TL;DR: Tết Trùng Thập falls on the 10th day of the Tenth Lunar Month, which in 2026 is 18 November on the solar calendar. It is the particular holiday of physicians, spirit mediums, and diviners, and in many rural areas it coincides with the new rice festival (tết Cơm mới) or the Hạ nguyên ceremony. Traditional offerings include bánh dày, chè kho, glutinous rice from the new crop, worship of ancestors, and gifts to the physician or ritual master who treated the family.
What is Tết Trùng Thập and when does it take place?
Tết Trùng Thập is a festival held on the 10th day of the Tenth Lunar Month; the name comes from the word "trùng" (repeated) and the number 10, because the tenth month contains the tenth day, a doubling. In the 2026 lunar calendar, this day falls on 18 November 2026 on the solar calendar. It is not Tết Nguyên Đán or Tết Trung Thu but a minor festival in the year, tied to the lives of those who practise healing and ritual, and also an occasion to thank ancestors after the harvest.
Phan Kế Bính's book Việt Nam phong tục, printed in 1915, records clearly: "The tenth day of the tenth month is Tết Trùng Thập. This festival is mostly observed only by spirit medium households and physician households"[1]. Thus, as early as the beginning of the 20th century, Tết Trùng Thập was recorded as an occupational festival, not a nationwide celebration.
Why is it called the festival of physicians and spirit mediums?
According to Phan Kế Bính, spirit mediums and physicians observe Tết Trùng Thập for two reasons: first, to make offerings to the spirits above (deities, patron spirits of the trade); second, to entertain their disciples and clients[1]. It is an occasion for those who practise healing by medicine or by ritual to thank the deities for protecting their work during the year, and to maintain relations with students and customers.
Bùi Xuân Mỹ's book Tục thờ cúng của người Việt notes that this festival is usually organised to celebrate the physicians, the mediums, and those who practise divination[2].
Phan Kế Bính's explanation is a description of contemporary custom, not the doctrine of a religion. Bùi Xuân Mỹ views Tết Trùng Thập in the context of folk worship, where ritual masters and physicians hold a particular place in village communities.
Is Tết Trùng Thập the same as the new rice festival?
Tết Trùng Thập and tết Cơm mới are two names often used interchangeably, but they are not entirely identical. Việt Nam phong tục records Tết Trùng Thập on the 10th day of the Tenth Month, while tết Cơm mới, according to Bùi Xuân Mỹ, may be held on the 1st, the 10th, or the full moon of the Tenth Month, depending on the locality and the harvest[2]. In many villages, the two ceremonies are combined on the 10th day for convenience of worship.
Bùi Xuân Mỹ explains that tết Cơm mới is also called tết Hạ nguyên or tết Thường tân. In the Lý and Trần dynasties, after the tenth-month harvest, officials toured the fields to collect tax rice, and afterwards came the hunting season for amusement[2]. Tết Cơm mới is performed by each family: they take the newly harvested rice, dry it, mill and pound it, cook glutinous rice to offer to ancestors; only after this ceremony do people begin to eat rice from the new crop[2]. This is the basic difference: Tết Trùng Thập leans toward thanking deities and physicians, while tết Cơm mới leans toward thanking ancestors and the harvest.
Where is the custom of celebrating Tết Trùng Thập still kept?
According to Phan Kế Bính, in the Hoài district, people make bánh dày, cook chè kho, first offer to deities and ancestors, then give gifts to acquaintances[1]. In the Thanh Trì area, people celebrate Tết Trùng Thập on the 21st day of the Tenth Month, not the 10th[1]. This difference shows that even within the same province, customs can shift dates due to farming conditions and village habits.
Bùi Xuân Mỹ notes that the Việt Bắc, Tây Bắc, and Tây Nguyên peoples all have a new rice festival, held on different days after the harvest[2]. Thus, in the northern plains, Tết Trùng Thập is tied to physicians and spirit mediums; in mountainous and Tây Nguyên regions, the new rice festival is tied to the agricultural cycle and may not fall on the 10th day of the Tenth Month.
What does the Tết Trùng Thập ceremony include?
