Celebrating Baby Boy's Full Moon: Altar Arrangement, Rituals, Invocations

Marking a baby boy's full moon is an important ceremony in Vietnamese culture. Here, Mytour Blog will guide you through the complete ritual of celebrating a baby boy's full moon. This article will help you understand about the altar arrangement, ceremonial rituals, and invocations to prepare for a meaningful and complete full moon celebration for this special day.

What is the Full Moon Celebration?

The full moon celebration takes place when the child turns one month old. According to folk beliefs, the full moon celebration is to thank the Midwives for delivering the baby and the Guardian Deity for protecting the baby and mother. It is also to wish for the baby to have a lucky, happy, and successful life.

How to Calculate the Full Moon Celebration Date and Time for Baby Boys

According to folk customs, the date of the Full Moon Celebration for baby boys is calculated based on the lunar calendar, unlike the birth date of the baby – which is calculated based on both the Gregorian and lunar calendars. According to ancient beliefs, the lunar date is a day when the intervention of deities is significant, making it suitable for organizing spiritual ceremonies.

The Full Moon Celebration for baby boys will take place on the 29th day after birth. This calculation method is commonly known as 'two steps back for girls, one step back for boys.' This means that if a girl is born on the 15th day of the lunar month, the Full Moon Celebration will be on the 13th day of the following lunar month. Whereas, if a boy is born on the 15th day of the lunar month, the Full Moon Celebration will be on the 14th day of the following lunar month.

This calculation method aims to avoid unfavorable days or other significant events in folklore. The Full Moon Celebration typically takes place in the early morning or evening. Early morning symbolizes the beginning of a new day, a new life, as the sun rises. Evening represents the end of a cycle, a phase, as the sun sets. Parents can easily consult the calendar and time for the Full Moon Celebration for baby boys following the guidelines below:

• Northern Region: Before 12 noon.
• Central Region: Starting from 9 AM and lasting until 5 PM.
• Southern Region: Before 9 AM.

Today, many modern parents do not adhere to folk customs but choose the Full Moon Celebration date for their children based on the Gregorian calendar. Parents rely on their child's Gregorian birth date to determine the Full Moon Celebration date, usually one month after the birth date.

Simple Full Moon Celebration Tray for Baby Boys Across 3 Regions

To express gratitude to the ancestral spirits and deities during the Full Moon Celebration, you need to prepare a complete tray. Here are the necessary items for the Full Moon Celebration tray for baby boys:

Preparing the Full Moon Celebration Tray for Baby Boys

To prepare the Full Moon Celebration tray for baby boys, you need to arrange all the necessary dishes and offerings, including:

• Sweet Soup and Sticky Rice: 12 small bowls of sweet soup and 3 large bowls of sweet soup along with 13 small plates of sticky rice and 3 large plates of sticky rice. You can choose between pumpkin sticky rice or plain sticky rice depending on the region and family preferences.
• Boiled Chicken: An indispensable dish on the altar.
• Three-Item Combo: Includes boiled pork, boiled eggs, and boiled shrimp or crab.
• Porridge and Vermicelli Cake: Both porridge and vermicelli cake are traditional dishes used in the full moon celebration.
• Other Items: 13 pieces of areca nut, 13 pairs of sandals, 13 sets of beautiful clothes, and 13 gold nuggets. This symbolizes diversity and prosperity in the life of the newborn. Note that the plates of sticky rice, pieces of areca nut, pairs of sandals, sets of clothes, and gold nuggets must be identical to create balance and visual appeal on the altar.

Preparing the full moon celebration altar is not only about carefully arranging the food and offerings but also a way for the family to express love for the newborn baby boy.

12 Essential Offerings for the Altar of 12 Deities

The Twelve Midwives are twelve goddesses tasked with caring for and protecting the fetus from its formation until birth. They are named and tasked as follows:

