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Lễ tân gia (housewarming ceremony)

Also called: Ăn mừng nhà mới, Ăn tân gia, Lễ khánh hạ, Khánh thành nhà

  • House and land

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Lễ tân gia (housewarming ceremony)5 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

By custom, after the nhập trạch (moving into a new house) ceremony the head of the household performs the lễ tân gia (housewarming ceremony): offering a tray to report to Táo quân (Kitchen Gods) and Thổ thần (Earth God) and to announce to the ancestors that the house has been completed, then inviting relatives, friends and neighbours to celebrate the new house.

At a glance

When it is held
After the nhập trạch (moving into a new house) ceremony, once the family has moved into the new house
For whom
Táo quân (Kitchen Gods, Đông trù Tư mệnh Táo phủ Thần quân), Thổ thần (Earth God); ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides
Where
The altar in the new house
Who makes the offering
head of the household

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Common offerings

Incense, lamps, candles

  • Hương (incense sticks)

Flowers

  • Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)

Tea, rice wine, water

  • Rượu trắng (white rice liquor)

Meat and savoury dishes

  • Mâm cỗ mặn (savoury feast tray)

Betel leaves and areca nuts

  • Trầu cau (betel leaf and areca nut)

Votive paper

  • Vàng mã (votive paper offerings)
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Incense, lamps, candles
Incense, flowers
Votive paper
Vàng mã (votive paper)
Betel leaves and areca nuts
Trầu (betel), rượu (wine)Vegetarian
Meat and savoury dishes
Tray of savoury dishesMeat or fishOffered to Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Thổ thần (Earth God) and the ancestors

Steps of the rite

  1. Reciting the prayerPresent the offerings and pray to report to Táo quân (Kitchen Gods) and Thổ thần (Earth God)
  2. Reciting the prayerPray to report to the ancestors
  3. Invite relatives, friends and neighbours to the celebration meal for the new house; guests bring đại tự (large characters), câu đối (parallel couplets), trầu cau (betel leaves and areca nuts), congratulatory gifts and offer wishes

What is avoided

No source we have found describes what is avoided for this rite.

The custom

Phan Kế Bính's Việt Nam phong tục (1915) lists building a house among the joyful occasions celebrated with a feast for fellow villagers; weddings and house-building, however, were celebrated privately at home as the owner wished, held if one could and skipped if not.

Some guides note that after the nhập trạch rite the household holds the tân gia (housewarming): offerings are made to report to Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Thổ thần (Earth God) and the ancestors, then relatives, friends and neighbours are invited to celebrate; guests often bring calligraphy panels, parallel sentences, betel and areca, gifts and words of congratulation.

Where the sources differ

  • Scale of the rite: some guides say the tân gia is usually held with ceremony; Việt Nam phong tục (1915) records that a new house was celebrated privately at home as the owner wished, held if one could and skipped if not

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Văn khấn lễ tân gia (vankhan.vn)
  • Văn khấn Táo quân, Thổ thần lễ Tân gia, ăn mừng nhà mới (tuvi.vn)
  • Văn khấn Gia tiên lễ Tân gia (tuvi.vn)
  • Việt Nam phong tục, Phan Kế Bính (1915), thiên II, mục XXV: Việc hỉ (vi.wikisource.org)

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.