Prayer text for the cáo giỗ offering to the deities at home
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 deities
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Prayer for the death-anniversary announcement at home, respectfully announcing to Thổ Công (Earth God of the house), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Long mạch, Tiền chủ, Hậu chủ and the tutelary deities the memorial rite for the deceased, asking them to witness and to grant the family good order and harmony; recited in the section for deities 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
Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
6 more blanks
How it differs from the common version
How this text differs from the original: no invocation of the Buddha, no line "Con lạy chín phương Trời"; it opens with "Kính lạy các vị thần linh cai quản trong khu vực này", adds bows to Tiền chủ and Hậu chủ; it lists the birth year, death date and lifespan of the person being commemorated; it ends with "Lễ bạc tâm thành, cúi xin chứng giám".
The common version: Prayer text to Thổ Thần, Táo Quân, Long Mạch and the deities 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 ancestorsFull prayer text for the cáo giỗ offering to the ancestors
- 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