Cúng vía Ngọc Hoàng mùng 9 tháng Giêng (offering to the Jade Emperor on the 9th day of the first lunar month)
- Festivals through the year
- 1 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Cúng vía Trời, Vía Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế, Cúng mùng 9 tháng Giêng, Ngày Thánh Đản, Cúng Ngọc Hoàng
According to guide pages, the custom of cúng vía Ngọc Hoàng (vía Trời, the Jade Emperor's birthday) on the 9th day of the first lunar month originates from the beliefs of Vietnamese of Chinese origin, and nowadays many Vietnamese households also perform it. The offerings by custom are the lục lễ (six offerings: hương, đăng, hoa, trà, quả, phẩm) together with yellow sugarcane and slab sugar; the Chinese in Bình Dương arrange a tray with bánh đỏ, bánh tổ, and bánh bông lan.
- When
- The 9th day of the first lunar month; according to guide pages, the ceremony is held at the hour of the Rat
- For whom
- Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế (the Jade Emperor, Ông Trời); the prayer texts in circulation also invoke the Buddhas, the Tam tòa Thánh Mẫu (Three Holy Mothers), the Tứ phủ (Four Palaces), local deities, and ancestors
Prayer text for the Ngọc Hoàng offering (vía Trời on the 9th of the first lunar month)
- Used across Vietnam
- Mother Goddess worship (Tứ Phủ)
What this prayer says
Prayer text for the offering on the 9th day of the first lunar month, the vía of Heaven, invoking Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế together with the Buddhas, the Tam tòa Thánh Mẫu, the Tứ Phủ, local spirits and ancestors; offering incense sticks and a modest offering tray, asking these deities to bless the family with peace, smooth work and healthy children. It is recited during the whole offering ceremony for the vía of Ngọc Hoàng.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
Name, address and regional custom
Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
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Offerings and how the rite is done
As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.
Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Folk practice
- When
- The 9th day of the first lunar month (the Jade Emperor's birthday, also called Thánh Đản, vía Trời); according to the pages, the ceremony is held at the hour of the Rat, from 23:00 on the night of the 8th to 1:00 on the morning of the 9th
- Where the offerings are set
- The pages do not specify where the offerings are placed
Offerings
| Offering | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hương (nhang) (incense) | Required. the first of the lục lễ: hương, đăng, hoa, trà, quả, phẩm | |
| Candle or cup candle | Required | |
| Fresh flowers | 1 vase | Required. some pages say it is usually yellow chrysanthemums |
| Dried tea | 9 small cups | Required. some pages say to use tea or plain water |
| Fruit | 1 plate | Required |
| Phẩm: dry items such as bột bán, bột khoai, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, tofu skin, phổ tai, dried jujubes | odd numbers of types: 5, 7, or 9 | Required |
| Yellow-skinned sugarcane with the top still on | 1 pair | Required |
| Molded slab sugar (sugarcane sugar dyed yellow, red, pink, molded into hexagonal towers, gold ingots, kỳ lân, carp) | Required | |
| Vàng mã: yellow paper money, a pair of paper boxes (one gold, one silver) | Required |
Steps
- Prepare the full lục lễ together with sugarcane, slab sugar, and votive paper in advance
- Arrange the offerings and light incense at the hour of the Rat
- Read the prayer text for cúng Ngọc Hoàng
- Burn votive paper
Things to avoid
- Offerings to Ngọc Hoàng must be dry foods and vegetarian foods
Where the sources differ
- Number of offerings: mytour writes that all offerings are counted in odd numbers 3, 5, 7, 9; hoatieu only says the number of types of phẩm is an odd number 5, 7, 9 and tea is poured into 9 cups.
Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Lò Chén, Chánh Nghĩa, Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương, Lái Thiêu, Folk practice
- When
- The 9th day of the first lunar month; according to the article, the Chinese in Lò Chén consider it important and prepare it as carefully as the giao thừa offering
- Who makes the offering
- Chinese households
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Offering tray with about 12 to 13 dishes | |
| Fruit, dried foods | |
| Chicken | |
| Yellow noodles | |
| Dyed duck eggs | |
| Bánh đỏ (molded steamed sticky rice cake) | the type of cake most often ordered |
| Bánh tổ | must be placed two or three days in advance |
| Bánh bông lan (sponge cake) |
Steps
- Place the cakes for the offering before the 9th
- Arrange the offering tray for the Ngọc Hoàng (Jade Emperor) vía ceremony at home
- After the ceremony, give the cakes to visiting guests to share the lộc (blessed food)
More about Cúng vía Ngọc Hoàng mùng 9 tháng Giêng (offering to the Jade Emperor on the 9th day of the first lunar month)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn Ngọc Hoàng thượng đế (hoatieu.vn)
- Bài khấn cúng mùng 9 tháng Giêng (hoatieu.vn)
- Cách cúng Vía trời mùng 9 (hoatieu.vn)
- Lễ cúng Ngọc Hoàng, cúng vía trời mùng 9 Tết (mytour.vn)
- Độc đáo các món bánh ngày vía Ngọc Hoàng của người Hoa tại Bình Dương (baolaocai.vn)
Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
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