Offerings for Tết Trùng Thập depend on each family's means and each region. According to Phan Kế Bính, in the Hoài district the main offerings are bánh dày and chè kho, offered to deities and ancestors, then given to acquaintances[1]. Bánh dày is made from glutinous rice pounded fine; chè kho is cooked from mung beans and sugar, dishes that can be made from ingredients available after the harvest.
For families where someone was ill and cured by a physician or ritual master, the ceremony may be larger. Bùi Xuân Mỹ states: "Those who have been cured of illness and those who believe in mediumship and divination often hold very large festivals, and the households thus honoured also prepare lavish offerings to thank the deities and to entertain the disciples and clients"[2]. This is the feature that distinguishes Tết Trùng Thập from purely agricultural festivals.
As for the order of worship, one may refer to the general way of honouring ancestors on festival days: arrange the offering tray at the ancestral altar, light incense, pray, and only afterwards eat. The book Tục thờ cúng của người Việt describes the festival worship: "Offerings are prepared gradually and set out as they are ready"[3], showing that preparation may extend over several days before the main ceremony.
Is Tết Trùng Thập a major holiday?
No. Tết Trùng Thập is a minor festival, common only in certain regions and among certain occupational groups. The general public does not pay much attention to this festival, and many regions merge festivals such as Tết Thường Tân, the Hạ Nguyên ceremony and Tết Trùng Thập into one, since all are held in the Tenth Month[2]. This differs from Tết Nguyên Đán, Tết Đoan Ngọ, or Tết Trung Thu, which are holidays of nationwide scale.
Nevertheless, for families with a tradition of medicine or ritual practice, Tết Trùng Thập remains an important occasion to thank the patron spirits of the trade and to maintain relations with customers and students. From a cultural perspective, it is one of the few festivals tied to an occupation rather than to a natural cycle or universal belief.
Table comparing Tết Trùng Thập with other festivals in the Tenth Month
| Festival | Date | Main focus | Typical offerings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tết Trùng Thập | 10th day of the Tenth Month (some places the 21st) | Physicians, spirit mediums, diviners | Bánh dày, chè kho, glutinous rice, chicken, wine |
| Tết Cơm mới | 1st, 10th, or full moon of the Tenth Month | Ancestors, agricultural deities | New-crop glutinous rice, autumn-winter specialties |
| Hạ nguyên ceremony | Full moon of the Tenth Month | Tam Thanh deities, ancestors | Incense, flowers, vegetarian or meat offerings |
| Tết Thường Tân | Tenth Month (not fixed) | Ancestors | New glutinous rice, gifts |
The table is compiled from Phan Kế Bính[1] and Bùi Xuân Mỹ[2]. Note that this division is only relative, as many regions merge the ceremonies and names may vary.
Why is Tết Trùng Thập tied to the Tenth Month?
The Tenth Lunar Month marks the end of the harvest in many places. Phan Kế Bính explains that country people generally do this because the harvesting is done, remembering the merit of the ancestral agricultural spirits and making offerings, and consoling themselves for the hardship of one day[1]. This is why the Tenth Month ceremonies often carry the meaning of thanksgiving and rest after the harvest.
In addition, the Tenth Month includes the Hạ nguyên ceremony on the full moon, which in Daoist and Buddhist thought is the day when the heavenly court sends the Tam Thanh deities down to inspect good and evil[2]. Therefore, many families choose the Tenth Month for ceremonies to pray for blessings, avoid misfortune, and conveniently combine them with the new rice festival or Tết Trùng Thập.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: how to conduct the Tết Trùng Thập ceremony today?
If your family has a tradition of medicine or ancestor-worship of the trade, you can prepare a simple offering tray with incense, flowers, fruit, new-crop glutinous rice, and a traditional cake such as bánh dày or bánh chưng. The ancestral offering should come first, then the thanksgiving to deities or patron spirits if there is a separate altar.
If you do not follow medicine or ritual practice, you can still use the 10th day of the Tenth Month to offer new rice, thank ancestors, and remind younger generations of the merits of those who came before. This understanding fits the spirit of the new rice festival as described by Bùi Xuân Mỹ[2], and does not require elaborate offerings.
