TL;DR: The year-end land offering and tạ đất rite, following traditional custom, is usually performed outdoors in the yard or on open ground in front of the house, because the rite is offered to Thổ Công and the deities who govern the land. Families without a yard may still set up the rite indoors, as long as the place is clean and solemn. There is no fixed rule on the number of chè bowls; each region and household prepares differently, commonly a tray of glutinous rice, boiled chicken, betel and areca, incense and flowers, wine and tea.
What is the year-end land offering and tạ đất rite?
The land offering, also called lễ tạ đất, is a folk rite in which offerings are made to thank the deities who govern the land, the house, and the kitchen, and to pray for peace and prosperity in the new year[1]. The rite is usually held at the end of the lunar year, after the full moon of the twelfth month and before Tết Nguyên Đán; some families choose to hold it together with the ông Táo offering on the 23rd of the twelfth month or with the year-end tất niên meal[1].
This custom is tied to the worship of Thổ Công, the deity who governs each family's land, following the saying “Đất có thổ công, sông có hà bá” (land has its Thổ Công, the river has its hà bá)[1]. People believe that over the past year the deities have protected the family, so at year's end a rite of thanks must be held[1].
Why do some places hold the land offering in the second month and others in the eighth month?
Not every locality holds the land offering at year's end. In Huế, the land offering custom has two seasons: the second lunar month and the eighth lunar month[2][3]. The second-month rite honors the deities and the “former owners” (chủ cũ) of the plot, asking them to protect the people now living there so they can live and work in peace; the eighth-month rite thanks the thổ thần for its support[3]. According to the father of author Phi Tân, the land of the royal capital offers in the second month, while village land offers in the eighth month; the author guesses this is because farmers have spent heavily on Tết in the twelfth and first months and cannot afford a land offering in the second month[2].
Phi Tân's book Về Huế ăn cơm, excerpted in Thanh Niên newspaper, describes the Huế countryside: the eighth lunar month is when the harvest has just finished, the rice has been stored, farmers put away their farm tools and leisurely prepare the land offering[2]. The land offering tray in Huế cannot lack several plates of glutinous rice, and often includes crab, because crab in the eighth month is tastiest when the water newly overflows into the Tam Giang lagoon[2].
The land offering rite in Huế sometimes sets up three tables: Thượng, Trung, and Hạ. The Thượng table offers glutinous rice and a whole boiled rooster with its organs and blood; the Trung table offers a whole boiled hen, crab, eggs, and boiled meat; the Hạ table offers cơm cộ (a rice dish), glutinous rice and chè, sweet potato and cassava, popped grain, grilled small fish, mắm nêm, and boiled vegetables[3]. Many families simplify to two tables, Thượng and Hạ, or one, “tùy gia phương tiện” (depending on each family's means), offering whatever is available, with sincerity as the core[3].
Should the year-end tạ đất rite be held indoors or outdoors?
According to traditional custom, the year-end tạ đất rite is usually performed outdoors, in the yard or on an open plot in front of the house[1]. The reason is that the rite is offered to Thổ Công and the deities who govern the land, so the offering space is tied to the open sky and earth. Households whose conditions do not allow an outdoor rite may hold it indoors[1]; apartments without a yard usually fall into this case.
When holding it indoors, choose a clean, airy place with enough space to arrange the offering tray; prepare offerings fully and solemnly as when offering outdoors; and maintain a reverent attitude during the ritual[1].
What does the year-end tạ đất offering include?
The year-end tạ đất offering tray is not necessarily the same in every family; it is adjusted to economic conditions, regional culture, and personal belief[1]. Despite differences, common offerings include incense, flowers, candles; glutinous rice and boiled chicken; wine, plain water, and tea; fruit; bánh tét or bánh chưng; betel and areca; and votive paper[1].
| Region | Main features of the tạ đất offering tray |
|---|---|
| Northern Vietnam | Glutinous rice, boiled chicken, bánh chưng, wine, chè, seasonal fruit[1] |
| Central Vietnam | Simpler: glutinous rice, bánh tét, roast pork or boiled chicken, wine[1] |
| Southern Vietnam | Richer tray: bánh tét, five-fruit tray, roast pork, local specialties[1] |
| Huế (second and eighth month land offering) | Glutinous rice, rooster, hen, crab, eggs, boiled meat, glutinous rice and chè, sweet potato and cassava, grilled small fish, mắm nêm, boiled vegetables, betel and areca, wine, flowers and fruit[3]; some families make a xà lẹt tray of banana sheaths holding sweet potato greens, dried fish, and mắm nêm, hung outside the fence after the rite[2] |
How many bowls of chè are in the tạ đất offering tray?
There is no fixed rule on the number of chè bowls in the tạ đất offering tray. The VOH offering guide lists “chè” only in the Northern tray and gives no number of bowls[1]. The number of bowls depends on whether the tray is large or small, and on each family's and region's customs.
What parts does the tạ đất prayer text include?
The year-end tạ đất prayer text usually has two parts: the outdoor prayer offered to Hoàng Thiên, Hậu Thổ, the venerable deities, Ngài Đông Trù Tư mệnh Táo Phủ Thần quân, Ngài Bản gia Thổ Địa Long Mạch Tôn thần, the Ngũ Phương and Ngũ Thổ deities, Phúc Đức Tôn thần, and the deities governing the area; and the ancestor prayer offered to the family's forebears[1]. The main content is thanks for the deities' protection over the past year and prayers for health, peace, and favorable work in the new year[1].
The prayer text may be adjusted according to regional custom, belief, or each family's own words[1].
Points to note when performing the tạ đất rite
- Choosing the day: there is no fixed date; it is usually held in the twelfth lunar month after the full moon, and may be combined with the ông Táo offering or the tất niên meal[1].
- Choosing the place: outdoors is preferred; if indoors, it must be clean, airy, and solemn[1].
- Preparing offerings: according to means, no need for extravagance, but incense and flowers, glutinous rice and chicken, betel and areca, wine and tea are advisable[1].
- Attitude: reverent during the ritual, keeping the atmosphere solemn and warm[1].
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: in an apartment, a small table can be set in an airy spot indoors; burn votive paper only where the building allows it, in a metal basin, and let the ash cool completely before clearing it.