• Trần Tứ Nương Midwife: Oversees childbirth, ensuring the safety and health of both mother and baby.
• Vạn Tứ Nương Midwife: Oversees pregnancy, ensuring the mother's well-being and the baby's healthy development.
• Lâm Cửu Nương Midwife: Oversees conception, facilitating easy conception for the mother and ensuring the baby is handsome.
• Lưu Thất Nương Midwife: Oversees the shaping of the baby's form, ensuring the perfection of the body parts.
• Lâm Nhất Nương Midwife: Oversees fetal nourishment, ensuring the baby is well-fed and absorbs heavenly and earthly qi.
• Lý Đại Nương Midwife: Oversees labor, facilitating an easy birth and auspicious delivery.
• Hứa Đại Nương Midwife: Oversees the blooming of intelligence, ensuring the baby is smart and talented.
• Cao Tứ Nương Midwife: Oversees postnatal care, helping the mother recover quickly and ensuring abundant breast milk.
• Tăng Ngũ Nương Midwife: Oversees newborn care, ensuring the baby is healthy and well-behaved.
• Mã Ngũ Nương Midwife: Oversees carrying the infant, ensuring the baby is loved and peaceful.
• Trúc Ngũ Nương Midwife: Oversees child-rearing, ensuring the baby is safe and free from harm.
• Nguyễn Tam Nương Midwife: Oversees childbirth observation, ensuring both mother and baby receive blessings from the Divine and Jade Emperor.

Offerings for the Altar of the Twelve Midwives:

• Gold items: Pairs of shoes, gold bars, blue clothes symbolize luck, wealth, and prosperity for baby boys.
• Betel leaves and areca nuts: Betel leaves with areca nuts symbolize harmony and family cohesion. Twelve pieces of betel with four nuts each symbolize peace and tranquility for the Twelve Midwives.
• Toys for children: Plastic or ceramic toys such as trains, airplanes, cars, etc., symbolize joy, happiness, and intelligence for baby boys.
• Crabs, snails, shrimp: Twelve equally sized crabs and one larger one symbolize abundance, wealth, and plenty for the Twelve Midwives and family. They can be served live or cooked according to preference.
• Assorted delicacies: Various sweets, savory snacks, fruits, etc., divided into twelve portions and one larger portion (or more) symbolize sweetness, harmony, and diversity for the Twelve Midwives and family.
• Candies and pastries: Soft candies, hard candies, lollipops, etc., divided into twelve portions and one larger portion (or more) symbolize deliciousness, cuteness, and loveliness for the Twelve Midwives and family.
• Incense and flowers: Incense symbolizes reverence and gratitude to the Twelve Midwives. A vase of colorful flowers symbolizes the brightness, radiance, and beauty of the baby. Gold coins symbolize wealth, prosperity, and glory for baby boys. Clear water symbolizes purity, cleanliness, and nobility for the baby.

The offerings for the Twelve Midwives are arranged in a large circle, which can be placed on a tray or a piece of cloth. Within the circle, a painting or a small statue of the Twelve Midwives can be placed. During the offering, the person performing the ritual will hold candles and bow to each Midwife clockwise, asking for blessings for the newborn baby boy.

Offerings for the Altar of the Twelve Midwives: Cúng Đức Ông

Đức Ông plays a crucial role in overseeing and reporting the well-being or misfortune of the family to the Jade Emperor. During the ritual for Đức Ông, the family will ask Đức Ông to bear witness to the birth of their son, report to the Jade Emperor, and request blessings for the son to be healthy, safe, fortunate, and successful.

The offerings for Đức Ông must include the following items:

• 1 whole boiled chicken: Can be left with feathers or plucked depending on regional customs. Boiled chicken symbolizes the abundance and prosperity of the family.
• 1 large bowl of rice porridge: Porridge is a simple, humble dish, symbolizing the modesty, friendliness, and warmth of the family.
• 1 large bowl of sweet soup: Sweet soup is a delightful, refreshing dessert, symbolizing the deliciousness, happiness, and joy of the family.
• 3 large plates of sticky rice: Sticky rice is a traditional dish with many varieties such as glutinous rice with red beans, pandan leaf sticky rice, or mung bean sticky rice. Sticky rice symbolizes the diversity, richness, and wealth of the family.

Guide on arranging the full month celebration table for baby boys

When celebrating the full month of a baby boy, parents need to pay attention to how to arrange the full month celebration table for baby boys properly and according to the rituals. Parents will arrange the full month celebration table for baby boys into 2 trays:

• A smaller and lower tray for arranging offerings to honor Đức ông. The mother will ask Đức ông to bear witness to the birth of the son and request blessings from the Jade Emperor for the son.
• A larger and higher tray for arranging offerings to the 12 Heavenly Midwives. The mother will ask the Heavenly Midwives to bless the newborn son.

