Prayer text for the land offering at the beginning of the year

Lễ tạ đất (thanksgiving rite to the land). The twelfth lunar month before Tết in many places; in Huế, the second and eighth lunar months; in Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng, at tất niên (year-end) and the beginning of spring

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

Prayer for the beginning-of-year land offering, recited for the whole ceremony to give thanks to the deities, Thổ Địa (Earth God), Táo quân (Kitchen Gods) and the venerable deities for their protection in the past year, and to ask for continued protection in the new year with health, smooth work, and a peaceful 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.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

1 more blanks

How it differs from the common version

Bài cho lễ cúng đất đầu xuân, không phải lễ tạ cuối năm: mở bằng "Con lạy chín phương Trời", kính lạy Hoàng Thiên Hậu Thổ, Đông Trù Tư mệnh Táo phủ Thần quân và Thần linh Thổ địa; có câu "nhằm tiết đầu xuân, năm mới"; không thỉnh gia tiên, không có "Cẩn cáo".

The common version: Prayer text for the year-end tạ đất offering

Offerings and how the rite is done

Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Lễ tạ đất (thanksgiving rite to the land)

Other texts for Lễ tạ đất (thanksgiving rite to the land)

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

Sources

  • Bài văn khấn cúng đất đai (docungtamlinh.com.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.