TL;DR: New Year's Eve worship (cúng giao thừa), the lễ trừ tịch, is held in the main Tý hour and has two parts: worship of the spirits outdoors to see off the deity of the old year and welcome the new one, then worship of the ancestors indoors. Many southern homes have a permanent Thông Thiên altar in the yard; the southern tray usually has bánh tét, thịt kho tàu, bitter melon soup, ginger jam and watermelon, while the northern tray has bánh chưng, boiled chicken, gấc sticky rice and nem rán. There is no single standard version.
What is New Year's Eve worship and why are there two offering tables?
New Year's Eve worship (cúng giao thừa), also called the lễ trừ tịch, is held at the moment the old year turns into the new. Dr. Đinh Đức Tiến (Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) says the rite is usually held in the main Tý hour, that is exactly midnight, when the night of the 30th of the twelfth lunar month (in a full year) or the 29th (in a short year) passes into the first day of Tết[3]. The rite closes the old year and welcomes the new, and is also a time to remember the merits of the forebears and invite the ancestors home to celebrate Tết with their descendants[2].
According to Dr. Đinh Đức Tiến, besides the family ancestor altar indoors, households also set up an altar in the yard for the Trừ tịch offering, understood as "tống cựu nghinh tân", sending off the deities of the old year and welcoming those of the new, and asking the spirits to grant the family a peaceful, happy new year[3].
Phan Kế Bính's Việt Nam phong tục records: "At midnight on the thirtieth, towards the first day, in the city every house sets out an incense table in the middle of the yard to worship giao thừa. In the countryside, the hamlets hold the giao thừa ceremony at the village điếm, drums beating and firecrackers cracking. Our custom holds that each year there is an ông Hành-khiển who oversees human affairs, and at year's end one deity hands the work over to the next, so people make offerings to see off the old one and welcome the new one"[6].
How does southern New Year's Eve worship differ from northern?
According to Dr. Dương Hoàng Lộc (Director of the Centre for Research on Religion and Ethics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), the New Year's Eve offering tray of southerners and northerners is usually not the same. Some families prepare according to the regional "traditional standard", while others are flexible, offering whatever they have, as long as sincerity is kept whole[1].
The same article notes that northerners usually do not hold the year-end tất niên offering as lavishly as southerners, but focus the rite on the exact moment of giao thừa[1]. For the outdoor rite, the difference is that many southern homes already have a Thông Thiên altar in the yard.
The outdoor Heaven altar in the South
In many rural homes of the South, the bàn Thiên (Thông Thiên altar, altar of ông Thiên) is a small altar in the middle of the yard or in front of the main door where incense is burned all year round; on New Year's Eve the head of the household goes out to pray there first.
For the outdoor tray, culinary artisan Phạm Thị Ánh Tuyết (Hanoi) suggests cakes, candied fruit, gấc sticky rice, fruit, incense and lamps, betel and areca, and wine[3]; another article lists betel, areca, wine, tea, votive gold paper and flowers[2]. Ms. Ánh Tuyết advises that on New Year's Eve the householder should worship the spirits outdoors first, and only then the ancestors indoors[3].
The indoor tray in the North
According to Thanh Niên, the northern New Year's Eve tray usually has bánh chưng, gấc sticky rice, boiled chicken, chả giò (nem rán, fried spring rolls), soup, tea and cakes, and a five-fruit tray; a boiled chicken holding a rose or chrysanthemum in its beak is the highlight on the altar[1]. For the tray on the morning of the first day of Tết, Phan Kế Bính writes that the offering to the ancestors, Thổ công, Táo quân and Nghệ sư may be large or small, but it must have bánh chưng, braised fish, giò, chả, pickled onions and beef to count as a Tết tray[6].
According to Dr. Lưu Huyền Trang (Academy of Journalism and Communication), the New Year's Eve tray need not be "mâm cao cỗ đầy" (a high tray piled with food); what matters is that it conveys symbolism and purity and expresses the householder's sincerity. In principle the tray should ensure three elements: the sacred (incense, flowers, lamp, water, wine), sufficiency and abundance (sticky rice, chicken, bánh chưng or bánh tét), and cleanliness and freshness[4].
