Lễ vía Quan Thánh Đế Quân
- Pagodas, communal houses, temples and shrines
- 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: Vía Quan Công, Cúng Ông, Vía Ông, Quan Đế, Chùa Ông
The feast day is held at miếu Quan Công and chùa Ông, originally a customary rite of the Hoa community in Hội An and Nam Bộ, and now a common activity of residents where such a miếu exists. The ritual includes offering incense, tế, hội quán presenting offerings, and lion, unicorn, and dragon dances.
- When
- Each place has its own date: the 24th of the sixth lunar month (Hội An, Chợ Lớn), the 13th of the fifth lunar month (Cần Thơ), and some places the 13th of the first lunar month
- For whom
- Quan Thánh Đế Quân (Quan Công), worshipped at miếu (shrines), chùa Ông, and hội quán
Văn cúng khánh đản Quan Thánh tháng Năm làng An Thành
- Huế
- làng An Thành, Thừa Thiên Huế
- Village communal-house rites
What this prayer says
The prayer text for the birthday celebration of Quan Thánh recited at the rite of An Thành village in the fifth lunar month, reporting to Quan Thánh Đế Quân and presenting modest offerings to show sincerity, and then inviting Quan Bình, Châu Thương and the twelve venerable ranks to share in the offerings.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
Regional custom
The prayer below is ready to read.
This text is the version from the Centre.
Offerings and how the rite is done
As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.
South Central Coast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Quan Công miếu (chùa Ông), 24 Trần Phú, Hội An, Folk practice
- When
- The 24th of the sixth lunar month
- Where the offerings are set
- Quan Công miếu; Quan Thánh is also worshipped at some hội quán and in the homes of Hoa people in the old town
- Who makes the offering
- The Hoa community and residents of Hội An; hội quán present offerings (the article mentions hội quán Phước Lộc Thiên)
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Hương trầm (agarwood incense) | burned at the area of the statue worshipping Quan Công |
Steps
- From 6 a.m.: the rite of burning agarwood incense at the area of the statue
- The rite of offering incense and performing the feast-day ritual; hội quán present offerings
- A procession of flower-decorated vehicles bearing offerings, lion, unicorn, and dragon dances through the streets of the old town to Quan Công miếu
- Residents and visitors offer incense
Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Quan Đế, Chợ Lớn (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Folk practice
- When
- The 24th of the sixth lunar month and the full moon of the first lunar month; the full moon of the first lunar month is the largest ceremony
- Where the offerings are set
- Chùa Quan Đế (hội quán Triều Châu) ở Chợ Lớn
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mandarin oranges and red lì xì envelopes | the temple prepares them for visitors to borrow on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month |
Steps
- Worshipping Quan Đế
- On the Nguyên tiêu occasion there is Tiều singing (singing of the Triều Châu people), lion dance, and borrowing mandarins for luck
Where the sources differ
- The feast day: the article cites that the custom differs from place to place, some places hold the rite on the 24th of the sixth lunar month, some on the 13th of the first lunar month; mytour.vn records that chùa Ông in Cần Thơ holds the feast day of Ông from the 12th to the 14th of the fifth lunar month, with the main day being the 13th.
Mekong Delta, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), Hiệp Thiên Cung, Cái Răng (Cần Thơ), chùa Ông Cần Thơ, Folk practice
- When
- From the 12th to the 14th of the fifth lunar month, with the main day being the 13th
- Where the offerings are set
- Hiệp Thiên Cung (chùa Ông Cái Răng) and other chùa Ông of the Hoa people in Cần Thơ
- Who makes the offering
- The Hoa community of the hội quán
Steps
- The feast day of Ông is the largest ceremony of the year at chùa Ông (mytour.vn)
- According to mia.vn, the văn tế read at the feast day of Bà Thiên Hậu is also used by the hội quán in the festival of chùa Ông Cần Thơ
Southeast, Hoa (ethnic Chinese in Vietnam), chùa Quan Đế, Chợ Lớn (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Folk practice
- When
- Borrowing lộc on the full moon of the first lunar month (Tết Nguyên tiêu), returning it at the end of the year
- Where the offerings are set
- Chùa Quan Đế (the guild hall of the Teochew Chinese community) in Chợ Lớn
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mandarin oranges and red lì xì envelopes | Required. the pagoda prepares them for visitors to borrow at the start of the year; at the end of the year the borrower brings mandarin oranges to return them |
Steps
- On the full moon of the first lunar month, visitors borrow the pagoda's mandarin oranges and red lì xì envelopes to take home
- At the end of the year, the borrower brings mandarin oranges to return them, regarded as a thank-offering to the deities and sages
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Trích tuyển văn tế làng xã Thừa Thiên Huế, Phần thứ ba: Văn tế trong các lễ cúng kỵ hàng năm. Chuyên đề của Tạp chí Nghiên cứu và Phát triển, số 7 (141), 2017 (vjol.info.vn)
- Viếng chùa Quan Đế ở Chợ Lớn (Báo Thanh tra, thanhtra.com.vn)
- Độc đáo lễ vía Quan Thánh Đế Quân ở Hội An (baovanhoa.vn)
- Về Hội An, dự lễ vía Quan Công (baovanhoa.vn)
- Hiệp Thiên Cung, ngôi đền của cộng đồng người Hoa tại vùng Tây Đô (mytour.vn)
- Lễ vía Bà Thiên Hậu và nét văn hóa của người Hoa ở Cần Thơ (mia.vn)
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.Open