Rước ông Táo (ceremony to welcome back the Kitchen Gods)
- Lunar New Year (Tết)
- 2 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Đón ông Táo, Cúng rước Táo quân, Rước ông Táo về nhà, Cúng ông Táo mùng 7 tháng Giêng
By custom, after seeing off Táo quân to heaven on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, households hold a ceremony to welcome Táo quân back to their kitchen at the end of the year. Pages that publish the prayer for welcoming back ông Táo use the very same form as the giao thừa prayer.
- When
- The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month (the 29th in a short month), many places do it at giao thừa (New Year's Eve); some sources record that the central and southern regions welcome them back on the 7th day of the first lunar month
- For whom
- Táo quân (Kitchen Gods), together with the deities invoked at giao thừa (New Year's Eve)
Sample prayer text for welcoming Ông Táo back home (the 30th of Tết, at giao thừa)
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
What this prayer says
Prayer text read at giao thừa (New Year's Eve) on the 30th day of Tết to welcome Ông Táo back home, paying respects to the Buddhas, deities, the Hành khiển lords, Thành hoàng (village tutelary deity), Thổ Địa (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods) and asking them to descend and witness the offerings, and to bless the tín chủ (the person making the offering) with a peaceful new year and a prosperous household.
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.
2 more blanks
Other texts for Rước ông Táo (ceremony to welcome back the Kitchen Gods)
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 30th day of the twelfth lunar month (the 29th in a short month), the pages state the hour of Ngọ or about 23 o'clock to 23:45 on the night of giao thừa
- Where the offerings are set
- The altar of Táo quân or an altar in the house
Offerings
| Offering | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rice, salt | one plate of each item | |
| Cá chép (carp), fried or live | one fish | |
| Xôi gấc (red sticky rice with gấc fruit), chè kho (sweet bean paste), giò, boiled meat, canh mọc (meatball soup), a plate of stir-fried vegetables | a tray of savory dishes; may be replaced with a vegetarian tray | |
| Fruit, bưởi (pomelo), trầu cau (betel leaves and areca nuts) | ||
| Lotus tea, rượu (rice wine) | one pot of tea, three cups of rượu | |
| Small hoa đào (peach blossoms), hoa cúc (chrysanthemums) | one vase of each | |
| Paper money, votive paper, hats and robes of Táo quân | ||
| Bánh tổ (sticky rice cake), kẹo thèo lèo (peanut and sesame candy) | only docungtamlinh lists this |
Steps
- Clean the altar
- Arrange the offerings
- Light one or three incense sticks, read the prayer text
- When the incense has almost burned out, make the closing offering and burn votive paper
Where the sources differ
- Day of the welcoming: voh.com.vn and docungtamlinh state the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month; hoatieu.vn states usually the 30th of Tết, but people in the central and southern regions welcome them back on the 7th day of the first lunar month
Central Vietnam, Folk practice
- When
- The 7th day of the first lunar month, the same day as khai hạ (ceremony marking the end of Tết)
- Where the offerings are set
- By old custom the tray is placed outdoors; nowadays many households make the offering together at the ancestors' altar
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Rượu, fruit, rice, salt, paper money, trầu cau | Required. the source page calls these obligatory offerings |
| Savory tray: boiled pork, canh mọc or canh măng (bamboo shoot soup), stir-fried vegetables, giò, xôi gấc or xôi đỗ (mung bean sticky rice) | |
| Vegetarian tray: xôi, mushroom soup, vegetarian nem, vegetables | Buddhist household |
Steps
- If the offering is made outdoors, first burn incense to ask permission from the ancestors
- Light candles, burn an odd number of incense sticks, and read the prayer text
- Bow three times, then plant the incense sticks
- When the incense has burned two thirds of the way, burn votive paper
Things to avoid
- The source page advises against offering duck meat, Muscovy duck meat, dog meat, bighead carp, squid, or buffalo meat
Southern Vietnam, Folk practice
- When
- The 7th day of the first lunar month, the same day as khai hạ (ceremony marking the end of Tết)
- Where the offerings are set
- By old custom the tray is placed outdoors; nowadays many households make the offering together at the ancestors' altar
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Rượu, fruit, rice, salt, paper money, trầu cau | Required. the source page calls these obligatory offerings |
| Savory tray: boiled pork, canh mọc or canh măng (bamboo shoot soup), stir-fried vegetables, giò, xôi gấc or xôi đỗ (mung bean sticky rice) | |
| Vegetarian tray: xôi, mushroom soup, vegetarian nem, vegetables | Buddhist household |
Steps
- If the offering is made outdoors, first burn incense to ask permission from the ancestors
- Light candles, burn an odd number of incense sticks, and read the prayer text
- Bow three times, then plant the incense sticks
- When the incense has burned two thirds of the way, burn votive paper
Things to avoid
- The source page advises against offering duck meat, Muscovy duck meat, dog meat, bighead carp, squid, or buffalo meat
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn, cách cúng rước ông Táo về nhà vào 30 Tết (voh.com.vn, Đài Tiếng nói nhân dân TP. Hồ Chí Minh)
- Bài khấn rước ông Táo về nhà ngày Tết 2026 (hoatieu.vn)
- Bài cúng rước ông Táo về nhà ngày Tết (docungtamlinh.com.vn)
- Lễ rước ông Táo về nhà mùng 7 (hoatieu.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