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Lễ mừng thọ (longevity celebration)

Also called: Thượng thọ, Khao thọ, Lễ khao thượng thọ, Chúc thọ, Yến lão, Tiệc mừng lão của làng, Con cháu chúc thọ

  • Life-cycle rites

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Lễ mừng thọ (longevity celebration)2 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

By custom, when a household has grandparents or parents who have reached an advanced age, the children and grandchildren burn incense to announce to the ancestors, then bow to congratulate them and offer wine to wish them longevity. Sources do not agree on the age milestones: in some places, from 70 it is mừng thọ, from 80 it is thượng thọ.

At a glance

When it is held
Usually on the occasion of Tết Nguyên đán (Lunar New Year), around the second day of Tết; also held on the birthday of the elderly person
For whom
Ancestors and deities (respectfully announced); the elderly person is the one being congratulated, not the one being offered to
Where
The family altar or the clan temple; for the savory offering, some households bring it to the communal house (đình) to offer to the deity
Who makes the offering
The eldest son or a representative of the children and grandchildren

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

When
Usually on the occasion of Tết Nguyên đán (Lunar New Year), around the second day of Tết; some households also hold it on the birthday, on Vietnam Elderly Day, June 6
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Incense, lamps, candles
Incense, flowers, fruitVegetarian
Votive paper
Vàng mã (votive paper)
Meat and savoury dishes
Savory offering: chicken, xôi (steamed sticky rice); large households make a tam sinh (three sacrificial animals) offeringMeat or fishBrought to the communal house (đình) to offer to the deity, to thank for having protected the parents to live long
Tea, rice wine, water
Tea and fruit, rice and soup offered to the ancestorsVegetarian
A cup of wine to congratulate longevity, a peachVegetarianThe children and grandchildren offer them to the person being celebrated for longevity

Steps of the rite

Used across Vietnam, Folk practice

  1. The children and grandchildren burn incense and read the văn yết cáo (announcement text) to the ancestors
  2. The parents dress nicely and sit on a chair in the middle of the house; the children and grandchildren take turns bowing to congratulate them, offering wine or a peach
  3. Open the feast to invite relatives and neighbors; hang parallel sentences and large characters congratulating longevity

Used across Vietnam, Buddhist

  1. Chant sutras, invite the monks to preach the Dharma to the whole family, do charitable deeds at the Three Jewels and then dedicate the merit to the grandparents and parents
  2. Release living beings, give alms
  3. Organize simply so the elderly do not get tired
  4. Take the parents to the pagoda to take refuge in the Three Jewels

What is avoided

  • Do not kill animals to make the feast for the longevity celebration

Where the sources differ

  • Age milestones: VOH writes that thượng thọ is from 80 years old; one guide writes that 70 and 75 are mừng thọ, 80 and 85 are thượng thọ, from 90 is thượng thượng thọ, and says the old names (hạ thọ, trung thọ, thượng thọ) are not consistent among books

Communities and regions

More about Lễ mừng thọ (longevity celebration)

Sources

  • Văn khấn lễ Thượng thọ chuẩn theo sách cổ truyền (voh.com.vn)
  • Lễ mừng thọ: 5 việc cần làm để ông bà sống thọ, thêm phúc (chuabavang.com)

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.