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The Top 3 Important Ceremonies in the Lunar December, Don’t Forget to Participate for Good Luck

December is the twelfth month of the year, but this term is only for the lunar calendar. In December, there are 3 significant traditional rituals.

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10 January, 2024

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Little-known facts about Điều ít biết về Tháng Chạp

Why is the month of Chạp called the clandestine month?

In the past, the month of Chạp was one of the months that was prone to theft. Because during this month people are busy with various tasks, they tend to be careless and forgetful. This creates opportunities for thieves to easily carry out their acts of theft.

In addition, the clandestine month also signifies being cautious of firewood. The reason is that at the end of the year, there are usually many year-end parties and banquets, and if one is not careful, it can cause a fire.

Currently, the Chạp month also has another meaning for modern people, which is to pay attention to travel, alcohol and food poisoning, stomach bleeding, stroke, etc. because the frequent year-end parties can make us less alert and our health deteriorates, leading to regrettable situations.

Why is the lunar month of December also called the Chạp month?

December in the lunar calendar is called the Chạp month, indicating the end of the old year and welcoming the upcoming Lunar New Year. According to cultural books, the reason for calling it the Chạp month is that the word “chạp” in Chinese is the phonetic transcription of the word “lạp”. In China, at the end of the year, there will be rituals called Lạp to worship the deities.

3 important ceremonies in Chạp month that should not be overlooked

Rằm tháng Chạp ceremony

Depending on the customs of each locality, the Rằm tháng Chạp ceremony may have some variations. However, in general, families usually prepare vegetarian altars and salty food altars.

The vegetarian altar includes:

• Candles or lamps

• Incense

• Clean water

• Betel leaves and betel nuts

• Fruits

• Fresh flowers

The salty food altar includes:

• Boiled chicken (preferably male chicken)

• Sticky rice or sticky rice with gấc (baby jackfruit)

• Mung bean soup

• Meat roll or meat paste

• Stir-fried dish (such as stir-fried beef, stir-fried chicken liver with beansprouts)

• Rice wine and a few other salty dishes

Depending on the conditions and beliefs, families may or may not prepare a salty food altar. The most important thing is still the sincerity.

The tradition of Vietnamese people is to hold the Rằm tháng Chạp ceremony on the exact day. This year, Rằm tháng Chạp falls on Friday, January 6th, 2023.

Ông Công, ông Táo ceremony

According to folklore, Táo Quân is responsible for managing the kitchen affairs of each family. Táo Quân consists of 2 men and 1 woman, symbolizing the 3-legged stove in the warm kitchen of the Vietnamese of the past.

The Ông Công, ông Táo ceremony must be conducted before Táo Quân flies back to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor, which means before 12:00 pm on the 23rd day of Chạp month. If the family has an altar for Táo Quân placed in the kitchen, incense is lit at this altar. If not, the family lights incense at the ancestral altar.

The ceremonial objects include 3 carp and a set of hats and clothes; the Táo Quân hat consists of 2 men’s hats and 1 woman’s hat. The hat for the woman does not need butterfly wings, but the men’s hats require 2 butterfly wings. The gold items will be burned after the ceremony on the 23rd day of Chạp month.

The Ông Công, ông Táo altar includes:

• 1 plate of rice, 1 plate of salt

• 500 grams of boiled pork shoulder

• 1 bowl of mushroom soup

• 1 plate of stir-fried mixed vegetables, 1 plate of meat loaf

• 1 plate of red sticky rice, 1 plate of preserved fruit

• 1 plate of fruits

• 1 pot of lotus tea, 3 cups of rice wine

• Betel leaves and betel nuts

• Flowers

• Paper money, gold items

What the Ông Công, ông Táo altar includes depends on the conditions of each family.

Tết holiday ceremony

Tết holiday ceremony is usually held on the afternoon of the 30th of Tết, to conclude a year and prepare to welcome the new year. However, with the busy life nowadays, many families often hold it one or two days before.

The Tết holiday altar is usually prepared meticulously by families. The host will invite grandparents, ancestors, and deceased relatives to have Tết meals with the descendants. Depending on each region, the Tết holiday altar also has its own distinctive features. For example, the Northern region has bánh trưng (sticky rice cake), giò (Vietnamese sausage), simmered pork hock and bamboo shoots soup, chicken vermicelli, stir-fried dishes… The Central region has bánh tét (cylinder-shaped sticky rice cake), giò lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), chicken stuffed with Vietnamese mint… The Southern region has bamboo shoots soup, shrimp and pork salad, braised pork… In addition, the ceremony also includes a tray of five fruits, incense, paper money and gold items, betel leaves, wine, tea, candles…

In the past, the Tết holiday meal on the 30th of Tết was highly regarded. This is an occasion for family members to gather, and the more generations attending the Tết holiday meal, the luckier the family is believed to be.

In addition to the meaning of family reunion, the Tết holiday meal is also a ritual to bid farewell to the old year and invite Ông Công Ông Táo back to the mortal world to continue their task of taking care of the kitchen for families in the human world. After the Tết holiday meal, family members prepare for the Tết eve ceremony to welcome the new year.

(*)The information in the article is for reference only.