The Qingming Festival is a time when people in Vietnam pay respect to their ancestors. It is a day that embodies the virtue of ‘drinking water and remembering its source’. During this festival, descendants will arrange to visit the graves of their ancestors. In 2024, Qingming Festival falls on Thursday, April 4, 2024, in the Gregorian calendar, which is February 26, 2024, in the lunar calendar.
In addition to preparing a full offering table, it is also important to recite the correct prayers to express sincerity and respect to the ancestors. These prayers are believed to bring good fortune and smooth sailing to the family. Let’s take a look at the prayers for the Qingming Festival.
1. Qingming Festival Prayers
Prayers for the Qingming Festival at Home
Homage to Amitābha Buddha! (3 times, 3 bows)
I bow to the nine directions of the sky and the ten directions of the Buddha, the Buddha of the ten directions.
I bow to the ancestors, the patriarchs, the relatives of both sides of the family, with the surname…
I bow to the ancestral mother, Mr. Ma, Mr. and Mrs. Red Boy, and Red Girl at home.
Today is the 26th of February in the year of Jia Yin.
Today, I, whose name is…, age…, born in Xa…, Huyen…, Tinh…, along with my whole family, in front of the ancestral altar, bow my head in worship.
Respectfully invite the Earth God and the Kitchen God to be present and witness.
Offerings of incense, betel nut, wine, tea, flowers, and fruits, along with sincere objects on the occasion of Qingming Festival, are respectfully offered to invite the spirits of our ancestors, both distant and near, to witness and enjoy the offerings.
With sincerity and reverence, I pray to our ancestors and ask for their blessings and protection. May they guide and protect our family, bringing peace and prosperity. May the warm summer months and cool winter days be filled with freshness and vibrancy. May good fortune come, and may adversity be taken away, so that our family’s endeavors are blessed with smooth sailing and good luck.
With humble offerings, we bow and pray, asking our ancestors to witness and bless our family with their grace.
Homage to Amitābha Buddha! (3 times, 3 bows)
Prayers for the Qingming Festival at Home
Prayers for the Qingming Festival at the Cemetery
Homage to Amitābha Buddha! (3 times, 3 bows)
I bow to the nine directions of the sky and the ten directions of the Buddha, the Buddha of the ten directions.
I respectfully bow to the Emperor of Heaven and the Empress of Earth, and to all the deities.
I respectfully bow to the local deities who govern this area.
Today is the … day of the … month of the year of Jia Yin (read the lunar calendar date)
We, the believers, are: … (state your name)
Residing at: No…., Ward…., District…., City…. (state your address)
On the occasion of the Qingming Festival, we, the believers, sincerely prepare offerings of betel nut and areca nut, tea and fruit, and light incense to invite the deities to be present and witness.
Our family has the tomb of: the Great-Great-Grandfather, the Great-Grandfather, or the Grandfather and Grandmother, buried in this place. We now wish to renovate and build a new tomb. Therefore, we respectfully inform the spirits, the Earth God, the Dragon Vein, the Front Chu Tước, the Back Huyền Vũ, the Left Thanh Long, the Right Bạch Hổ, and all the deities who govern this area.
We respectfully invite the deities to be present, witness our sincerity, enjoy the offerings, and bless the souls of our ancestors so that they may rest in peace. We humbly ask for your blessings and protection for our family’s health and well-being. May the warm summer months and cool winter days be filled with strength and freshness. May the deities witness our sincerity and bless our family.
Homage to Amitābha Buddha! (3 times, 3 bows)
Prayers for the Qingming Festival at the Cemetery
For reference: July 27th at home and cemetery
Prayers for the Qingming Festival at the Grave
The following prayer is adapted from the book “Ancient Prayers” by Venerable Thich Thanh Tam, published by Thoi Dai Publishing House:
Homage to Amitābha Buddha (3 times).
I bow to the nine directions of the sky and the ten directions of the Buddha, the Buddha of the ten directions.
I respectfully bow to the Emperor of Heaven and the Empress of Earth, and to all the deities.
I respectfully bow to the local deities who govern this area.
Today is the: …
The believer is: (name of the person praying).
Residing at: (address of the believer).
On the occasion of the Qingming Festival, the believer sincerely prepares offerings of betel nut and areca nut, incense, flowers, tea, and fruit, and lights a stick of incense to invite the deities to be present and witness.
Our family has the tomb of: (father, grandfather, or great-grandfather, depending on the relationship of the deceased to the believer), buried in this place, and we now wish to renovate and build a new tomb.
Therefore, we respectfully inform the spirits, the Earth God, the Earth God, the Dragon Vein, the Front Chu Tước, the Back Huyền Vũ, the Left Thanh Long, the Right Bạch Hổ, and all the deities who govern this area.
We respectfully invite the deities to be present, witness our sincerity, enjoy the offerings, and bless the souls of our ancestors so that they may rest in peace and be liberated.
We humbly ask for your blessings and protection for our family’s health and peace. May we be free from illness and enjoy peace in all four seasons.
Homage to Amitābha Buddha (3 times).
For reference: most comprehensive
Prayers for the Qingming Festival at the Grave
2. What is needed for the Qingming Festival offerings?
Offerings for the Qingming Festival at Home
On the Qingming Festival, some families have the custom of preparing offerings at home. The offerings at home do not need to be elaborate and can vary depending on local customs and the host’s conditions.
For the Qingming Festival offerings at home, you can prepare dishes such as sticky rice, boiled chicken, bamboo shoots soup, pork pie, vermicelli, stir-fried dishes, along with fresh fruits, betel nut and areca nut, and votive paper. For Buddhist families, prepare vegetarian offerings.
In some families, if a full offering table is not prepared for the Qingming Festival, you can still burn incense and prepare flowers, fruits, tea, cakes, and candies to remember your ancestors.
Note that when offering sacrifices at home during the Qingming Festival, you need to clean the house and altar. When burning incense, wear formal and tidy clothes to bow and recite the prayers. After a week, when the incense has burned out, the family can burn the votive paper and receive the blessings.
For reference: ? 7 traditional dishes for the Vietnamese Qingming Festival
Offerings for the Qingming Festival at Home
Offerings for the Qingming Festival at the Grave
Depending on the family, the offerings for the Qingming Festival at the grave can be either vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
For a vegetarian offering, prepare: Sticky rice, sweet soup, banana cakes, pastries, bottled water, rice, and salt, popcorn, butter, and honey. If it is a non-vegetarian offering, in addition to the above items, prepare wine, meat, pig’s trotters, boiled or roasted chicken.
The offerings for the Qingming Festival include: Incense, lamps, tea, fruit, wine, clear water, betel nut and areca nut, and votive paper. If there are multiple incense burners on the grave, incense must be lit for each one.
Note that before offering sacrifices at the grave during the Qingming Festival, you need to clear away wild grass and weeds covering the grave and reshape the grave mound before placing the offerings. After about two-thirds of the incense has burned, perform the thanks-giving ritual, burn the votive paper, and bring the blessings home to offer to the household and ancestral gods at home. If you have written the prayers on paper, burn the paper after reading them.
Preparing Offerings for the Qingming Festival at the Grave
For reference: 2024 at the grave and at home, the most standard
The above are the prayers for the Qingming Festival and how to prepare the offerings for the ancestors correctly. Hopefully, this information will be helpful to you.
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