What is December?

When talking about December, we usually have to specify whether it is Lunar or Solar December, but when talking about December, this is not necessary. December only applies to the Lunar year.

What is December?

The word “chap” is a variation of the word “lap” in Chinese. The ancient Chinese year-end worship ceremony was called Lap, so the last month of the year is called Lap Nguyet. This is the time when families visit and clean their ancestors’ graves to prepare for Tet.

"Lap" in Chinese also means New Year's Eve ceremony, which is also related to the above custom.

The word “Lap Nguyet” is called according to the Vietnamese structure with the change of sound to become “Twelfth Month”, another way of calling the last month of the lunar year. This is also the month of many ceremonies and worships, so gradually the word “Gio Chap” appeared.

For the question “What is December?”, there is another explanation: The word “lap” in Chinese also means meat. In the last month of the year, people tend to stock up on food to cope with the cold and prepare for Tet, the most precious of which is meat.

December is very important to Vietnamese people, it is the time when people pay their respects to their ancestors, spend time visiting and taking care of their family graves. In terms of work, this is also the deadline to complete yearly plans, prepare to send off the old year, resolve troubles, bad luck, and annoyances with the hope of welcoming a good new year.

3 important ceremonies in December

The 12th lunar month is the month with the most ceremonies of the year, including: the 1st and 15th day of the lunar month, the ceremony to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven (23rd of December), and the year-end ceremony (usually on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet or the days before). Of these, the 3 most important ceremonies are:

Full moon festival in December

The full moon ceremony in December can include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, or just one of these two types of dishes, depending on the customs of each locality or the traditions of each family.

Vegetarian tray includes: Candles or lamps, incense, clean water, betel and areca nuts, fruit, fresh flowers.

The savory feast includes: Boiled chicken (choose a rooster), sticky rice with beans or sticky rice with gac fruit, vermicelli soup, ham or sausage, stir-fried dishes (such as stir-fried beef, stir-fried chicken gizzards with bean sprouts), rice wine. There may be some other dishes.

Ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods

The ceremony to worship the Kitchen God must be held before he flies to heaven, that is, before 12 noon on the 23rd of December.

Offerings include 3 carps and a set of hats and clothes; the Tao Quan hats include 2 male hats and 1 female hat. The female hat does not need dragonfly wings, but the male hat needs 2 dragonfly wings. The votive offerings will be burned after the ceremony on December 23.

The offering tray for the Kitchen Gods usually 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 ham, 1 plate of sticky rice with gac fruit, 1 plate of sweet soup, 1 plate of fruit, 1 pot of lotus tea, 3 cups of wine, betel and areca, and flowers.

New Year's Eve Ceremony

The New Year's Eve ceremony is to invite grandparents, ancestors and deceased relatives to celebrate Tet together. This is also an occasion for family members to reunite. Therefore, the New Year's Eve offering tray is often prepared by families very lavishly, with many typical dishes of the region and locality.

In addition to the above ceremonies, the New Year's Eve ceremony is the moment of connection between the old year and the new year, so it can be counted in December or January, however, preparations must also be completed in December.