Meaning of the New Year’s Eve ritual
New Year’s Eve Ceremony is an ancient tradition of the Vietnamese people, but the way this ritual is performed in the three regions of the North, Central, and South also has some differences.
According to the Hán – Việt dictionary by author Ðào Duy Anh, Giao Thừa means the old replaces the new. This meaning is to express the defeat of the bad things of the old year and welcome the good things of the new year.
The exorcism ceremony also has the meaning of getting rid of evil spirits, so it is called “exorcism”. The exorcism ceremony usually takes place on New Year’s Eve, so it is also called the New Year’s Eve ceremony.
New Year’s Eve Ceremony is an important ritual for the Vietnamese people. According to tradition, New Year’s Eve is organized to welcome the 12 Governors. They usually go on a field trip under the lower realm and cannot enter the house, so the altar is often placed outside the main door of each house.
At the end of the year, the current Governors will hand over their duties to the new Governors to manage the Lower Realm in the new year. The altar is arranged with sincerity to bid farewell to the old Governors and welcome the new ones to take on the task of managing the Lower Realm.
Because the handover of duties takes place in a urgent atmosphere, the Governors often only have time to eat in a hurry or just witness the sincerity of the hosts. Therefore, on the ancestral altar of each family on New Year’s Day, there is always an incense burner, an oil lamp, and two candles to light up.
When is the New Year’s Eve ceremony?
The New Year’s Eve ceremony usually takes place at what time and should it be held indoors or outdoors first are issues that many people are concerned about.
Usually, people often perform the New Year’s Eve ceremony at the exact moment of Tý, which is 12 o’clock midnight on the 30th or 29th of the Lunar December. This is also the time of transition between the old year and the new year, and an opportunity to bid farewell to the deities of the old year and welcome the deities of the new year.
Should it be held indoors or outdoors first?
When organizing the New Year’s Eve ceremony, many families often have to perform two rituals: an outdoor ritual and an indoor ritual. The issue is whether to hold the outdoor ritual first or the indoor ritual first.
According to feng shui experts, the outdoor ritual is usually held first to “welcome the new, bid farewell to the old”, which means welcoming the new Governors and bidding farewell to the old ones.
After completing the outdoor ritual, the host will proceed with the New Year’s Eve ceremony indoors, after arranging all the rituals on the ancestral altar. At this time, the candles will be lit, the incense will be burned, and the respectful prayers will be performed.
According to the traditional customs of the Vietnamese people, the New Year’s Eve ceremony is organized in a careful manner in each family, to welcome the appearance of the Land Genie and bring luck and fortune to the house.
However, this custom also has differences in each region, especially in terms of the New Year’s Eve altar.
Traditional New Year’s Eve altars in different regions
The outdoor altar must be placed in a clean place, and on the altar, there is a bowl of rice to hold incense and two candles or oil lamps.
In addition, in the New Year’s Eve altar, the host can also prepare the hat of the Land Emperor. Depending on the customs of each place, the New Year’s Eve altar can be vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
The outdoor New Year’s Eve altar is usually simpler than the indoor one
The host prepares the outdoor New Year’s Eve altar with the following items:
Tray of five fruits
Incense (preferably 3 large incense sticks)
Flowers/lamps/candles
Betel leaves and areca nuts
Salt rice
Tea and alcohol
Sacred hat and garments
Boiled pig feet
Boiled rooster
Sticky rice
Chung cake
Among them, the host should pay special attention to the boiled rooster. Choose a rooster that has just started crowing, has not mated, is healthy, has a yellow beak, a crest, and yellow legs. If there are not many conditions, a simple preparation is enough, just show sincere gratitude to the deities, ancestors.
Depending on each region, there are different types of worship items:
Northern Region: The New Year’s Eve altar is usually counted by bowls and plates, including 4 bowls, 4 plates or 6 bowls, 6 plates, or 8 bowls, 8 plates for larger altars. These bowls often have pig feet stew, boiled chicken feet, mixed vermicelli, boiled pork organs. The plates are usually sticky rice, Chung cake, boiled meat, dried meat, gio lua (Vietnamese sausage), stir-fried gio (Vietnamese sausage), salad, and pickled onions. Some families also worship a rooster, which is usually a castrated male chicken.
Central Region: On the New Year’s Eve altar of the Central people, there are Chung cakes, Tet cakes, pickles, Hue-style sausage, dried meat, squeezed chicken with laksa leaves, Hue-style sausage, boiled pork, Bat Ninh dried bamboo shoot soup, Hue-style vermicelli, fried fish, or braised gio. The altar is filled with a variety of dishes.
Southern Region: The New Year’s Eve altar is usually simpler, with only incense, flowers, lamps, sweets, fruits, and tea… But if it is a full savory altar, there will be boiled pork, boiled chicken, sticky rice, Chung cake, sweet soup… After the outdoor New Year’s Eve ceremony, the host will perform the indoor New Year’s Eve ceremony to worship the Land Genie and ancestors, praying for the ancestors’ blessings for the family in the new year.
Rituals and prayers for the New Year’s Eve of Giáp Thìn 2024
After preparing all the necessary items before 12 o’clock midnight, at the moment of New Year’s Eve, the host will start by tasting the fragrance of the wine, lighting the lamp, burning incense, and sincerely reciting the New Year’s Eve prayers.
New Year’s Eve prayers for the indoor ceremony
Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times, 3 bows)
Respectfully worship: The future destined Di Lặc Buddha.
• The heavenly king and the earth god.
• The local spirits
• The new Governors, the current Governors, and the Judges
• The Five Guardians, the Five Earthly Tigers, the Dragon veins, the Land Spirit, and the House Spirit.
• The Land Genie
• The Dragon King of the Earth Chúa and all the deities who rule this area
We are:………………………………………
Residing at:…………………………………
At this holy moment of New Year’s Eve, as the old year ends and the new year begins, let the three realms prosper,
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