Prayer text for the lễ Chạp (year-end tomb-visiting rite) (version introduced by TS Lê Xuân Phương)

Tạ mộ cuối năm (year-end grave visit and invitation of the ancestors for Tết). Twelfth lunar month, usually from the 20th to the 30th, mostly after the 23rd

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

Prayer text for the Chạp rite, paying homage to Thái Tuế, Thành hoàng, the local Thổ Địa and the deities governing the land, along with the spirit of the deceased; the head of the household presents offerings, incense, flowers, and wine, reports to the deities, and invites the ancestral spirits home to enjoy Tết, showing filial devotion.

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

Abridged version: does not include the line "Con lạy chín phương Trời", does not pay homage to Địa Tạng Vương Bồ Tát; names the Hành khiển quan of the year ("Lưu Vương hành khiển, Ngũ Ôn Chi Thần, Nguyễn Tào phán quan", the deity for the year of the Pig); does not list votive offerings.

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

Offerings and how the rite is done

Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Tạ mộ cuối năm (year-end grave visit and invitation of the ancestors for Tết)

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

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 Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.