Prayer text for the end-of-Tết offering (3rd day) (Buddhist version)

Lễ hóa vàng (rite of burning votive paper). The 3rd day of the first lunar month for most households; in some places the 2nd, 4th, 5th or 7th day

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Buddhist

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

Prayer text for the end-of-Tết offering on the 3rd day, in the Buddhist version, recited during the whole burning of votive paper ceremony. The text invites the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, Bodhisattvas, virtuous Sangha, good protective deities, the local Thần Hoàng and Thổ Địa, and the ancestors together with the nine generations and seven branches of ancestors and relatives to witness, gives thanks and sends the spirits back to the underworld, and prays for the family in the new year to be peaceful, healthy, and prosperous.

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.

How it differs from the common version

Opens and closes with the names of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas; invokes the Buddhas of the Ten Directions first, the ancestors after; keeps the verse section "Tiệc xuân đã mãn" but changes "Kính cáo tôn thần" to "Ơn trên Tam Bảo"; adds the passage "Cây có cội, nước có nguồn" and a prayer for national peace and public well-being; does not mention the burning of gold and silver.

The common version: Prayer text for the year-end thank-offering rite (hóa vàng)

Other texts for Lễ hóa vàng (rite of burning votive paper)

More about Lễ hóa vàng (rite of burning votive paper)

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.