What is the good day to clean the altar in 2025? What is the good day and time to clean the altar?

What is altar cleaning?

Cleaning the altar is the act of cleaning the altar to make the worship space more neat and clean. Cleaning the altar is done in a certain period of time to help the altar be clean and cozy, but this cleaning at the end of the year is the most important.

This is an important thing to do before the old year ends and the new year comes. Usually, after the ceremony of worshiping Ong Cong Ong Tao on December 23, families arrange time to clean the altar and clean the incense bowl.

Although on the first and fifteenth day of every month, when people burn incense, flowers, and fruits to pray to their ancestors, everyone cleans and wipes the altar. However, cleaning the altar at the end of the year has a more important meaning, trimming the incense sticks to make the altar neat and airy. This is also a way to show the respect and gratitude of descendants.

What is the good day to clean the altar in 2025?

In 2025, some good days to clean the altar in 2025 in the lunar December include:

- December 23 (January 22, 2025): This is the day to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven. After sending the Kitchen Gods off, the homeowner can clean the altar and remove the incense sticks to show respect to the gods and ancestors.

- December 25 (January 24, 2025): This day is considered a very auspicious day, suitable for spiritual work such as cleaning the altar and trimming incense sticks.

- December 27 (January 26, 2025): This is also a good day to perform the incense removal ceremony, helping to make the worship space more pure.

What is a good time to clean the altar?

- The best times to clean the altar these days are usually:

+ Dragon Hour (7am-9am)

+ Noon (11am-1pm)

+ Monkey Hour (3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.)

Note: Homeowners should avoid performing the ritual at 12 noon or after 6 pm to ensure sacredness.

Prepare to clean the altar

The person cleaning the altar must be neatly dressed and clean. Before the day of cleaning, avoid sexual intercourse. One day before, avoid eating foods such as dog meat, cat meat, snake meat, turtle blood pudding, carp, snake wine, tiger bone wine, shrimp paste, and shrimp paste.

Clean the altar and trim the incense sticks gently to avoid dropping or breaking the offerings.

Do not clean or cover the ancestral incense bowl before the incense bowl of the gods.

When cleaning, use warm, clean water.

Prepare five-spice water and ginger-infused wine. Five-spice water is boiled from 5 ingredients, of which dried star anise and dried cinnamon are the 2 fixed ingredients, along with 3 aromatic leaves depending on the season and region such as: lemongrass, basil, betel, grapefruit leaves, vang wood, fragrant pandan leaves, fragrant coriander leaves...

How to bathe without violating taboos

After reading the prayer asking for permission, the homeowner proceeds to remove each incense stick one by one, until the most beautiful number of incense sticks remains (in odd numbers: 15, 17, 19; if the homeowner is a big businessman, leave 25, 27, 29 incense sticks to continue the good fortune for the next year).

If classified according to the incense bowls, the incense bowl for worshiping the family gods or commonly called the local gods should keep 15 or 25 incense sticks; the incense bowl for worshiping the family ancestors should keep 17 or 27 incense sticks; the incense bowl for worshiping the maternal aunt or paternal grandfather should keep 19 or 29 incense sticks.

After removing the incense sticks, they should be burned to ashes, poured into the river or buried at the base of a tree in the garden. Absolutely do not throw them away in the trash.

In addition, it should be noted that when performing the incense removal ritual, the homeowner must be very careful and not move the incense bowl or the altar.

While pulling out and trimming the incense sticks, do not move or move the incense bowl. Hold the incense bowl with one hand and gently pull it out with the other. To be careful, two people should do it together, one person holding and one person pulling. After finishing, you need to light incense and carefully report to the ancestors and gods.

When cleaning the altar, you must first wipe the sun and moon face of the incense bowl. Wipe the incense bowl first, then wipe the other worship items.

When cleaning the altar and the worship room, it is taboo to open the doors of the worship room wide open. Sunlight and sunlight shining on the altar will damage the spiritual energy, violating Duong Quang Sat. The worship room should have dark curtains all year round, avoid outside light, use electricity inside and keep 2 red or yellow lights on 24 hours a day.

To prevent fire, if the homeowner uses a wooden altar, they should place a glass panel on the surface to prevent falling ash from causing a fire. However, you must apply a frosted decal to avoid reflecting the image of the altar on the glass surface.

"Cleaning the altar" is not only a physical cleaning but also an important spiritual task, showing gratitude and respect to ancestors. It is also an opportunity for everyone in the family to prepare for Tet together, strengthening family ties and traditions.

The Vietnamese custom of "cleaning the altar" on Tet holiday is not only a cleaning but also a profound spiritual ritual, expressing respect and gratitude to ancestors. Through that, it also carries the meaning of wishing for a peaceful and prosperous new year.