TL;DR: The New Year's Eve offering consists of two rites: the outdoor rite offered to the deities, seeing off the Hành khiển deity of the old year and welcoming the deity of the new year, and the indoor rite offered to the ancestors and the deities who govern the household. The two differ in who is invited, where the offering is set out and the prayer text, and are usually performed around the hour of Tý. The offering tray also varies by region: the North usually has bánh chưng, xôi gấc and boiled chicken; the Central region has bánh chưng or bánh tét, boiled chicken and giò lụa; the South stands out with bánh tét, braised pork with eggs and bitter melon soup.
How do outdoor and indoor Giao Thua offerings differ?
The fundamental difference lies in who is invited and where the offerings are placed. The outdoor rite addresses the deities who govern heaven and earth, including bidding farewell to the deity who oversaw human affairs in the old year and welcoming the deity of the new year; the indoor rite addresses ancestors and the deities who watch over the home. Because the recipients differ, the offering tray, the placement of the incense table, and the prayer text also differ, though both are usually performed around the hour of Ty.
Phan Ke Binh records in Viet Nam phong tuc that people believe each year a Hanh Khien deity oversees human affairs, and at year's end this deity hands over duties to the next, so people make offerings to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. According to the same book, at midnight on the thirtieth transitioning to the first day, in the city every household sets up an incense table in the middle of the courtyard to worship Giao Thua, while in the countryside the hamlets hold a communal Giao Thua ceremony at the hamlet watch-house (điếm), with drums and firecrackers.
What is Giao Thua and why are two ceremonies held?
Giao Thua is the moment of transition between the old year and the new year. By the commonly used calculation, the first day of Tet Binh Ngo 2026 falls on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 in the solar calendar, so the Giao Thua moment occurs on the night of February 16, 2026, around the hour of Ty from 11 PM on the 29th of Tet to 1 AM on the first day of Tet[1].
In the common understanding of ancestor worship, the two ceremonies serve different purposes. The outdoor rite sees off the Hanh Khien deity of the old year and welcomes the deity of the new year. The indoor rite also carries the sense of "welcoming the new, bidding farewell to the old" and is an occasion to thank ancestors for protecting the family throughout the past year[2]. In other words, one rite faces the outside space, the other faces the family's worship space.
Who is worshipped outdoors and where are the offerings placed?
The outdoor rite worships the deities, usually including Hoang Thien, Hau Tho, the honored deities, the Ngu Phuong and Ngu Tho lords, Long Mach, Tao Quan, along with the Hanh Khien deity of the old and new years[3]. The offering tray is placed in the courtyard in front of the house or an open area, facing outward, not inside the worship space.
The current outdoor prayer text still follows the old structure: it opens with bows to the nine directions of Heaven, the ten directions of Buddhas, then bows to Hoang Thien, Hau Tho, the honored deities, bows to the old-year Hanh Khien and the old Hanh Binh deity, the old Phan Quan, then to the current-year Hanh Khien and the corresponding deities of the new year[3]. The prayer also clearly states that the new year's Thai Tue deity follows Ngoc Hoang's order to oversee all people, while the old official returns to court and leaves blessings behind[3].
It should be noted that currently circulating prayer texts are not entirely identical. Some follow the book Van khan co truyen Viet Nam published by Van Hoa Thong Tin Publishing House[3], while others are suggested by feng shui practitioners and add titles such as Tan Vuong Hanh Khien, Thien Hao chi Than, Nhan Tao Phan quan, along with Ban canh Thanh hoang and Ngu phuc gia than[4]. This is where schools disagree, and this article records both ways rather than choosing one side.
Who is worshipped indoors and where are the offerings placed?
The indoor rite worships ancestors and the deities who govern the home, placed on the ancestor altar or before the spirit tablet. The indoor prayer text usually bows to Buddha, Hoang Thien Hau Tho, the new year's Hanh Khien deity, Ban canh Thanh hoang, the Ngu Phuong and Ngu De lords, Long Mach, then to the high ancestors and the spirits of both sides of the family[4].
Phan Ke Binh notes that on the morning of the first day of Tet, a feast is prepared to worship ancestors and also to worship Tho cong, Tao quan, and Nghe su; the feast can be large or small but must have banh chung, braised fish, gio, cha, pickled onions and beef to be a Tet feast, and some households set up two sugarcane stalks beside the altar as staffs for the ancestors. This is a record by an early 20th-century author about contemporary customs, not a mandatory rule for every household.
