How to arrange the family altar on Tet holiday properly?

On December 23, after the ceremony to worship the “Mr. Cong, Mr. Tao”, the work of cleaning and decorating the altar is carried out. Because of the belief that this is the time when “the gods are away”, the homeowner takes the opportunity to prepare the place of worship to welcome Tet, so that by the night of the 30th of Tet, when the gods return, everything will be beautifully completed.

The main tasks are cleaning, wiping, burning incense sticks (burning old incense sticks to reduce the size of the incense bowl), hanging lamps, arranging flowers, and arranging offerings. The worship items can now be taken down to be cleaned and polished. After completion, people boil scented water (usually five-spice powder) to wipe them again, called "purification". Then everything is arranged on the altar in order, depending on the beliefs of each region.

Some things to note in arranging the altar

In the arrangement of the altar, people often arrange the highest position, in the middle of the innermost part, as the place for the tablet - a wooden stele with the name and posthumous name of the objects of worship. If elaborate, this tablet can be placed in a throne or a shrine.

Because most families only have one place of worship, they will "jointly worship" both ancestors of many generations and gods, so this position is usually the common tablet for everyone. On both sides of the common tablet, arrange either the tablet or the worship photos of deceased relatives in the family such as grandparents, parents... depending on the order, place them correctly on the left, right, front, back.

In front of the tablets, place the incense burner, depending on the size of the altar, choose the right size. Normally, to make it beautiful, the incense burner in the middle has the largest size. On the altar, there must be 2 lamps, either oil lamps or candles, to light each time the ceremony is performed. On the right and left sides of the altar, there will be incense pots, flower vases, trays, and lamp bases.

In addition to the essential items above, depending on the conditions of each family, there may be other valuable worship items such as bronze censer, lamp stand, crane pair... All are arranged in the space in front of the incense burner, lower and must be arranged in balance according to the Yin-Yang principle "left yang, right yin" "left male, right female"...

Incense is used to burn on the altar during Tet, either in coils or in sticks. In some places, people use large “huong sao” sticks, the purpose is to make them burn for a long time, ensuring continuous maintenance during Tet.

Flowers on the altar include flowers in vases and flowers on plates. For the Tet altar, people often maintain both types. In addition, to bring the traditional spring atmosphere, a peach blossom or apricot blossom is often placed in a large ceramic vase on the altar. The types of flowers chosen for the altar are usually fragrant flowers, such as lilies, lilies, chrysanthemums... avoid flowers with sharp thorns that have a lot of evil energy, or flowers with too strong a smell.

Five-fruit tray - This is an indispensable part of the altar on Tet holiday, with the symbolic meaning of the number 5, representing the "five elements" of metal - wood - water - fire - earth, representing the "five constants": Humanity - Righteousness - Courtesy - Wisdom - Trust"... People will choose 5 types of fruit with reasonable layout and color to display beautifully.

Fruit tray. Illustration photo

In particular, bananas and grapefruits are indispensable because they symbolize square-round, yin-yang. Although there are 5 fruits, you should not choose them randomly. The fruits chosen must be round, fragrant, and colorful. Avoid fruits with thorns or sharp leaves to avoid bringing evil spirits, or fruits with impure scents such as pineapple, jackfruit, durian, etc.

According to Vietnamese traditional customs, Chung cake and Day cake are two things that symbolize Heaven and Earth. They are also cakes made from food, symbolizing prosperity and abundance, and are indispensable offerings. When presenting the offerings, note that Chung cake must be placed in pairs (2 pieces) to complete the harmonious husband-wife relationship.

In addition to the above offerings, there will be a plate of betel and areca nuts, a cup of water, and other cakes, fruits, and foods.

In addition, homeowners also need to pay attention to the following notes:

– Do not place the altar next to the bathroom. Because according to the concept, bathing is to remove dirt, so if you place the altar next to this place, it will lose the sacred atmosphere.

– Do not place the altar in the aisle. If placed in a noisy aisle, it will destroy the serenity of the place of worship. Thus, the family will have less luck and fortune.

- Incense bowls for worshiping ancestors should have handles, incense bowls for worshiping gods should not have handles. The best material for incense bowls is porcelain, then bronze, and granite should not be used.

- The light bulb in front should not be in line with the altar, and spotlights should not be used. The altar should not be placed under the beam. If there is no better location, it must be ceilinged. In addition, there should be no machinery such as air conditioners, range hoods, or speakers above.

– Do not place the altar facing the direction of Ngu Quy: Northeast, Southwest. (Do not place the altar facing Northeast and Southwest or vice versa).

– Do not place the altar in the East or Southeast direction facing West.

– Do not place the altar on top of the cabinet.

– Do not use used wood to make altars.

– The altars for Gods and Buddhas can be placed together, but the incense bowls should not be placed close together.

– The ancestral altar should not be placed in the center of the house, for fear of bringing bad luck. Instead, the Buddhist altar can be placed in the center of the house.

– The ancestral altar and the Buddhist altar should not be placed opposite each other in the same room.

– Do not hang pictures of the deceased higher than the altar.

In addition, the altar must always be clean and incense must be burned regularly. This is especially important if the altar faces the main door. The lamp on the altar must always be on to attract positive energy.