The indoor tray in the South
Thanh Niên describes the southern New Year's Eve tray as usually having a đòn bánh tét (log of sticky rice cake), a jar of ginger jam, a watermelon green outside and red inside, and a pot of thịt kho tàu (braised pork with eggs). The square piece of pork and the round eggs evoke "square and round"; bitter melon soup means "bitterness has passed"; and bánh tét, a corruption of "bánh tết", stands for plenty and fullness[1].
Table comparing the New Year's Eve trays of the two regions
| Element | North | South |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor place of worship | Incense table set in the middle of the yard for New Year's Eve | Many rural homes have a permanent Thông Thiên altar in the yard |
| Cake | Bánh chưng | Bánh tét |
| Savoury dishes | Boiled chicken, chả giò (nem rán), soup | Thịt kho tàu, bitter melon soup |
| Other items | Gấc sticky rice, tea and cakes, five-fruit tray | Ginger jam, watermelon |
| Time of offering | Main Tý hour (midnight); many families worship from 11 pm to 1 am | Same as the North |
| Order of worship | Outdoors first, indoors after | Outdoors first, indoors after |
The dishes in the table follow Thanh Niên[1]; the time follows Dr. Đinh Đức Tiến[3] and a 2026 New Year's Eve guide[4]; the incense table in the yard follows Phan Kế Bính[6]. These are common features, not rules; many families combine or adjust them to their circumstances.
Why does the South stress the outdoor Heaven altar?
In many southern homes the Thông Thiên altar is a place of worship for ông Thiên (Heaven) that stands in the yard all year, not set up only for New Year's Eve; some places call it the altar of Thiên quan. Because the altar is already there, the outdoor rite on New Year's Eve is tied to it. In the North the outdoor rite also exists, like the incense table in the yard described by Phan Kế Bính, but that table is set out only for New Year's Eve.
This is a general tendency, not an absolute boundary: many northern families also have an outdoor altar, and many southern families place weight on the indoor tray.
How should the offerings be prepared and in what order should New Year's Eve worship be performed correctly?
According to general guidance, New Year's Eve worship is usually carried out in this order:
- Prepare the offerings: incense, flowers, candles, betel and areca, tea and wine, a five-fruit tray; savoury dishes depend on the region: the North has boiled chicken, bánh chưng, gấc sticky rice; the South has thịt kho tàu, bánh tét, bitter melon soup[1].
- Worship outdoors: set the offerings on the table in the yard, light incense and pray to the spirits, seeing off the deity of the old year and welcoming the deity of the new[3].
- Worship indoors: after the outdoor offering, the householder goes inside, lights incense on the ancestor altar and invites the ancestors to celebrate Tết. The indoor savoury tray suggested by artisan Ánh Tuyết has bánh chưng, boiled chicken, giò, jellied pork and gấc sticky rice[3].
- Recite the prayer text: pray to the spirits outdoors and to the ancestors indoors; the prayer text has many variants.
For Tết Bính Ngọ 2026, a newspaper guide gives the time of worship as the Tý hour, from 11 pm on the 29th of Tết (16 February 2026) to 1 am on the first day of Tết (17 February 2026)[4].
Points to note and debates
The belief in the ông Hành khiển recorded by Phan Kế Bính lives on in today's prayer texts: the outdoor prayer published by VietnamNet salutes the outgoing Ngô Vương Hành Khiển and the incoming Tấn Vương Hành Khiển, that is, the deity of the old year and the deity of the new[5]. The indoor prayer in the same article salutes the Buddhas, Hoàng thiên Hậu thổ, the Thành hoàng, Ngũ phương, Ngũ đế, the household deities and Thổ địa before the ancestors[5]. The prayer text has many variants; each family may use the one familiar to its lineage.
In cities, many families have no outdoor space. Dr. Đinh Đức Tiến says that today, especially in cities, because living space is cramped, many families without the conditions for outdoor New Year's Eve worship may worship indoors[3].