Why do Giao Thua offering trays differ across the three regions?
Offering trays differ because ingredients and Tet eating habits vary by region, though all share the same ancestor worship belief. Dr. Duong Hoang Loc, Director of the Center for Research on Religion and Ethics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), comments that Giao Thua offering trays of Southerners and Northerners are usually not the same, and some families follow the regional standard while others are flexible, offering whatever is available as long as sincerity is kept[5].
| Region | Common symbolic dishes | Assigned meaning |
|---|---|---|
| North | Banh chung, xoi gac, boiled chicken holding a flower, fried nem, soup, five-fruit tray | Boiled chicken is tied to the wish for favorable weather; the rooster is seen as a symbol of the five virtues[5] |
| Central | Banh chung or banh tet, boiled chicken, gio lua, glass noodles, pork, braised fish | Banh chung and banh tet symbolize fullness and togetherness[5] |
| South | Banh tet, braised pork with eggs, bitter melon soup, watermelon, ginger jam | Braised pork with square meat and round eggs suggests square and round, yin-yang harmony; bitter melon suggests "bitterness has passed"[5] |
Explaining dishes by symbols of square and round, yin and yang, or "bitterness has passed" is the understanding of insiders and cultural presenters, not a measured result. This is an interpretive layer, not calendrical data.
What should a Giao Thua offering tray ensure?
Dr. Luu Huyen Trang, lecturer in Vietnamese Cultural Foundations, Faculty of Propaganda, Academy of Journalism and Propaganda, states that in Vietnamese cultural history, the Giao Thua offering tray does not need to be "a tall tray full of food"; what matters is that it expresses symbolism and purity, and shows the host's sincerity[1].
According to her, the offering tray should ensure three elements: sacredness with incense, flowers, lamps, water, and wine; fullness with sticky rice, chicken, banh chung or banh tet; and cleanliness and freshness with fruits and betel and areca[1]. This classification is a cultural researcher's interpretive framework, not a mandatory provision.
Is it necessary to hold both ceremonies?
There is no general rule requiring every household to hold both ceremonies in the same way. Preparing both indoor and outdoor offering trays is described as a common practice on New Year's Eve, but the level of completeness depends on each family's circumstances[1][5].
In Phan Ke Binh's records, in the city every household sets up an incense table in the middle of the courtyard to worship Giao Thua, while in the countryside the whole hamlet holds a communal ceremony at the hamlet watch-house (điếm). This shows that the form of worship can be individual or communal, and the organization changes with living space.
Timing and points to note
For Tet Binh Ngo 2026, the Giao Thua ceremony is performed around the hour of Ty, from 11 PM on the 29th of Tet to 1 AM on the first day of Tet[1]. This is calendrical data, verifiable against a printed calendar or an independent calculation table.
Regarding order, culinary artisan Pham Thi Anh Tuyet (Hanoi) advises making the outdoor offering to the deities first, then the indoor offering to the ancestors[1]. The other sources used for this article do not address the order, and each household may follow its own custom.
What other elements of the old Giao Thua ceremony are recorded?
Phan Ke Binh also records many Tet customs such as cutting bamboo to erect the cay neu, tying straw ropes to bind gold, taking banyan branches and pineapple leaves to place at the gate, or scattering lime powder in the yard and at the gate and drawing a chessboard, a bow, a crossbow, with the intent to ward off ghosts. He also mentions the custom of asking a virtuous, easygoing person to xong dat early on the first day so the whole year is lucky, and reminds that on that day one must be careful with speech.
These records are historical documents about customs described in the early 20th century, not descriptions of current conditions. They show that the old Giao Thua ceremony was tied to a series of actions to ward off ghosts and pray for luck from the thirtieth night into the first day.
Nhat Nguyet's suggestion
Nhat Nguyet's suggestion: if a family can only hold one ceremony, clearly determine who that ceremony addresses to choose the correct prayer text, because outdoor and indoor prayer contents differ in the titles invited. For the offering tray, the three elements of sacredness, fullness, and cleanliness are an easier framework to remember than a fixed list of dishes, and any dish should be something the family can actually eat after the ceremony.
