Cúng giỗ hết (Đại tường)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Đại tường, Giỗ thứ hai, Giỗ mãn tang, Hết tang

By custom, giỗ hết is the final death anniversary within the mourning period, usually held more solemnly than giỗ đầu (first death anniversary); after this giỗ the family ends mourning. From the third year onward the giỗ becomes a giỗ thường (ordinary death anniversary).

When
The second year after the date of death; some sources record 2 years and 3 months after the date of death. The day before there is a rite reporting to the deities
For whom
The spirit of the deceased; ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides; Thổ thần (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Long mạch (Dragon Vein) are invoked first

Prayer text to Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch and the deities before the Lễ Đại Tường (Giỗ Hết)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice
  • Address to the deities

What this prayer says

Prayer to Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch and the deities in the announcement rite before the day of the giỗ hết (final death-anniversary ceremony), presenting offerings and asking for witness and blessing for the whole family to be peaceful and prosperous; recited before the altar of the deities on the day before the Đại Tường ceremony.

The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.

Fill in before the rite

Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

3 more blanks

Other texts for Cúng giỗ hết (Đại tường)

Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.

Offerings and how the rite is done

As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.

Used across Vietnam, Folk practice

When
The death date of the deceased in the second year; the day before, a report is made to the deities
Where the offerings are set
The ancestors' altar
Who makes the offering
Children and grandchildren; after this rite mourning dress is ended

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Votive paper, incense, flowers, phẩm oản (offerings of steamed rice cakes)
Seasonal fruit
Savory offering tray: pork, shrimp, crab, xôi (steamed sticky rice), chickentuvi.vn records that giỗ hết is held solemnly

Steps

  1. The day before: invoke Thổ Công, Táo quân, Long mạch, reporting that tomorrow is the day of giỗ hết
  2. On the day itself: invoke the ancestors, invite the spirit of the deceased being commemorated
  3. After the rite the family ends mourning dress (end of mourning)
  4. After giỗ hết a good day is chosen for the cải cát (reburial) rite

Red River Delta, Hà Nội, Folk practice

When
The giỗ marking that mourning is about to end or has ended; the timing is not the same in every household

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Giỗ feast: boiled chicken, xôi (steamed sticky rice), giò (Vietnamese sausage), nem (spring rolls), bamboo shoot soup, bóng (puffed pork skin), mọc (pork balls), mushroomsthe source records these as dishes commonly found in Hà Nội and northern delta feasts
A full bowl of rice, a boiled egg, a pinch of saltOptional. the source records this according to the memory of some suburban villages, not a mandatory offering

Steps

  1. Giỗ đầu and giỗ hết may be held on a large scale, inviting relatives and villagers
  2. Later giỗ occasions mainly invite siblings, children and grandchildren, and close relatives

The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.

Sources

  • Văn khấn Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch và các vị Thần Linh trước Lễ Đại Tường, Giỗ Hết (tuvi.vn)
  • Văn khấn Lễ Tiểu Tường và Lễ Đại Tường, Giỗ Đầu, Giỗ thứ Hai (tuvi.vn)

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

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.