Cúng rằm tháng Chạp (full moon of the twelfth lunar month offering)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Rằm tháng 12 âm lịch, Rằm cuối năm

The full moon of the twelfth lunar month is the last full moon of the lunar year. By custom, the family prepares the offering and prays to deities first, then to ancestors, using the form of the monthly full-moon prayer text.

When
The 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, can be offered from the 14th day
For whom
Deities, Thổ Công (Earth God of the house) and ancestors

Prayer text for the full moon of the twelfth lunar month offered to ancestors

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice
  • Address to the ancestors

What this prayer says

Prayer text to the ancestors in the full moon of the twelfth lunar month offering, after the deities have been invoked; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) presents incense, flowers, tea and fruit and respectfully invites the ancestors and the spirits of both the paternal and maternal lines to witness, receive the offerings and bless the family with harmony, health and prosperity in work.

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.

3 more blanks

How it differs from the common version

Same form as the ancestor prayer text for the first day and the fifteenth day of the lunar month; the date line reads "gặp tiết rằm tháng Chạp năm ...".

The common version: Prayer text to the ancestors on the first day of every lunar month

Other texts for Cúng rằm tháng Chạp (full moon of the twelfth lunar month offering)

Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.

Offerings and how the rite is done

As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.

Used across Vietnam, Folk practice

When
The 15th day of the twelfth lunar month; some pages note it can be offered from the 14th day
Where the offerings are set
The altar of deities and the altar of ancestors
Who makes the offering
The eldest person, the eldest son, or a person of standing in the household

Offerings

Offering
Vegetarian offering: incense, flowers, fruit, betel leaves and areca nuts, clean water, candles or oil lamps
Savory offering: boiled rooster, xôi (steamed sticky rice) or bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake), giò chả (Vietnamese sausage), fried spring rolls, a stir-fried dish, soup, rice wine

Steps

  1. Arrange the offerings
  2. Pray to deities and Thổ Công first
  3. Invoke the ancestors afterwards

The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.

Sources

  • Văn khấn cúng rằm tháng Chạp (vtcnews.vn)
  • Văn khấn rằm tháng Chạp, mâm cúng và những điều kiêng kỵ (voh.com.vn)
  • Văn khấn Rằm tháng Chạp (hoatieu.vn)

Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

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