The arrangement of the full month celebration table always follows the traditional rule 'East flowers, West offerings,' which means the East side is used to place flower vases, while the West side is reserved for offerings. Flower vases symbolize the brightness, radiance, and beauty of the baby boy. Offerings symbolize the abundance, prosperity, and completeness of the family. The upper tray should not be more than 10 cm higher than the lower tray to create harmony, balance, and aesthetics.

Procedures for celebrating the full month of a baby boy

The ritual of celebrating the full month of a baby boy is an important part of the ceremony. It's a moment of solemnity and reverence. After the full month celebration table has been carefully arranged, the father or mother will light three incense sticks. Then, the child will be carried forward to the front of the table - where this ritual takes place.

The prayer for celebrating the full month of a baby boy usually expresses reverence and gratitude to the Heavenly Midwives and deities. Depending on the region, the wording of the prayer may vary, but it usually begins by honoring the Heavenly Midwives, deities, and all important elements in family life. The names of the child's parents will be placed at the center of the ceremony. Finally, the prayer expresses gratitude for the contributions of the Heavenly Midwives and a wish for their continued protection and support for the baby boy.

Detailed prayer for the full month celebration of baby boys

To properly celebrate the full month of a baby boy, parents need to follow the ritual with a complete and detailed prayer. Below is the prayer for honoring the Heavenly Midwives and Deities:

Prayer for honoring the Heavenly Midwives

“Hail to the Buddha Amitabha! Hail to the Buddha Amitabha!

We humbly bow to the Heavenly Deities, Celestial Lords, and Celestial Mothers.

We respectfully bow to the Thirty-Six Celestial Fairies.

Today, the … day of … month … year … is an auspicious and fortunate day.

My spouse and I, named ..., have been blessed with the birth of a son named ...

We currently reside at ...

Today, on the occasion of our son's full moon celebration, we have prepared incense, flowers, offerings, and various items to present before the altar of the revered deities, with heartfelt gratitude:

Thanks to the blessings of the Buddhas, Saints, Celestial Beings, Divine Spirits, Earth deities, and Ancestral spirits, our child, named ..., born on ..., is healthy, and our family is peaceful.

We humbly beseech the Celestial Beings and Deities to descend, accept our offerings, and bestow blessings upon our child to eat well, sleep soundly, grow quickly, be healthy, safe, happy, free from illness or disability, and boundless in prosperity. May you safeguard our child to be beautiful, intelligent, bright, live peacefully, strong, and in the next life, enjoy abundant wealth and fame.

May our family be blessed with peace, prosperity, good karma, the elimination of evil deeds, and peaceful seasons without difficulties or worries.

With sincere reverence, we bow to you.

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Invocation to the Household Guardian

“Homage to Amitabha Buddha! Homage to Amitabha Buddha!

We pay respects to the Household Guardian who keeps the kitchen fire.

Today is the auspicious day of ... month ... year ..., a day of goodness and blessings.

Our family, consisting of ..., has been blessed with the birth of a son named ...

We currently reside in ...

Today, on the occasion of our baby's full moon celebration, we wholeheartedly prepare offerings of incense, flowers, and other items to present before the altar of our Household Guardian with utmost reverence:

We seek the grace of our Household Guardian who maintains the kitchen fire and keeps record of our family's activities.

May our Household Guardian bestow blessings upon our child, granting him good appetite, peaceful sleep, rapid growth, robust health, safety, happiness, free from illness and defects, free from obstacles and limitations. May our Household Guardian nurture our child to be beautiful, intelligent, bright, living peacefully, strong, and enjoying prosperity and fame in future lives.

May our family enjoy peace, prosperity, good relationships, the eradication of negative karma, peaceful seasons throughout the year, free from difficulties and worries.

With sincere reverence, we bow to our Household Guardian.

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Some tips when celebrating a baby boy's full moon ceremony

• Arrange offerings evenly: Full moon ceremony offerings are typically arranged on two tables, one large and one small. The large table is used to display offerings for the Deities, while the small table (placed 10 inches apart) is reserved for offering to Household Guardian. This helps create balance and respect for both significant aspects of the ceremony.
• Full family presence: All family members need to be present in full during the celebration of the baby boy's full moon ceremony. This demonstrates gratitude and unity within the family.
• Appropriate timing: The best time to hold the full moon ceremony is in the early morning or afternoon. 

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Through this article, we have learned about how to celebrate a baby boy's full moon ceremony by presenting about the offering tray, rituals, and important invocation words. Mytour hopes that through these guidelines, you will organize a meaningful and dignified full moon ceremony for your beloved family baby.