Cúng rằm tháng Tám (full moon of the eighth lunar month offering), Tết Trung thu (Mid-Autumn Festival)
Also called: Tết trông trăng, Rằm tháng 8, Tết đoàn viên
- Festivals through the year
Culture and belief A record of custom.
By custom, on the full moon of the eighth lunar month households prepare a feast to offer to ancestors, and on the tray there are always bánh nướng (baked mooncake), bánh dẻo (sticky rice mooncake) and autumn fruits; in the evening they set out a tray to watch the moon, children carry lanterns and break the feast.
At a glance
- When it is held
- Full moon of the eighth lunar month; offering to ancestors during the day, displaying a tray to watch the moon in the evening
- This year (2026)
- Next year (2027)
- For whom
- Household deities (Thổ Công (Earth God of the house)); ancestors on both sides; former and later owners
- Where
- Ancestral altar, Courtyard or outdoors
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Incense, lamps, candles
- Hương (incense sticks)
- Đèn (altar lamp)
- Nến (candles)
Flowers
- Hoa tươi (fresh flowers)
Tea, rice wine, water
- Rượu trắng (white rice liquor)
- Trà (tea)
- Nước sạch (clean water)
Fruit
- Chuối (banana)
- Mãng cầu (custard apple, soursop)
- Hồng (persimmon)
- Bưởi (pomelo)
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes
- Bánh Trung thu (mooncake)
- Cốm (flattened young green rice)
- Xôi (sticky rice)
- Chè (sweet dessert soup)
Betel leaves and areca nuts
- Trầu cau (betel leaf and areca nut)
Rice and salt
- Gạo (rice)
- Muối (salt)
Votive paper
- Tiền vàng (votive paper money)
Other
- Mâm cơm (meal tray)
Nationwide
- When
- Full moon of the eighth lunar month; offering to ancestors during the day, displaying a tray to watch the moon in the evening. Sources suggest different times
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| Bánh nướng (baked mooncake), bánh dẻo (sticky rice mooncake) | Many guides note it must always be there | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice), chè (sweet soup) | Vegetarian | Meticulous households cook additionally |
| Fruit | ||
| Cốm (green rice flakes), bananas, na (sugar apple), hồng (persimmon), bưởi (pomelo) | Vegetarian | |
| Incense, lamps, candles | ||
| Incense, flowers, lamps, candles | ||
| Other | ||
| Tray of rice with savory or vegetarian offerings | Depending on each household's circumstances | |
| Tea, rice wine, water | ||
| Betel leaves and areca nuts, votive paper, wine, tea, water, rice, salt | Vegetarian | |
North
Hà Nội, Folk practice
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | ||
| Five-fruit tray: bananas, pomelo, peach, persimmon, mandarin | Vegetarian | The bunch of bananas is placed at the bottom, the pomelo in the middle; some households replace the pomelo with Buddha's hand |
| Cốm (green rice flakes), hồng (persimmon), bưởi (pomelo) | Vegetarian | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| A box of mooncakes placed on the ancestor altar | Choose about 10 days before the full moon, it is also the box of cakes for breaking the feast on the full moon night | |
Central
Hội An, Huế, Folk practice
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | ||
| Simply arranged five-fruit tray: đu đủ (papaya), xoài (mango), mãng cầu (sugar apple), sung (fig), chuối (banana) | Vegetarian | |
| Other | ||
| Tray of offerings to welcome the moon | The article describes in Huế | |
South
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | ||
| The five-fruit tray does not use bananas as the main fruit; watermelon and green-skinned pomelo are placed in the middle | Vegetarian | Some households use three coconuts as a base |
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Folk practice
- Laying out the offeringsDuring the day, prepare a feast to offer to ancestors and Thổ Công (Earth God of the house)
- Laying out the offeringsIn the evening, set out a tray of cakes and fruits to watch the moon
- Burning votive paperWhen the incense has burned about one third to one half, burn votive paper (if any)
- Sharing the blessed offeringsThe whole family breaks the feast, children carry lanterns
Northern Vietnam, Hà Nội, Folk practice
- First give cakes to the elders in the clan
- Laying out the offeringsPlace the box of cakes on the ancestor altar
- Sharing the blessed offeringsOn the full moon night the whole family breaks the feast under the moon
Good to know
- SubstitutesAccording to Đại Đoàn Kết, households with little means or time may prepare only simple fruit and sweets to light incense on the morning of the full moon
What is avoided
- OfferingsVietNamNet notes that fruits with spines such as rambutan or jackfruit, or with a very strong smell such as durian, are avoided on the Mid-Autumn fruit tray
The custom
One guide notes that Tết Trung thu was at first a festival for adults: by day a feast was offered to the ancestors and Thổ Công (Earth God of the house), and in the evening a tray of cakes and fruit was set out to watch the moon; over time it became a festival for children.
