Prayer text to the ancestors on the giỗ day (or when there is a matter to petition)
Cúng giỗ thường (yearly death-anniversary offering). The date of death counted by the lunar calendar, from the third year onward; by custom there is a tiên thường (advance offering) rite on the day before
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
- Address to the ancestors
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Prayer text to ancestors on the giỗ day, also used when there is a matter one wishes to petition, recited before the spirit tablet to report to the household deities, invite the deceased of the giỗ and the ancestors to receive the offerings, and ask for unseen protection so that the household may thrive, children multiply, and all misfortune be avoided.
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.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
3 more blanks
How it differs from the common version
No Buddha recitation, no bowing to deities; opens with the date and "Cháu nối việc phụng thờ", addresses the spirit tablet, ends with "Cẩn cáo"; the parallel prose is completely different from the model text.
The common version: Prayer text to the ancestors on the main giỗ day (Cát Kỵ)
Offerings and how the rite is done
Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Cúng giỗ thường (yearly death-anniversary offering)
Other texts for Cúng giỗ thường (yearly death-anniversary offering)
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text to the ancestors on the main giỗ day (Cát Kỵ)
- Folk practice, Address to the deitiesPrayer text to Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch and the spirits on the main day of the giỗ thường (Cát Kỵ)
- Family rites (Confucian gia lễ), Address to the ancestorsVăn tế (or khấn) for the giỗ day
- BuddhistPrayer text for offerings on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, giỗ, and other ceremonies offered to the spirit of the deceased (without sutra chanting)
More about Cúng giỗ thường (yearly death-anniversary offering)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn Thờ cúng gia tiên (vankhan.vn)
Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.
More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.Open