What does the twelfth lunar month mean?

December chính là tháng 12, nhưng cách gọi này chỉ dành cho lịch âm. Tháng Chạp đến đồng nghĩa với việc chỉ còn mấy tuần nữa là năm cùng tháng tận, Tết Nguyên đán tới cửa.

Vì sao gọi là tháng Chạp?

According to cultural researchers, the word "chạp" is a phonetic variation of the Chinese word "lạp". The ritual of offering sacrifices to the gods at the end of the lunar year in ancient China was called Lạp, hence this month is also known as Lạp month (lạp means month). When mentioning the word "lạp," it refers to visiting and cleaning the ancestral graves in preparation for the Lunar New Year.

In Chinese, "lap" also means the year-end ceremony, a meaning related to the aforementioned custom.

Vietnamese culture has been somewhat influenced by Chinese culture, and December is also a month with many festivals and rituals, hence the term "ancestor worship" (giỗ chap). Vietnamese people also value visiting and caring for their ancestors' graves in the last month of the year, so that when the year ends and Tet (Lunar New Year) arrives, the graves are well-maintained, showing gratitude and warm affection from the family and clan.

Another explanation: The Chinese character "lạp" also means meat. The last month of the year is when people stockpile food to cope with the harsh winter and to prepare for the Lunar New Year. Among these, meat is a precious and important food item.

The word "lap" in "lap xuong" (or lap xuong, depending on pronunciation) also has this meaning. In this context, "xuong" or "xuong" means intestine (the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation is "truong").

For Vietnamese people, the twelfth lunar month is a crucial month of the year, when everyone looks forward to the Tet holiday, a time for family reunions. Everyone is busy and working hard to complete their year's plans so that when the new year arrives, they can look back on the past year and see that they have achieved many things.

Spiritually, the twelfth lunar month is also the month with the most ceremonies. Besides offering incense on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month like other months, families also hold ceremonies to worship the Kitchen God on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, a year-end ceremony on the afternoon of the 30th of the lunar month, and a New Year's Eve ceremony at the very last moment of the old year and the first moment of the new year.

What should you avoid doing in the twelfth lunar month?

Besides the traditional taboos passed down through generations, modern life has also added other taboos to ensure auspiciousness in the twelfth lunar month. Below are some: Taboos in the twelfth lunar month Please note.

• Avoid quarreling and arguments: As the year draws to a close, everyone is busy and stressed. Prolonged conflicts and arguments with others can easily lead to mistakes, errors in work, or at least generate negative energy, affecting one's fortune in the new year. Another reason for this taboo is the fear that ancestors, upon hearing about quarreling, will punish their descendants. The twelfth lunar month is a time for business; heated arguments will cause wealth to slip away and sales to suffer.

• Avoiding borrowing: Folklore suggests that borrowing at the end of the year brings bad luck because the debt carried over into the new year signals a year of misfortune, overwhelming debt, and lack of success. Therefore, if someone owes money, they try to pay it all off in the old year. From a modern perspective, avoiding borrowing in the twelfth lunar month should be understood as avoiding causing trouble for others, as everyone needs money at the end of the year to settle matters and prepare for a prosperous Tet (Lunar New Year).
• Avoid having a messy and damp house: According to folk beliefs, during the twelfth lunar month, a messy and damp house will bring bad luck to the whole family in the coming year. In reality, such a living environment will make people more prone to illness, leading to work stagnation, medical expenses, and nothing could be more unlucky.
• Avoid breakage: In many cultures, breaking things is considered bad luck, so people go to great lengths to avoid it during times like the New Year and the Lunar New Year. When things break, the most obvious bad luck is the loss of the item, the expense of replacing it, and an increased risk of injury to family members.

• Driving after drinking alcohol: This is a new taboo added in modern life. If you drive after drinking alcohol, you risk being fined by the police and, most dangerously, causing a traffic accident, harming yourself and others. This is certainly the biggest misfortune for anyone during this month of the Rooster.
• Overwork: December is a busy month, but you need to try to keep your body and mind as healthy and clear as possible, organize your work scientifically, and avoid being overly ambitious or taking on too much. Exhaustion can easily lead to wrong decisions and create bad luck at the end of the year, even affecting the following year.
• Excessive partying: Food poisoning, alcohol poisoning, stroke, stomach bleeding… are some of the misfortunes many people encounter during the Lunar New Year due to endless year-end parties. Too much alcohol can also impair your alertness, making you more prone to forgetting things, theft, and scams…