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Bao sái bàn thờ (cleaning and rearranging the altar)

Also called: Xin phép lau dọn ban thờ, Rút tỉa chân nhang, Dọn bàn thờ cuối năm, Sái tịnh bàn thờ, Bao xái

  • Lunar New Year (Tết)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Bao sái bàn thờ (cleaning and rearranging the altar)5 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

By custom, before Tết the head of the household lights incense to ask permission from the deities and ancestors, then cleans the altar and trims the incense sticks; when finished, lights incense to invite the deities and ancestors to be seated. The prayer text is a request for permission and a notice of completion.

At a glance

When it is held
In the twelfth lunar month, usually after the offering to Ông Công and Ông Táo on the 23rd and before the year-end offering
For whom
The deities and ancestors worshipped on the altar
Where
Ancestral altar
Who makes the offering
The head of the household, bathed and clean, dressed neatly

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Common offerings

Incense, lamps, candles

  • Hương (incense sticks)

Tea, rice wine, water

  • Cleaning water: white rice wine, warm water mixed with ginger, or water boiled with fragrant herbs (clove, star anise, cinnamon)

Fruit

  • Trái cây (fruit)

Objects

  • Đồ dùng (household items)
When
After the offering to Ông Công and Ông Táo on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and before the year-end offering; performed during the day
OfferingQuantityVegetarian or notNotes
Fruit
A plate of fruitVegetarian
Incense, lamps, candles
incenseone incense stick when asking permission, three incense sticks when finishedRequired
Tea, rice wine, water
Cleaning water: white rice wine, warm water mixed with ginger, or water boiled with fragrant herbs (clove, star anise, cinnamon)
Objects
Cloths and brushes used exclusively for the altarRequired

Steps of the rite

  1. Lighting incenseLight one incense stick, pray to ask permission from the deities and ancestors
  2. PreparationPrepare a clean surface, spread a cloth to place the ritual objects
  3. Wipe from top to bottom; wipe the tablets and statues of deities and Buddhas first, the ancestors' items afterward
  4. Hold the incense bowl with one hand, pull out each incense stick with the other, leaving an odd number
  5. The pulled-out incense sticks are taken to be burned, the ashes scattered in a clean place
  6. Put the ritual objects back in their places, change the water, change the flowers
  7. Lighting incenseLight three incense sticks to announce completion, invite the deities and ancestors to be seated

Good to know

  • Safety (fire, burning votive paper)According to Phạm Cương (Dân trí), when cleaning the altar one puts out candles and incense, avoids strong cleaning chemicals and takes care not to break the ritual objects

What is avoided

  • ConductDo not move the incense bowl or the tablets without permission
  • ConductDo not share cloths or brushes with daily use
  • TimingAvoid doing it at midday (12 to 13 o'clock) and in the evening
  • ConductDo not use cold water to wipe the tablets

The custom

Phan Kế Bính wrote in Việt Nam phong tục (1915) that a few days before Tết everyone tidies the house and washes the objects of worship.

According to Báo Hà Tĩnh, many families keep the order of first seeing off Táo quân and only then cleaning the altar: folk belief holds that after the send-off the deities are briefly away, a fitting time to trim the incense stubs and clean the altar; cleaning or moving the objects before the rite may be seen as interrupting it.

Where the sources differ

  • Incense bowl ashes: one guide records the old custom of sifting the old ashes and pouring them back, scooping spoonful at a time rather than tipping the bowl over; another discusses changing the ashes and scattering the ashes of the incense sticks into a river or at the foot of a tree

Questions

What is bao sái bàn thờ?

Bao sái means cleaning the altar and trimming the incense stubs before Tết: according to Vietnam+, the head of the household lights incense to ask permission from the deities and ancestors, wipes the objects of worship from top to bottom with five-spice water or ginger wine, pulls out some incense stubs, rearranges the objects, then prays to report that the work is done and invites them back to the altar.

On which day is the altar cleaned at the end of the year?

According to Vietnam+, Dân trí and VTC News, it is usually done after the offering to Ông Công and Ông Táo, from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month onwards, and finished before the 30th of Tết. Báo Hà Tĩnh notes it is done in the daytime, avoiding about 12 to 13 o'clock and the evening.

Is incense lit after cleaning the altar?

Yes. According to Báo Hà Tĩnh, after cleaning the head of the household lights three incense sticks to report completion and invites the deities and ancestors to be seated again; Vietnam+ also records that afterwards the head of the household prays to report the cleaning done and invites them back to the altar.

How many incense stubs are left when trimming?

According to VTC News, an odd number of stubs such as 3, 5 or 7 is left in the incense bowl, depending on the family's custom; the stubs pulled out are laid on a tray and burned in a clean place, and the ash may be scattered into a river or stream or used for plants.

What water is used to wipe the altar at the end of the year?

According to VTC News, warm water, ginger wine or fragrant water boiled from pomelo leaves, cinnamon and star anise are used; never cold water or strong cleaning chemicals. Báo Hà Tĩnh notes that herbal water such as clove, star anise and cinnamon, or white rice wine, may be used.

Communities and regions

More about Bao sái bàn thờ (cleaning and rearranging the altar)

Sources

  • Văn khấn bao sái bàn thờ sau khi cúng ông Công ông Táo (baohatinh.vn)
  • Dọn bàn thờ trước hay sau khi cúng ông Táo (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
  • Tỉa chân nhang trước hay sau cúng tất niên (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
  • Cách dọn bàn thờ ngày Tết (vankhan.vn)
  • Tập tục truyền thống trong các ngày lễ Tết (vankhan.vn)
  • Văn khấn bao sái ban thờ và nguyên tắc để thực hành nghi lễ đúng cách (dantri.com.vn)
  • Thờ cúng tổ tiên ngày Tết, nếp nhà gìn giữ qua bao thế hệ (vietnamplus.vn)
  • Cách rút tỉa chân hương và vệ sinh bàn thờ cuối năm (vtcnews.vn)
  • Việt Nam phong tục, mục XII Tứ thời tiết lạp, Phan Kế Bính, 1915 (vi.wikisource.org)

Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

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