Phan Kế Bính (1915) notes that Tết Trung thu was commonly called the children's festival: in the evening a feast was laid out to admire the moon, headed by moon cakes, while children paraded lanterns and lion figures.
Where the sources differ
- Times of offering: Báo Đại Đoàn Kết notes that by folk experience offering early in the morning is better than at noon or in the afternoon; Báo Văn Hóa suggests the hours of Thìn, Tỵ, Mùi and allows offering early from the 13th, 14th; one guide notes the tray is placed on the altar at dusk
Questions
Is the Mid-Autumn offering made on the 14th or the 15th?
The Mid-Autumn offering is made on the full moon (the 15th) of the eighth lunar month. Đại Đoàn Kết notes that in some localities the celebrations run from the night of the 14th to the end of the 15th, and Báo Văn Hóa notes that busy families may make the offering early, on the 13th or 14th.
At what time is the Mid-Autumn offering made?
Sources differ: according to folk experience recorded by Đại Đoàn Kết, early morning is better than noon or afternoon; one guide says the feast is set on the altar at dusk as the moon rises. Many families make the ancestral offering by day and set out the moon-watching tray in the evening.
What is offered at Mid-Autumn?
The Mid-Autumn ancestral tray always has bánh nướng and bánh dẻo (baked and sticky-rice mooncakes), with young green rice, bananas, custard apples, persimmons, pomelos, incense, flowers, lamps and candles; more thorough households add xôi (steamed sticky rice), sweet soup or a meal tray.
What is on the Mid-Autumn five-fruit tray in the North?
The Mid-Autumn five-fruit tray in the North usually has bananas, pomelo, peaches, persimmons and mandarins; the banana hand goes at the bottom, the pomelo in the middle, ripe red fruit around it; some families replace the pomelo with a Buddha's hand citron.
What is on the Mid-Autumn five-fruit tray in the Central region?
In the Central region the Mid-Autumn five-fruit tray is kept simple, with papaya, mango, custard apple, figs and bananas, without fussing over the choice of fruit.
What is on the Mid-Autumn five-fruit tray in the South?
In the South bananas are not the main fruit of the Mid-Autumn five-fruit tray; watermelon and green-skinned pomelo go in the middle with other fruit around them, and some families use three coconuts as the base.
Communities and regions
More about Cúng rằm tháng Tám (full moon of the eighth lunar month offering), Tết Trung thu (Mid-Autumn Festival)
Sources
- Văn khấn Tết Trung Thu (vankhan.vn)
- Tết Trung thu (Ngày 15 tháng 8): Sự tích, sắm lễ, văn khấn (vankhan.vn)
- Cúng Rằm tháng 8 như thế nào cho đúng? (daidoanket.vn)
- Cúng Rằm Trung thu 2025: Giờ đẹp, mâm cúng và văn khấn (baovanhoa.vn)
- Cách bày mâm ngũ quả tết Trung thu 2025 (vietnamnet.vn)
- Trung thu ở 3 miền Bắc, Trung, Nam (vnexpress.net)
- 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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