Prayer text asking to return to the hometown for Tết (abridged version for those renting or in apartments)
Offering to report absence from home during Tết. One or two days before leaving home, or on the morning of departure, in the twelfth lunar month
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
The simplified version for people living in rented rooms or apartments, paying respect to the deities governing the area and to the ancestors, announcing that the family is preparing to return to the hometown for Tết and asking for protection so the journey is safe and lucky. It is recited before the altar during the whole ceremony one or two days before leaving the house or on the morning of departure, in the twelfth lunar month.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
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Showing the version used across Vietnam.
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How it differs from the common version
Only two lines of reverence (the deities governing the area; the ancestors, Cửu Huyền Thất Tổ), the offerings are "nén hương thơm, đĩa quả ngọt, chén nước trong", and there is no request to invite the ancestral spirits to return to the hometown together.
The common version: Prayer text asking to return to the hometown for Tết (full traditional version)
Offerings and how the rite is done
Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Offering to report absence from home during Tết
Other texts for Offering to report absence from home during Tết
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn xin về quê ăn Tết 2026 (baohatinh.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