Cúng Tết Hàn thực (Cold Food Festival offering)
Also called: Tết bánh trôi bánh chay, Tết mùng 3 tháng 3, Tết Hàn thực 3 tháng 3
- Festivals through the year
Culture and belief A record of custom.
By custom, on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month households make bánh trôi (floating rice balls) and bánh chay (sweet rice balls) to offer to ancestors. Vietnamese people still cook as usual on this day and make offerings to ancestors, without attaching it to the old legend behind the name; articles record this custom most clearly in the North.
At a glance
- When it is held
- The 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month
- This year (2026)
- Next year (2027)
- For whom
- Household deities; ancestors on both sides; tiền chủ and hậu chủ (former and later owners of the land)
- Where
- Ancestral altar
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Incense, lamps, candles
- Hương (incense sticks)
Flowers
- Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
- Bánh trôi (glutinous rice balls)
- Bánh chay (glutinous dumplings in syrup)
Betel leaves and areca nuts
- Trầu cau (betel leaf and areca nut)
Nationwide
- When
- The 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month; one guide records the hours of Mão, Thìn, Ngọ and that the offering should be completed before 19:00
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | ||
| Incense, flowers, betel leaves and areca nuts | Vegetarian | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| Bánh trôi (floating rice balls) | 5 or 3 bowls (plates) | Vegetarian |
| Bánh chay (sweet rice balls) | 5 or 3 bowls | Vegetarian |
North
Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Nam Định, Folk practice
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| Bánh trôi and bánh chay made from glutinous rice flour | Vegetarian | The article records that traditional Northern cakes are made from freshly ground glutinous rice flour |
Northeast, Lạng Sơn, Cao Bằng, Folk practice
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| Bánh coóng phù | Vegetarian | Similar to bánh trôi of the Northern Delta, eaten with added water |
Central
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | ||
| Fruit | Vegetarian | The article records that Central Vietnamese offer more simply, usually offering fruit |
South
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |
| Chè trôi nước with coconut milk | Vegetarian |
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- Laying out the offeringsOffer bánh trôi and bánh chay on the altar
- Reciting the prayerPray to the outer deities first, then the inner deities
- Reciting the prayerPray to ancestors
Northern Vietnam, Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Nam Định, Folk practice
- Laying out the offeringsThe whole family makes the cakes and then offers them on the altar of grandparents and ancestors
Good to know
- Common mix-upsPhan Kế Bính (1915) notes that although the name means cold food, Vietnamese people cook as usual on this day without any abstention
What is avoided
- One guide records a taboo against offering bánh trôi and bánh chay in many colours
- Taboo against moving residence on this day
- Taboo against displaying fruits with thorns or a bitter taste
- Taboo against offering lilies, crown flowers, and marigolds
The custom
According to Phan Kế Bính (Việt Nam phong tục, 1915), the name Hàn thực (cold food) comes from the Chinese tale of Giới Tử Thôi (Jie Zitui); on the 3rd day of the 3rd month Vietnamese people make bánh trôi and bánh chay to offer to their ancestors, not to Giới Tử Thôi.
Tạp chí Công Thương notes that in folk tradition bánh trôi and bánh chay are linked to the tale of mother Âu Cơ's sac of a hundred eggs, so the Vietnamese Hàn thực festival is about turning toward one's roots; today it is most widespread in the North.
Where the sources differ
- Tạp chí Công Thương records that Southerners offer simply, using only chè trôi nước with coconut milk; Tuổi Trẻ quotes a culinary artisan saying that Southerners almost do not make offerings, and if they do they are Northern origin and the offerings are not as complete as in the North
Questions
On which day is the Hàn thực (Cold Food) offering made?
Tết Hàn thực falls on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month. By custom, households make bánh trôi and bánh chay (glutinous rice balls) to offer to their ancestors, so it is also called the bánh trôi bánh chay festival.
What is offered for Tết Hàn thực?
The tray holds incense, flowers, betel and areca, and 5 or 3 bowls of bánh trôi and 5 or 3 bowls of bánh chay placed on the ancestral altar. According to Tạp chí Công Thương, people in the South keep it simpler, using only chè trôi nước (rice balls in sweet soup) with coconut milk; Tuổi Trẻ quotes a culinary artisan saying that people in the Central region usually offer fruit.
Communities and regions
More about Cúng Tết Hàn thực (Cold Food Festival offering)
- Traditional foodBanh Troi and Banh Chay: The Culinary Soul of Cold Foods Festival on the 3rd Day of the 3rd Lunar Month
- Tet and seasonal ritesCold Food Festival on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month: Why Vietnamese people offer bánh trôi, bánh chay despite not abstaining from fire like the original legend
Sources
- Văn khấn Tết Hàn thực (vankhan.vn)
- Tết Hàn thực, Tết bánh trôi bánh chay ngày 3 tháng 3 (vankhan.vn)
- Văn khấn Tết Hàn thực 2026: bài cúng gia tiên và Thần Tài (fptshop.com.vn)
- Việt Nam phong tục, mục XII Tứ thời tiết lạp, Phan Kế Bính, 1915 (vi.wikisource.org)
- Ý nghĩa khác biệt ngày tết Hàn thực Việt Nam (tapchicongthuong.vn)
- Tại sao Tết Hàn thực lại phải ăn bánh trôi bánh chay? (tuoitre.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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