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Lễ khai tâm, nhập học cho trẻ (ceremony to open the mind and begin schooling for a child)

Also called: Khai trường, Nhập học thụ thư, Cúng nhập học

  • Life-cycle rites

Culture and belief A record of custom.

By the old custom as recounted in the press, before sending their child to school the parents prepared an offering tray to worship the ancestors and pray for the child to be bright-minded, then brought a small offering to present to the teacher.

At a glance

When it is held
In the old days, before the day the child began studying with a teacher
For whom
Gia tiên (ancestors); the teaching teacher (according to surviving Hán Nôm books there is also a lễ cáo tiên sư (rite announcing to the ancestral teachers), but no checked Vietnamese source is available)
Where
The family altar at home, then the teacher's house
Who makes the offering
The child's parents

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

When
In the old days, before sending the child to study with a teacher
OfferingNotes
Other
Offering tray for worshipping the ancestors
Small offering presented to the teacherOf a sincere nature

Steps of the rite

  1. The parents prepare an offering tray, worship and bow to the ancestors, praying for the child to study with a bright mind and pass the examinations
  2. Bring a small offering to present to the teacher
  3. Many households send the child to live at the teacher's house in order to study

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Ngày Tết, nói về truyền thống tôn sư trọng đạo (baophapluat.vn)

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

More ritesDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, the life cycle, village and ethnic rites.