Ceremony to pray for examinations and official career

Culture and belief A record of custom.

About this rite: when it is held and for whom

Also called: Cầu thi cử đỗ đạt, Văn khấn đi thi, Lễ sĩ tử dâng hương, Cáo miếu khi được sắc, bằng

Theo tục, trước kỳ thi thí sinh hoặc cha mẹ thắp hương xin gia tiên phù hộ, có người đến văn miếu, đền thờ dâng hương cầu học hành tấn tới. Các bài báo tìm được đều tả tục ở Văn Miếu - Quốc Tử Giám và đền Ngọc Sơn tại Hà Nội.

When
Before the exam day or on the morning of the exam day; at the beginning of the year with the custom of asking for calligraphy
For whom
Household deities and ancestors at home; Đức Khổng Tử (Confucius), Văn Xương Đế Quân (God of Literature), and the sages and examination laureates at the Temple of Literature and temples

Prayer text asking ancestors for protection before going to the exam

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice
  • Indoor offering

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 Ceremony to pray for examinations and official career

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
Before the exam day or on the morning of the exam day
Where the offerings are set
Ancestor altar
Who makes the offering
The candidate or parents, grandparents praying on their behalf

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Incense, flowers, tea, fruit, a betel leaf and areca nutOptional. hoatieu.vn: prepare them if you can, it is also fine if you cannot
Savory offering or sweet offeringOptional. depending on the household

Steps

  1. Burn incense at the ancestors' altar first, and only after finishing the prayer burn incense at the other altars
  2. Read the prayer text, stating the candidate's name and age, the exam, and the exam location
  3. Bow three times, then insert the incense sticks

Red River Delta, Văn Miếu - Quốc Tử Giám, đền Ngọc Sơn, Hà Nội, Folk practice

When
Before and during the exam season; at the beginning of the year there is the custom of asking for calligraphy
Where the offerings are set
Ban thờ Đức Khổng Tử và Tư nghiệp Chu Văn An ở Văn Miếu; đền Ngọc Sơn
Who makes the offering
Pupils, students and parents

Offerings

OfferingNotes
Bánh đậu xanh (mung bean cake), betel leaves and areca nuts, votive paper moneyaccording to hoatieu.vn
One pen, one notebook, one electric light bulb wrapped in red paperaccording to hoatieu.vn: after the ceremony, take the pen and notebook to the exam, and fit the light bulb into the desk lamp

Steps

  1. Offer incense and read the prayer text before the altar
  2. Look at the steles of Tiến sĩ (doctoral laureates), ask for calligraphy
  3. Thanking ceremony, burning votive paper; take the pen and notebook home to use

Where the sources differ

  • Where the ceremony should be held: hoatieu.vn notes that đền Ngọc Sơn suits candidates before the exam, while Văn Miếu suits those who have already passed coming to give thanks; vietnamnet.vn and báo Pháp luật Việt Nam describe pupils going to Văn Miếu to offer incense right before the exam

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 đi thi đỗ đạt, may mắn cho sĩ tử (voh.com.vn)
  • Bài khấn thi cử đỗ đạt (hoatieu.vn)
  • Văn khấn cầu thi cử, đỗ đạt tại Văn Miếu - Quốc Tử Giám (vietnamnet.vn)
  • Về trường đại học đầu tiên của Việt Nam cầu may trước kỳ thi tốt nghiệp THPT (baophapluat.vn)

Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.

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