The most complete prayer for burning votive paper on the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year 2024

What is the gold burning ceremony?

In Vietnam, with the diversity in regional culture, customs and practices, there are also differences in the cultural aspects of spiritual life. The ceremony of burning votive paper or burning incense, clothes, and votive paper to send grandparents to the underworld after 3 days of returning to their children and grandchildren to celebrate Tet.

Offering tray for burning votive paper on the third day of Tet.

That is why people often call the burning of votive papers on the third day of Tet the ceremony to see off ancestors on the first day of the year. The burning of votive papers shows respect and prays for ancestors to bless future generations, a year of good luck, health and prosperity.

According to folk beliefs, there must be a thanksgiving ceremony so that the homeowner's sincerity can be witnessed, so the votive paper burning ceremony is very important on Tet holiday. After the ceremony, the homeowner will burn the votive paper. The money and gold of the family gods will be burned first, followed by the money and gold and belongings of the ancestors. The place where the votive paper is burned will usually have a long sugar cane with the meaning of being used as a walking stick for the soul to carry the goods to the underworld.

Prayer for burning votive paper on the 3rd day of Tet

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times)

We respectfully and wholeheartedly pay homage to the Buddhas of the ten directions, great Bodhisattvas, holy and virtuous monks, the eightfold division of dragons, Dharma protectors, good spirits, and past patriarchs.

With all my heart I respectfully pay homage to: The current year's Tai Sui, the god of military affairs, and the judge of the court.

With all my heart, I respectfully pay homage to: Our local tutelary god, all the great kings, our local local deities and local land deities, the deities of the five directions, the five earth dragon veins, and all our ancestors, great-great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers, uncles, brothers, aunts, sisters, and ancestors of our paternal and maternal families...

Today is January 3rd of the new year.

My believer is...

Located at...

I, the believer, sincerely prepare incense, flowers, candles, tea, fruit, gold and silver, and present them before the altar. I respectfully report:

The spring party is over, the New Year has passed, now I would like to burn gold and silver, to thank Buddha, saints, and deities, and to escort the spirits back to the underworld.

We respectfully ask you to bless our children with peace and prosperity. We humbly bow our heads and ask you to witness this.

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times)

Good hours to burn votive paper

In the year of Giap Thin, the 3rd day of Tet falls on Monday, February 12, 2024. The good time to perform the gold burning ceremony on the 3rd day of Tet includes:

Tan Mao (5am-7am): Ngoc Duong Giap Ngo (11am-1pm): Tu Menh Binh Than (3pm-5pm): Thanh Long Dinh Dau (5pm-7pm): Minh Duong

In addition to the traditional burning of votive papers on the 3rd day of Tet, the year of the Dragon also has 2 other suitable days to burn votive papers after Tet, which are the 4th and 5th of January. Families have more options to suit their circumstances.

The 4th day of the Lunar New Year, ie February 13, 2024.

Best time of day: 5am-7am, 9am-11am, 3pm-5pm.

The 5th day of the Lunar New Year, ie February 14, 2024.

Best time of day: 7am-9am, 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm.
Offering tray for burning votive paper

Depending on each family, the homeowner has a different way of arranging the offering tray for burning votive paper, but basically there are usually:

A savory dish includes: meat, banh chung...

Hell money

Fruit tray

Men/women worship set

Smell

Fresh flowers

Confectionery

Betel and tobacco

2 sugar cane

The chicken symbolizes the five virtues of the Vietnamese people: Literature - Martial Arts - Courage - Kindness - Loyalty. The offering tray with a chicken symbolizes goodness and a bright future.

If preparing an outdoor offering tray, the chicken offering must be placed on a large plate, arranged neatly on the plate, the offal placed under the chicken's belly, and the beak holding a red rose. In particular, the chicken's head must be placed facing the street to welcome the new year's governor passing by. This way of placing the chicken offering also has the meaning of calling the sun to shine into your house.

When placing the chicken on the altar, according to some research experts, the chicken's head should be turned toward the incense bowl in a position called "a chicken that knows how to call, crow, and is in attendance", meaning it has its mouth open, its legs kneeling, and its wings naturally stretched out. If you do it the way many families do, meaning the chicken's head is facing outwards, then it means the chicken is not in attendance.

After the ceremony, the homeowner will burn votive paper to thank the ancestors and family gods. The ceremony is performed solemnly in a clean corner of the garden or yard. The money will be burned first, then the items. If someone in the family has just passed away, the votive paper must be burned separately. When the ceremony is over, the homeowner will bow three times, praying for the ancestors to bless their descendants. Then, they ask permission to collect the fortune and divide the fortune (items) among their descendants. The place where the votive paper is burned usually has a long sugar cane used as a carrying pole for the soul to carry the items to the underworld.

Source baogiaothong

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