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Lễ vía Quan Thánh Đế Quân (festival of Quan Thánh Đế Quân)

Also called: Vía Quan Công, Cúng Ông, Vía Ông, Quan Đế, Chùa Ông

  • Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines

Culture and belief A record of custom.

Prayer text for Lễ vía Quan Thánh Đế Quân (festival of Quan Thánh Đế Quân)1 texts, kept in Vietnamese, with an English summary.

The feast day is held at miếu Quan Công and chùa Ông, originally a customary rite of the Hoa community in Hội An and Nam Bộ, and now a common activity of residents where such a miếu exists. The ritual includes offering incense, tế, hội quán presenting offerings, and lion, unicorn, and dragon dances.

At a glance

When it is held
Each place has its own date: the 24th of the sixth lunar month (Hội An, Chợ Lớn), the 13th of the fifth lunar month (Cần Thơ), and some places the 13th of the first lunar month
For whom
Quan Thánh Đế Quân (Quan Công), worshipped at miếu (shrines), chùa Ông, and hội quán

Each family and each region may do it differently.

The offering tray

Region:

Central

South Central Coast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Quan Công miếu (chùa Ông), 24 Trần Phú, Hội An, Folk practice

When
The 24th of the sixth lunar month
Where the offerings are set
Quan Công miếu; Quan Thánh is also worshipped at some hội quán and in the homes of Hoa people in the old town
Who makes the offering
The Hoa community and residents of Hội An; hội quán present offerings (the article mentions hội quán Phước Lộc Thiên)
OfferingNotes
Incense, lamps, candles
Hương trầm (agarwood incense)Burned at the area of the statue worshipping Quan Công

South

Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Quan Đế, Chợ Lớn (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Folk practice

When
The 24th of the sixth lunar month and the full moon of the first lunar month; the full moon of the first lunar month is the largest ceremony
Where the offerings are set
Chùa Quan Đế (Quan Đế Pagoda, Triều Châu guild hall) in Chợ Lớn
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Fruit
Mandarin oranges and red lì xì envelopesVegetarianThe temple prepares them for visitors to borrow on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month

Mekong Delta, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Hiệp Thiên Cung, Cái Răng (Cần Thơ), chùa Ông Cần Thơ, Folk practice

When
From the 12th to the 14th of the fifth lunar month, with the main day being the 13th
Where the offerings are set
Hiệp Thiên Cung (chùa Ông Cái Răng) and other chùa Ông of the Hoa people in Cần Thơ
Who makes the offering
The Hoa community of the hội quán

Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Quan Đế, Chợ Lớn (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Folk practice

When
Borrowing lộc on the full moon of the first lunar month (Tết Nguyên tiêu), returning it at the end of the year
Where the offerings are set
Chùa Quan Đế (the guild hall of the Teochew Chinese community) in Chợ Lớn
OfferingVegetarian or notNotes
Fruit
Mandarin oranges and red lì xì envelopesVegetarianRequired. The pagoda prepares them for visitors to borrow at the start of the year; at the end of the year the borrower brings mandarin oranges to return them

Steps of the rite

South Central Coast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Quan Công miếu (chùa Ông), 24 Trần Phú, Hội An, Folk practice

  1. From 6 a.m.: the rite of burning agarwood incense at the area of the statue
  2. The rite of offering incense and performing the feast-day ritual; hội quán present offerings
  3. A procession of flower-decorated vehicles bearing offerings, lion, unicorn, and dragon dances through the streets of the old town to Quan Công miếu
  4. Residents and visitors offer incense

Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Quan Đế, Chợ Lớn (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Folk practice

  1. Worshipping Quan Đế
  2. On the Nguyên tiêu occasion there is Tiều singing (singing of the Triều Châu people), lion dance, and borrowing mandarins for luck

Mekong Delta, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Hiệp Thiên Cung, Cái Răng (Cần Thơ), chùa Ông Cần Thơ, Folk practice

  1. The feast day of Ông is the largest ceremony of the year at chùa Ông (according to some guides)
  2. Some guides note that the văn tế read at the feast day of Bà Thiên Hậu is also used by the hội quán in the festival of chùa Ông Cần Thơ

Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Quan Đế, Chợ Lớn (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Folk practice

  1. On the full moon of the first lunar month, visitors borrow the pagoda's mandarin oranges and red lì xì envelopes to take home
  2. At the end of the year, the borrower brings mandarin oranges to return them, regarded as a thank-offering to the deities and sages

Where the sources differ

  • The feast day: the article cites that the custom differs from place to place, some places hold the rite on the 24th of the sixth lunar month, some on the 13th of the first lunar month; one guide records that chùa Ông in Cần Thơ holds the feast day of Ông from the 12th to the 14th of the fifth lunar month, with the main day being the 13th.

Communities and regions

Sources

  • Độc đáo lễ vía Quan Thánh Đế Quân ở Hội An (baovanhoa.vn)
  • Về Hội An, dự lễ vía Quan Công (baovanhoa.vn)
  • Viếng chùa Quan Đế ở Chợ Lớn (Báo Thanh tra, thanhtra.com.vn)
  • Hiệp Thiên Cung, ngôi đền của cộng đồng người Hoa tại vùng Tây Đô (mytour.vn)
  • Lễ vía Bà Thiên Hậu và nét văn hóa của người Hoa ở Cần Thơ (mia.vn)

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

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