Cúng vía Ngọc Hoàng mùng 9 tháng Giêng (offering to the Jade Emperor on the 9th day of the first lunar month)
Also called: Cúng vía Trời, Vía Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế, Cúng mùng 9 tháng Giêng, Ngày Thánh Đản, Cúng Ngọc Hoàng
- Festivals through the year
Culture and belief A record of custom.
According to many current guides, the custom of cúng vía Ngọc Hoàng (vía Trời, the Jade Emperor's birthday) on the 9th day of the first lunar month originates from the beliefs of Vietnamese of Chinese origin, and nowadays many Vietnamese households also perform it. The offerings by custom are the lục lễ (six offerings: hương, đăng, hoa, trà, quả, phẩm) together with yellow sugarcane and slab sugar; the Chinese in Bình Dương arrange a tray with bánh đỏ, bánh tổ, and bánh bông lan.
At a glance
- When it is held
- The 9th day of the first lunar month; some guides note the ceremony is held at the hour of the Rat
- This year (2026)
- Next year (2027)
- For whom
- Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế (the Jade Emperor, Ông Trời); the prayer texts in circulation also invoke the Buddhas, the Tam tòa Thánh Mẫu (Three Holy Mothers), the Tứ phủ (Four Palaces), local deities, and ancestors
- Who makes the offering
- Chinese households
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Region:
Nationwide
Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Folk practice
- When
- The 9th day of the first lunar month (the Jade Emperor's birthday, also called Thánh Đản, vía Trời); according to many guides, the ceremony is held at the hour of the Rat, from 23:00 on the night of the 8th to 1:00 on the morning of the 9th
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | |||
| Hương (nhang) (incense) | Required. The first of the lục lễ: hương, đăng, hoa, trà, quả, phẩm | ||
| Candle or cup candle | Required | ||
| Flowers | |||
| Fresh flowers | 1 vase | Required. Some guides say it is usually yellow chrysanthemums | |
| Tea, rice wine, water | |||
| Dried tea | 9 small cups | Vegetarian | Required. Some guides say to use tea or plain water |
| Fruit | |||
| Fruit | 1 plate | Vegetarian | Required |
| Yellow-skinned sugarcane with the top still on | 1 pair | Vegetarian | Required |
| Vegetarian dishes | |||
| Phẩm: dry items such as bột bán, bột khoai, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, tofu skin, phổ tai, dried jujubes | odd numbers of types: 5, 7, or 9 | Vegetarian | Required |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |||
| Molded slab sugar (sugarcane sugar dyed yellow, red, pink, molded into hexagonal towers, gold ingots, kỳ lân, carp) | Vegetarian | Required | |
| Votive paper | |||
| Vàng mã: yellow paper money, a pair of paper boxes (one gold, one silver) | Required | ||
South
Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Lò Chén, Chánh Nghĩa, Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương, Lái Thiêu, Folk practice
- When
- The 9th day of the first lunar month; according to the article, the Chinese in Lò Chén consider it important and prepare it as carefully as the giao thừa offering
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Other | ||
| Offering tray with about 12 to 13 dishes | ||
| Fruit | ||
| Fruit, dried foods | Vegetarian | |
| Meat and savoury dishes | ||
| Chicken | Meat or fish | |
| Dyed duck eggs | Meat or fish | |
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | ||
| Yellow noodles | Meat or fish | |
| Bánh đỏ (molded steamed sticky rice cake) | Vegetarian | The type of cake most often ordered |
| Bánh tổ | Vegetarian | Must be placed two or three days in advance |
| Bánh bông lan (sponge cake) | ||
Steps of the rite
Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Folk practice
- Prepare the full lục lễ together with sugarcane, slab sugar, and votive paper in advance
- Arrange the offerings and light incense at the hour of the Rat
- Read the prayer text for cúng Ngọc Hoàng
- Burn votive paper
Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Lò Chén, Chánh Nghĩa, Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương, Lái Thiêu, Folk practice
- Place the cakes for the offering before the 9th
- Arrange the offering tray for the Ngọc Hoàng (Jade Emperor) vía ceremony at home
- After the ceremony, give the cakes to visiting guests to share the lộc (blessed food)
What is avoided
- Offerings to Ngọc Hoàng must be dry foods and vegetarian foods
Where the sources differ
- Number of offerings: one guide writes that all offerings are counted in odd numbers 3, 5, 7, 9; another only says the number of types of phẩm is an odd number 5, 7, 9 and tea is poured into 9 cups.
Communities and regions
More about Cúng vía Ngọc Hoàng mùng 9 tháng Giêng (offering to the Jade Emperor on the 9th day of the first lunar month)
Sources
- Văn khấn Ngọc Hoàng thượng đế (hoatieu.vn)
- Cách cúng Vía trời mùng 9 (hoatieu.vn)
- Bài khấn cúng mùng 9 tháng Giêng (hoatieu.vn)
- Lễ cúng Ngọc Hoàng, cúng vía trời mùng 9 Tết (mytour.vn)
- Độc đáo các món bánh ngày vía Ngọc Hoàng của người Hoa tại Bình Dương (baolaocai.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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