family (usually the head of the procession) will light incense and ask the bride's ancestors for permission to proceed with the informal meeting and betrothal ceremony.
• Reading the betrothal words: the representative of the groom's family introduces the members of the procession and speaks of the wish to form a marital alliance between the two families.
• The bride's family receives the offerings, then places the offering trays on the ancestral altar to light incense and report to the ancestors.

Step 5: The prayer text (summary of the main points)

Since prayer texts are often long and differ between families, you can refer to the following main points to recite when lighting incense:

• Reverently bowing to the ancestors of both the paternal and maternal families.
• Reporting that today is an auspicious date and good month, and the family is holding the betrothal/wedding ceremony for their children.
• Respectfully asking the ancestors to witness and bless the young couple with happiness and a harmonious hundred years together.
• Wishing the two families joy and lasting affection.

After finishing the prayer, bow three times before the altar and wait for the incense to burn down before taking down the offerings.

Besides Hoàng Đạo days, what else is considered when choosing a wedding date?

According to the custom of choosing dates, besides choosing a Hoàng Đạo day, people also consider whether the day clashes with the ages of the bride and groom, avoid Tam Nương days (the 3rd, 7th, 13th, 18th, 22nd, and 27th of the lunar month) and Nguyệt Kỵ days (the 5th, 14th, 23rd), and then choose a Hoàng Đạo hour within the day to conduct the ceremony.

Considering clashes with the ages of the two people aims to avoid conflicts in the five elements and bring harmony to the young couple. Tam Nương and Nguyệt Kỵ are the two groups of days that folk tradition avoids for major matters. Once the date is settled, the next step is to look up the Hoàng Đạo time frames on that day to choose the hour for the ceremony.

What is the practical guide for a ground-breaking ceremony?

Step 1: Choosing an auspicious date and time

• Determine the age of the household head (the person whose name the house is built under, or the eldest person in the house).
• Look up days noted with "ground-breaking, roof-pouring" in the recommended tasks section. For example, 15/4/2025 and 18/4/2025 in the table above are both suitable.
• Choose a Hoàng Đạo hour on that day to conduct the ceremony, usually the Thìn hour (7:00-8:59) or the Tỵ hour (9:00-10:59) for the morning.
• Besides the date, you need to consider whether the household head's age in that year falls under Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, or Tam Tai. These are folk conventions regarding ages for building a house. Those who fall under them often borrow the age of another person to preside over the ceremony. You can use the age-checking tool for building a house and look up the dictionary entries Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, Tam Tai to check.

Step 2: Preparing the offerings

The ground-breaking offering tray usually includes:

• One whole boiled rooster (or 1 set of three sacrificial offerings: pork, eggs, shrimp).
• A plate of gấc sticky rice or mung bean sticky rice.
• 1 bottle of plain wine, 1 box of tea, 1 pack of cigarettes (depending on the region).
• Betel and areca (1 pair of betel leaves, 1 areca nut quartered).
• Fresh flowers (usually chrysanthemums or red roses), 1 five-fruit tray.
• Votive paper money (a small amount, enough to burn after the ceremony).
• Offering set: 3 sticks of incense, 2 candles, 3 cups of water, 3 small cups of wine.

Step 3: How to arrange the offering tray

• Arrange the offering tray on a small table or directly on the ground in the area to be broken.
• Place the offering tray facing the direction of the house or the direction in which the household head plans to build the gate, according to the instructions of the person consulted.
• Arrange the boiled chicken in the centre, the sticky rice beside it, the fruit in front, and the wine, tea, betel and areca around.
• Light the candles, light the incense, and begin reciting the prayer text.

Step 4: The ground-breaking ritual and the prayer

• The household head lights incense and recites the prayer text asking permission from the local earth deity and the spirits governing the land to carry out the ground-breaking.
• Main points of the prayer: reverently honouring the earth deity and the dragon vein, asking permission to begin construction, and wishing for everything to go smoothly and the household to be at peace.
• After finishing the prayer, the household head takes a hoe or shovel (prepared in advance) and strikes three times into the ground at the position where the house foundation is planned.
• Wait for the incense to burn down, burn the votive paper money, and scatter salt and rice around the area just broken.

Step 5: Safety notes and after the ceremony

• When burning votive paper and lighting incense, place them in a well-ventilated spot, away from flammable materials such as alcohol, petrol, and dry construction materials. Always have someone watch over them until the fire is completely out.
• After burning the votive paper, clean up the offering area thoroughly.
• You may keep a portion of the chicken and sticky rice to share in the blessing on the spot or bring it into the house after the ceremony is finished.

An objective and modern perspective

In modern society, choosing auspicious and inauspicious dates is still maintained by many people as a beautiful cultural trait, a way to seek peace of mind and confidence before important decisions. However, an objective and flexible view is needed. Choosing a date should only be a reference factor; one should not depend on it too much or worry excessively. The success of a wedding or a construction project depends mainly on careful preparation, a reasonable plan, and human effort. Most important of all is harmony and love within the family and careful calculation in financial and technical matters. If circumstances do not allow choosing a perfect date, many families choose a nearby date for convenience, preserving tradition while ensuring convenience in modern life.