Full prayer text for the cáo giỗ offering to the ancestors
Cúng tiên thường (cáo giỗ) (offering on the day before the death anniversary, announcing the giỗ). Afternoon of the day before the main giỗ (death anniversary); by custom only performed before major giỗ (giỗ of grandparents, parents, spouses)
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
- Address to the ancestors
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Full prayer to the ancestors in the death-anniversary announcement rite, inviting the spirit of the deceased being commemorated together with paternal and maternal ancestors to witness and receive the offerings, recalling the debt of birth and upbringing and vowing to keep the family traditions; recited in the section for ancestors in the tiên thường rite.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
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Showing the version used across Vietnam.
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How it differs from the common version
How this text differs from the original: no invocation of the Buddha, no bows to the deities; it opens directly with "Kính lạy gia tiên nội ngoại"; it states clearly "Nhân ngày tiên thường" and "ngày cáo giỗ của"; it lists the family rank, birth year, death date and lifespan; it does not invite Tiền chủ and Hậu chủ; it ends with "Lễ bạc tâm thành, cúi đầu kính lễ".
The common version: Prayer text to the ancestors on the day of Tiên Thường
Offerings and how the rite is done
Other texts for Cúng tiên thường (cáo giỗ) (offering on the day before the death anniversary, announcing the giỗ)
- Folk practice, Address to the deitiesPrayer text to Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch and the deities on the day of Tiên Thường
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsPrayer text to the ancestors on the day of Tiên Thường
- Folk practice, Address to the deitiesPrayer text for the cáo giỗ offering to the deities at home
- Folk practice, Address to the ancestorsShort cáo giỗ prayer text for busy families
- Folk practice, At the gravePrayer text at the grave before the death anniversary
More about Cúng tiên thường (cáo giỗ) (offering on the day before the death anniversary, announcing the giỗ)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
Collected text. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill 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