Tạ mộ cuối năm (year-end grave visit and invitation of the ancestors for Tết)

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Lễ Chạp, Chạp mả, Tảo mộ ngày Tết, Tạ mộ 30 Tết, Tảo mộ cuối năm, Mời ông bà về ăn Tết, Văn khấn tạ mộ, mời ông bà về ăn Tết

By custom, late in the twelfth lunar month descendants go to the family graves to clear weeds and tidy up, thank the deities who watch over the burial ground and invite the ancestors home for Tết. In the north-central provinces the rite is known as lễ Chạp.

When
Twelfth lunar month, usually from the 20th to the 30th, mostly after the 23rd
For whom
Deities and Thổ địa (Earth God) who watch over the cemetery; the spirits of deceased relatives resting at the graves

Prayer text for the year-end tomb-visiting rite, recited at the grave (according to Văn khấn cổ truyền Việt Nam)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

What this prayer says

Prayer text for the year-end tomb-visiting rite, recited at the grave, paying homage to the Buddhas, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Thái Tuế, Thành hoàng, the local Thổ Địa and the deities governing the cemetery, along with the spirit of the deceased; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) presents offerings, incense, flowers, and votive paper, invites the spirit home to welcome the new year, and prays for the whole family to be healthy.

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.

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Other texts for Tạ mộ cuối năm (year-end grave visit and invitation of the ancestors for Tết)

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
From the 20th to the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, mostly after the 23rd; no need to choose an hour
Where the offerings are set
At the graves; afterwards one offering tray at the family altar at home
Who makes the offering
The head of the household together with children and grandchildren

Offerings

OfferingQuantityNotes
Incense, lamp or candlesRequired
Betel leaves and areca nuts3 betel leaves, 3 areca nutsRequired
Tea, wine, plain waterRequired
Votive paper moneyRequired
Fresh flowers and fruit1 plate, 5 kinds of fruitRequired
Savory offerings: boiled rooster or slices of giò (Vietnamese pork roll), white xôi (steamed sticky rice) or bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake), a plate of rice and salt
Vegetarian offerings: cakes, rice, salt, a cup of honey, xôi chè nếp (sweet sticky rice)
Paper offerings: votive paper money, paper clothes

Steps

  1. Light incense at the common place of worship of the cemetery (Thổ Địa, Địa Tạng) to ask permission
  2. Pull weeds, sweep, tidy up the graves
  3. Arrange the offerings, light incense, pray to the deities then pray to invite the spirits to come home for Tết
  4. When the incense has burned about two thirds, give thanks and burn votive paper
  5. Light incense for neighboring graves and unowned graves
  6. Return home, arrange a tray at the family altar, pray to invite the ancestors

Used across Vietnam, Buddhist

When
End of the year
Where the offerings are set
New grave: place the offerings in front of or on the grave; built grave: place them on the part meant for arranging offerings
Who makes the offering
head of the household

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Incense, candles, plain water or teaRequired
Flowers, fruit, cakes and candiesas one wishes
Xôi (steamed sticky rice) or a bowl of white rice

Steps

  1. Nguyện hương
  2. Lễ tán Phật
  3. Read the prayer text, make offerings to the four ranks
  4. Chant the mantra
  5. Dedication of merit

Things to avoid

  • No killing of living beings
  • Do not burn votive paper, joss paper, or petition paper

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

Sources

  • Văn khấn lễ tạ mộ cuối năm (lễ Chạp) 2026 (Báo Hà Tĩnh)

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.