When to Clean the Ancestor Altar at Year's End? Order of Cleaning and Folk Taboos
Year-end altar cleaning runs from the 23rd of the 12th lunar month to before New Year's Eve. A guide to the cleaning order, the incense bowl, and folk taboos.
Results for "altar taboos"
Year-end altar cleansing (bao sái bàn thờ): which day, who does it, and what is the sequence?
Year-end altar cleaning in Vietnam is usually done after the Kitchen Gods rite and before New Year's Eve, by the householder, in three steps.
Folk Taboos When Making Offerings on the Full Moon and First Day of the Lunar Month
Folk taboos for offerings on the Full Moon and the first day of the lunar month, from choosing fruit and flowers to the incense burner and a reverent mindset.
Traditional Tet Taboos and Customs for Good Luck
Explore traditional Vietnamese Tet taboos: avoiding sweeping, giving fire, breaking things... and the spiritual meanings behind these customs.
Avoiding ancestors' taboo names: how did people in the past observe the taboo when praying and when naming children?
Vietnamese taboo names of ancestors: why giỗ prayers whisper the dead's name, whether children could share a grandparent's name, and where the custom endures.
The Thánh sư altar (patron of the trade): who is worshipped, where is it placed, and on which days are offerings made?
The Thánh sư altar honours a craft's patron. Learn the three names, altar placement, ritual objects, and offering days per custom books.
Folk Taboos for Groundbreaking, House Construction, and Housewarming
Vietnamese folk taboos for groundbreaking, construction and housewarming cover dates, directions and rituals, rooted in yin-yang and five elements.
Choosing a First-Foot Visitor by Age Compatibility: Folk Practice, Common Taboos, and the Limits of That Approach
Choosing a first-foot visitor by age compatibility: folk criteria, offerings, step-by-step practice, common taboos, and the limits to keep in mind.
What Does a Vietnamese Family Genealogy Record and Where Did People Keep It?
A clan genealogy lists taboo and courtesy names, birth and death dates, burial sites and children; it was kept in an altar cabinet or box at the clan hall.
How Does the Nhập Trạch Ritual for an Apartment or Rented Home Differ from a Landed House? Offerings and Sequence
Apartment and rented-home nhập trạch rites still announce the move to ancestors and thổ công but skip động thổ and structural changes, with simpler offerings.
Muong Ethnic Wedding Customs
Explore the unique wedding customs of the Muong people in Thanh Hóa: from elopement and ancestor worship to bride-price negotiations and wedding day taboos.
Borrowing an Age to Build a House: the Custom, and Where It Must Stop
What age-borrowing means before building a house in Vietnam, how the stand-in is chosen, the five customary steps, and why the symbolic sale is ritual only.
What Is Trùng Tang, and Why Do Vietnamese Choose the Hour of Coffining and Avoid Certain Burial Days: Funerals Seen from Anthropology
Trùng tang, the hour of coffining and avoided burial days are folk beliefs from Bắc Kỳ; anthropology reads them as easing unease when someone dies.
Choosing Auspicious Times and Directions for the First Outing of the Year: The Lucky Customs of Tet's First Day
The first outing and calligraphy of the new year are Vietnamese luck-bringing customs. See how times and directions are chosen by lunar calendar and deities.
How Are Rice Offerings Made on the First Three Days of Tết? Accounts from the North, Huế and the South
Cúng cơm ba ngày Tết covers the first, second and third day rites: Nguyên đán, Chiêu điện, Tịch điện and the Tạ ceremony, with regional differences.
What Northern Vietnamese Tet Celebrations Include: Offering Trays, Peach Blossoms and Three Days of Family Reunion
Tết in northern Vietnam: the feast tray, Nhật Tân peach blossom, the Hàng Lược flower market and three days of family reunion, with origins and meaning.
Meanings of Each Fruit in the Five-Fruit Tray for Tet
The five-fruit tray for Tet carries wishes through bananas, pomelos, papayas and mangoes, with regional differences between North and South Vietnam.
The Mông People's Nào Pê Chầu New Year: Why They Celebrate a Month Early and the Main Rituals
Nào Pê Chầu, the Mông New Year, falls a month before Tết Nguyên Đán: sweeping the soot, the Xử Ka offering, the year-end meal and fetching new water.
The Lao Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Lao in Vietnam call themselves Thay and Thay Duồn, speak a Tay-Thai language, live in Điện Biên, Lai Châu and Sơn La, and keep ancestor altars.
Offering to wandering souls: should the tray face outward or inward, and where should it be placed?
By folk custom, the cô hồn tray is set in the yard or before the gate, not indoors, and many homes turn it outward. Timing, regional trays, and taboos.
Ancestor Worship Ceremony with the Unique 'Ma Co' Dance of the Lô Lô People
The Lô Lô people in Hà Giang hold an ancestor worship ceremony, a national intangible heritage, with the Ma Co dance in grass costumes as its highlight.
The Cong Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
Vietnam's Cong people live mainly in Lai Châu, speak a Tibeto-Burman language and keep ancestor worship and their own festivals.
How many incense sticks should you burn, and why is an odd number usual?
How many incense sticks? Folk custom burns 1, 3 or 5 because odd numbers are yang; Việt Nam phong tục only records one, a few or three to five sticks.
The Kin Pang Then Festival of the White Thai: An Early-Spring Rite of Then Practitioners
Kin Pang Then is the early-spring rite of the White Thái, led by Then masters to thank the spirits and their disciples; it is held in Mường Lay, Điện Biên.
