Văn tế (or khấn) for the giỗ day
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
- Family rites (Confucian gia lễ)
- Address to the ancestors
- Sacrificial oration
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Sacrificial oration (or prayer) for the giỗ day, recited by the person in that role together with the whole household, young and old, before the spirit tablet to report the offerings of incense, flowers, oil and wine, remember the merit of those who came before, and ask that their sincere hearts be witnessed.
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.
4 more blanks
How it differs from the common version
An abridged version by a reformist Confucian scholar, printed in 1932: no Buddha recitation, no bowing to deities, no offerings listed other than "hương hoa dầu rượu"; the whole text is one declarative sentence and six four-character sentences ("đời nay ăn quả, người trước giồng cây"), ending with "Kính cáo".
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)
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text to the ancestors on the giỗ day (or when there is a matter to petition)
- 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
- Gia lễ giản yếu, phần Văn tế và văn khấn (vi.wikisource.org, trang 15 tới 17 của bản in)
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