Cúng rằm tháng Giêng (offering on the full moon of the first lunar month)
- Festivals through the year
- 7 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Tết Nguyên tiêu, Tết Thượng nguyên, Rằm Thượng nguyên, Lễ Thượng nguyên
By custom, the full moon of the first lunar month is the first full moon of the year, also called Tết Nguyên tiêu or Tết Thượng nguyên. Households usually prepare a vegetarian offering to Buddha and a meat offering to ancestors, and many people go to the pagoda for cầu an (prayer for peace and safety) on this occasion.
- When
- On the full moon of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar; the offering to ancestors is usually made at the giờ Ngọ (noon hour)
- For whom
- Buddha; the deities of the house (Thành hoàng (village tutelary deity), Thổ địa (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Thần Tài (God of Wealth)); ancestors on both sides; tiền chủ, hậu chủ (former and later owners of the land)
Prayer text for the full moon of the first lunar month (Tết Nguyên tiêu)
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
What this prayer says
Prayer text for the full moon of the first lunar month at Tết Nguyên tiêu, in which the tín chủ (the person making the offering) presents offerings before the altar and invites the Thành hoàng (village tutelary deity), Thổ Địa (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), Thần Tài (God of Wealth), ancestors on both sides, and the former and later owners of the house to witness and bless the family with all things well, no misfortune in the four seasons, and peace in the eight festivals.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
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Other texts for Cúng rằm tháng Giêng (offering on the full moon of the first lunar month)
Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.
- BuddhistPrayer text for the offering on the full moon of the first lunar month (without chanting sutras)
- Folk practicePrayer text for the full moon of the first lunar month (short version on VnExpress)
- Folk practicePrayer text for the rite of offering to the stars to ward off misfortune on the full moon of the first lunar month (version "Kính lạy... Cẩn cáo")
- Folk practicePrayer text for the offering to the stars to ward off misfortune on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month (version inviting the star lords)
- Folk practicePrayer text for the offering to the stars to ward off misfortune on the full moon of the first lunar month (version "Cẩn tấu")
- Folk practicePrayer text to Thần Tài for the 1st, the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the 10th day
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
- Ngày rằm tháng Giêng; lễ cúng gia tiên thường làm vào giờ Ngọ (11 đến 13 giờ)
- Where the offerings are set
- The altar to Buddha (if there is one) and the altar to ancestors; some households set up an altar in the yard to perform the giải hạn (rite to ward off misfortune)
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Vegetarian offering tray to Buddha | together with incense, flowers, lamps and candles |
| Meat offering tray to ancestors | dishes such as the Tết feast: boiled meat, bamboo shoot soup, nem, giò, xôi gấc (steamed sticky rice with gấc fruit) |
| Incense, flowers, votive paper, lamps and candles | |
| Betel leaves and areca nuts, wine | |
| Bánh trôi (chè trôi nước) | one source writes that the offering tray must have it, another source writes that many places add it |
| Ngũ quả (five-fruit tray) |
Steps
- Prepare two offerings: a vegetarian offering to Buddha and a meat offering to ancestors
- Light incense, pray to the deities and ancestors
- The rite may be performed at the pagoda or at home; many people go to the pagoda for cầu an (prayer for peace and safety) on this occasion
Things to avoid
- One source writes that on the full moon of the first lunar month one avoids killing living beings, so some households make only a vegetarian offering
Where the sources differ
- On bánh trôi: hoatieu.vn writes that the offering tray must have bánh trôi; docungtamlinh.com.vn and plo.vn write that many places and many people add bánh trôi nước
- On meat or vegetarian fare: vankhan.vn and hoatieu.vn write that ancestors are offered a meat tray; plo.vn writes that the offerings are mainly vegetarian; a VnExpress article writes that the offerings at home need not be as large as at the year's end
Northern Vietnam, Folk practice
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Meat feast tray offered to ancestors in the style of "4 bowls and 6 plates" | a source calls it a rule characteristic of the North |
| Five-fruit tray with a bunch of bananas | the article writes that bananas are the fruit always present on the five-fruit tray of the North |
Southern Vietnam, Folk practice
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Five-fruit tray: mãng cầu Xiêm (soursop), dừa (coconut), đu đủ (papaya), xoài (mango), sung (fig) | the article writes the meaning "to pray for sufficiency, enough to spend" |
More about Cúng rằm tháng Giêng (offering on the full moon of the first lunar month)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
- Festival customsRằm Tháng Giêng (Tết Nguyên Tiêu): The First Full Moon and Temple-Going Traditions
- Festival customsHow to Arrange the Full Moon of the First Lunar Month Offering Tray for the Family: What to Offer, How Many Trays, How to Place Them
- Tet and seasonal ritesFull Moon of the First Lunar Month - Tet Nguyen Tieu: Why It Is Considered the Most Significant Full Moon of the Year and What to Prepare for the Offering Tray
- Tet and seasonal ritesLantern Festival of the Chinese Community in Cho Lon and the Belief in Thien Hau
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 giêng năm 2026 chuẩn nhất (phatgiao.org.vn)
- Văn khấn Lễ Nguyên tiêu (vankhan.vn)
- Văn khấn Rằm tháng Giêng 2024 (hoatieu.vn)
- Mâm cỗ cúng rằm tháng giêng (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Nghi lễ cúng rằm tháng Giêng (vnexpress.net)
- Lễ vật cúng Rằm tháng Giêng (plo.vn)
- Những món ăn không thể thiếu trong mâm cỗ cúng Rằm Tháng Giêng (tapchicongthuong.vn)
Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.Open