How Have Hanoians Celebrated Tet from the Early 20th Century to Today?
How did Hanoians celebrate Tết from the early 20th century to today? From Hàng Lược flower market and offering trays to ration coupons and the market now.
From the 1st to the 7th day of Tet, what does each day mean in Vietnam? Customs and significance
Vietnamese Tet customs from day 1 to 7: first-footing, New Year greetings, votive paper burning and khai hạ, with their meanings and regional differences.
Why Southerners Avoid Bananas on Tet: The Mekong Delta's Five-Fruit Tray
In the Mekong Delta, bananas are avoided on Tet because 'chuoi' sounds like 'chui', or to plunge. The five-fruit tray instead follows 'Cầu Vừa Đủ Xài'.
Vietnamese Lunar New Year Customs and the Meaning Behind Each Ritual
Vietnamese Lunar New Year customs: the Kitchen Gods send-off, New Year's Eve rites, first-footing, and lucky money, with the meaning behind each.
How early 20th century Vietnamese consulted fortune tellers, picked auspicious days, and practiced mediumship: rereading Phan Kế Bính, Diguet, and Nguyễn Văn Huyên
Three early 20th century recorders found fortune telling, day selection and mediumship widespread in northern Vietnam, each seeing them differently.
The Tà Ôi People: Settlement, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Tà Ôi live in western Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên Huế, speak a Mon-Khmer language, and worship spirits with festivals tied to the swidden farming cycle.
Visiting the Thăng Long Tu Tran Temples at the Start of Spring: The Order of the Four Temples, What to Pray at Each One, and the Mistakes First-Timers Often Make
A guide to the Thăng Long Tu Tran spring pilgrimage: the order of the four temples, what to pray at each, and mistakes first-timers often make.
First-day Tet travel for the 2027 Lunar New Year: how to choose the hour and direction, and where sources disagree
First-day Tet travel for 2027: how to choose the hour and direction, prepare offerings, and follow the route, plus why sources disagree on the calculations.
How to Arrange the Full Moon of the First Lunar Month Offering Tray for the Family: What to Offer, How Many Trays, How to Place Them
How to set out Ram thang Gieng (first full moon) offering trays at home: how many trays, vegetarian or savory dishes, order of offering, layout and taboos.
Can You Celebrate the Full Moon of the First Lunar Month on the 13th or 14th, and Where Does the Early Offering Custom Come From?
Is offering the First Full Moon on the 13th or 14th lunar day acceptable, where does the early custom come from, and what should the tray include?
Choosing an opening day for the Đinh Mùi 2027 Lunar New Year: where the custom comes from and what people weigh up
Where the custom of a Lunar New Year opening day comes from, and what people weigh up when picking a date and preparing offerings.
Worship of Thổ Công and Thổ Địa: Household Land-Guardian Deities
Thổ Công and Thổ Địa guard the land of a Vietnamese home, distinct from the wealth-focused Thần Tài, worshipped as a triad with Thổ Kỳ.
Si La people: residence, language, worship customs and main festivals
The Si La people live in Mường Tè, Lai Châu, speak a Tibeto-Burman language, worship ancestors, and hold the altar rite, New Year and new rice festivals.
The Giay People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Giay live mainly in Lào Cai, Hà Giang and Lai Châu, speak a Thai-Kadai language, and keep an altar with three incense bowls.
Tet Nhay (Pút Tồng) - The Bàn Vương Worship Ritual of the Red Dao People
Tet Nhay (Pút Tồng) is the key Bàn Vương worship ritual of the Red Dao in Lào Cai, tied to migration legends and performed in 11 steps with dances and music.
The lễ tơ hồng and lễ hợp cẩn in traditional weddings: What is done, when, and by whom?
Lễ tơ hồng honors Ông Tơ Bà Nguyệt after the bride arrives; lễ hợp cẩn has the couple share wine and betel in the bridal chamber. Rites and meaning.
What Dishes Are on a Northern Vietnamese Death Anniversary Offering Tray and How Is It Arranged?
A Northern Vietnamese gio tray usually features boiled chicken, sticky rice, bamboo shoot soup, spring rolls, and a bowl of rice with a boiled egg.
What Is the Dao People's Tết Nhảy? Origins and Meaning of the Put Tong and Nhiang Cham Dao Rites
Tết Nhảy of the Dao: the Pút tồng rite of the Red Dao in Lào Cai and the dance rite of the Dao Quần Chẹt, with their timing, dances and meaning.
What Are the Five Precepts? The Lay Buddhist's Five Precepts in the Pali Canon and the Taking of Refuge and the Five Precepts by Vietnamese Buddhists
The five precepts of lay Buddhists: no killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying or intoxicants, as the Pali suttas state them, and practice in Vietnam.
What Is Hầu Đồng? The Central Ritual of Đạo Mẫu
Hầu đồng is the spirit mediumship ritual at the heart of Đạo Mẫu, believed to channel the Tứ Phủ deities through a medium.
What is Hầu đồng?
Hầu đồng, also called lên đồng or hầu bóng, is the central ritual of Mother Goddess worship in Vietnam, where a medium incarnates the Four Palaces spirits.
Year-end land offering and tạ đất rite: should it be held indoors or outdoors? How many bowls of chè, what offerings, and how to prepare them
Year-end tạ đất rites are usually held outdoors in the yard, indoors only in cramped homes; offerings vary by region, with no fixed number of chè bowls.