Stirring up "New Year's Eve worship should not be held in 2024", what do experts say?

"Offering New Year's Eve offerings brings bad luck"

Recently, social networks have been abuzz with many people claiming to be experts and cultural researchers sharing videos and articles saying that people should not make offerings on New Year's Eve.

Accordingly, these people reasoned, the Lich Xuan period is the first day of the new year. This year, the Lich Xuan period falls on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month. Therefore, the moment of transition between the old year and the new year is the night of the 24th - morning of the 25th day of the 12th lunar month, which is February 4. This is New Year's Eve.

"Normally, families will have to make New Year's Eve offerings at this time, but because the 25th is Mau Tuat day, the energy is not good, so it will bring bad luck. If you make New Year's Eve offerings on that day, the homeowner will absorb all the bad things into themselves. But making offerings on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month - February 10 - has no meaning, no reward or punishment because it is not the first day of the new year," a teacher who claims to be a cultural expert posted on Tiktok.

Many people feel extremely worried when watching this video. "Everyone expects good things in the New Year. If we encounter bad luck during the New Year's Eve worship, who would dare to perform the ceremony?", said Ms. Vu Thu Thuy (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi).

New Year's Eve offerings (Photo: Hong Anh).

Cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue, Director of the Institute of Oriental Architecture and Culture Research, said that there are many types of calendars: Solar calendar, Lunar calendar, Solar term calendar, etc. Calculating the transition time between the old year and the new year is calculated according to the Lunar calendar, and has nothing to do with the Solar term calendar.

In fact, it is very normal for the Lich Xuan period to come before or after the first day of Tet, it is just a mathematical difference in calendar calculations.

"The idea of ​​offering New Year's Eve offerings at midnight on the first day of spring is also incorrect. The moment of changing solar terms rarely coincides with midnight.

For example, this year, the Lich Xuan period moves to 3:27 p.m. on December 25 of the lunar calendar, so after midnight it is still the old solar term," researcher Nguyen Trong Tue said.

Cultural researcher Nguyen Trong Tue, Director of the Institute of Oriental Architecture and Culture Research, affirmed that the view that there will be no New Year's Eve offerings on the night of the 30th this year due to the unlucky day is baseless (Photo: Provided by the character).

Also according to the Director of the Institute of Oriental Architecture and Culture Research, recently, social networks have appeared with the view that New Year's Eve worship should not be held on the night of the 30th but on the night of the 24th. This is a distorted view, spreading wrongly to attract people's attention, to increase interaction, to attract views...

"Tet is a sacred moment, existing in the consciousness of all classes of people from the past to the present. Tet has many beautiful customs that we need to preserve. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate wrong and distorted views, so as not to affect the beauty of traditions," the expert emphasized.

Distinguishing between Lich Xuan and New Year's Eve

In response to many people's concerns, feng shui expert Pham Cuong pointed out the unreasonable things in the videos of online shamans.

According to this expert, the Solar Calendar is a system of dividing time based on the orbit of the sun around the earth, combined with observations of changes in weather and the natural environment through each season.

According to legend, a year of 365 days will have 24 solar terms, with Lap Xuan as the first solar term, followed by Vu Thuy, Kinh Trap, Xuan Phan, Thanh Minh... and ending with Dai Han. Each solar term lasts 15 days.

The time of Lich Xuan according to the Gregorian calendar is on February 4 (or February 5) every year and ends on February 18 (or February 19). In 2024, Lich Xuan begins on February 4 of the Gregorian calendar.

For Vietnamese people, the Solar Term calendar is rarely used for important holidays. The most popular is the Thanh Minh festival with the ritual of visiting graves. Other solar terms, including the Lap Xuan festival, usually do not have rituals.

The Lich Xuan period often coincides with a period of warm weather, when plants grow well and have abundant yang energy, making it very favorable for people to sow new crops, or do important things such as breaking ground to build houses, getting married, etc.

For researchers of the Book of Changes or the Four Pillars, the Lich Xuan period is considered the beginning of the new year. This is used purely in academic purposes.

According to Mr. Cuong, the predictions of online shamans are distorted, like "putting this man's beard on that woman's chin" when equating the calendar according to Solar Terms with the New Year's Eve worship ritual associated with the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

"From ancient times until now, all Vietnamese (or Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean...) holidays have never followed the Solar Calendar but always followed the Lunar Calendar (moon calendar)", feng shui expert Pham Cuong emphasized.

According to cultural researchers, Tet Nguyen Dan is part of the Vietnamese concept of the Eight Festivals, which are the Tet holidays with offerings including: Nguyen Dan, Thuong Nguyen, Han Thuc, Doan Ngo, Trung Nguyen, Trung Thu, Thuong Tan, Dong Chi. Some Tet holidays have been reduced but Tet Nguyen Dan still carries traditional, original values.

Hanoi people buy peach blossoms to welcome the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin (Photo: Huu Nghi).

Tet Nguyen Dan is the biggest, also known as Tet Ca. The two words "Nguyen Dan" are a Chinese noun. "Nguyen" means beginning; "dan" means early morning; "Nguyen Dan" is the first morning of the year...

Lunar New Year begins with the New Year's Eve ceremony (the transition between the old year and the new year), so it is always at the hour of Ty on January 1st according to the lunar calendar.

Expert Pham Cuong emphasized: "If we use the Lich Xuan period (February 4 or 5 of the Gregorian calendar) to calculate New Year's Eve, it will completely change the time of Tet Nguyen Dan, which has existed for thousands of years in the minds of Vietnamese people. This is a wrong concept that needs to be criticized."

New Year's Eve worshiping ceremony is also known as Tru Tich ceremony. According to folk beliefs, New Year's Eve worshiping has the meaning of "sending off the old and welcoming the new", sending off the gods of the old year and welcoming the gods of the new year, asking the gods to bless the family with a peaceful and happy new year.

"It is an important ritual that every family must do, regardless of whether that day has good or bad energy. The idea that on a bad day, New Year's Eve worship should not be performed shows a distorted view and a lack of understanding of the meaning of Vietnamese culture," this expert emphasized.

With the proliferation of social media, more and more people are claiming to be spiritual experts, cultural experts, and feng shui experts on social media. They provide information that is difficult to verify, causing many people to worry. Many people believe it out of fear of this or that.

Faced with this situation, cultural experts say that the New Year's Eve ritual or more broadly the custom of worshipping ancestors and gods is a beautiful feature in the spiritual beliefs of Vietnamese people that has existed for thousands of years, and is increasingly standardized and passed down through many generations.

"We should preserve and follow the traditions of our ancestors. If we need to consult, we should seek out official information channels and reputable experts. We should not listen to "online experts" on the internet who give misleading information, threaten with bad intentions or to increase sales interactions and attract views," said Mr. Pham Cuong.

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