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Tet and Traditional worship in Vietnam
Since long, long ago the habit of worshipping has been closely attached to Tet. On Tet Eve, almost all families place trays of offerings outside the house to offer to the god of the old year and the god of the New Year so that they can bring the blessing of a good, happy and prosperous new year to the house owner. At the Hung temple in Vinh Phu province, vestiges of worship to heaven, the earth and other spirits practiced by the Hung kings before Christ was born are still retained.
Worship during Tet holidays still plays an important role in Vietnamese social life, as on these days, ancestors are also worshipped by all families.
The worshipping of dead ancestors and family members is a most solemn ceremony
that involves everybody. It is a strong ethic that contrasts between the dead
and those alive to family members who have passed away. In some places, worship
is conducted according to steps recorded on stone or bronze-artifacts.
In general, worship is practiced voluntarily by everybody with their own beliefs, yet precisely like official written documents.
Worship in
Traditional worship is not superstitious at all, but a popular social habit that is retained and respected.
To welcome the lunar New Year with traditional worship, folk festivals and entertainment is a longstanding habit practiced by the Vietnamese people. Through this habit, the traditional cultural identity full of humanity, communal help and unity has been well preserved.
Tet Nguyen Dan
(The Lunar New Year)
Tet has become so familiar, so sacred to the Vietnamese that when
Spring arrives, the Vietnamese, wherever they may be, are all thrilled and
excited with the advent of Tet, and they feel an
immense nostalgia, wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion
and a taste of the particular flavours of the
Vietnamese festivities.
Tet starts on the first day of the first lunar month
and is the first season of the new year (according to the lunar calendar), and
therefore it is also known as the Tet Nguyen
Dan, literally meaning Fete of the First Day, or the Tet
Tam Nguyen, literally meaning Fete of the Three Firsts.
The Vietnamese, wherever they may be, are all thrilled and excited with the
advent of Tet, and they feel an immense nostalgia,
wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of the
particular flavours of the Vietnamese festivities.
Those who have settled down abroad all turn their thoughts to their home
country and try to celebrate the festivities in the same traditional way as
their family members and relatives to relieve their nostalgia, never forgetting
the fine custom handed down from generation to generation.
The Tet of the New Year is, above all, a fete of the
family. This is an opportunity for the household genies to meet, those who have
helped during the year, namely the Craft Creator, the Land Genie and the
Kitchen God. As the legend goes, each year on December 23 of the lunar calendar,
the Kitchen God takes a ride on a carp to the
Tet is also an opportunity to welcome deceased
ancestors back for a family reunion with their descendants. Finally, Tet is a good opportunity for family members to meet. This
custom has become sacred and secular and, therefore, no matter where they are
or whatever the circumstances, family members find ways to come back to meet
their loved ones
Vietnamese Tet has quite a few original practices
with customs and entertainment that have distinct Vietnamese cultural
characteristics. In the framework of this article, a few customs and practices
are presented so that readers can better understand the traditional Tet of Vietnam.
Planting the Neu:
Long long ago, humans and devils co-inhabited the earth. The
devils overwhelmed the former and invaded their land. Buddha told the devils:
"I will hang my cassock on top of the bamboo, and wherever the shadow
falls is Buddha's land, and you devils must give it to men." The devils
agreed. So after planting the bamboo, Buddha flung his robe to the top and made
the bamboo higher by means of magic; as a result, the cassock overshadowed the
whole land and the devils were chased to the
The "Mam Ngu
Qua":
The "five-fruit
tray" on the ancestral altar during the Tet
Holidays symbolizes the admiration and gratitude of the Vietnamese to
Heaven and Earth and their ancestors, and demonstrates their aspiration for a
life of plenty. As one theory goes, the five fruits are symbolic of the five
basic elements of oriental philosophy: metal,wood, water, fire, and earth. Some people believe
that the five fruits are symbols of the five fingers of a man's hand that is
used to produce physical wealth for his own use and to make offerings to his
ancestors. However, in a simpler way, the five fruits represent the
quintessence that Heaven and Earth bless humans. This is one of the general
perceptions of life of the Vietnamese, which is "When taking fruit, you
should think of the grower". Today, the tray may contain five or more
fruits, in the form of a pyramid like before or in an
different shape. Regardless, it is still called the Mam
Ngu Qua, the five-fruit
tray.
Dao, Mai, Quat (the Peach,
Apricot and Kumquat):
Coming to
The Cau Doi (Parallels):
Composing,
challenging and displaying parallels represents an elegant cultural activity of
the Vietnamese. On the occasion of Tet, parallels are
written on red paper and hung on both sides of the gate, the pillars or the
ancestral altar. Each pair of parallels has an equal number of words with
contrasting or corresponding meanings and lines of verses. They show a keen
intelligence, perception of nature and social life, uphold morality and a
yearning for the well-being of all people. The red is symbolic of auspicious
and powerful vitality, according to popular belief. Mingling with the green of the
banh chung,
the pink of the peach blooms, the yellow of the apricot blossoms, and the
red of the parallels is sure to make the Spring warmer and cozier.
The Giao Thua
(New Year's Eve):
The Giao Thua is the most sacred
point of time, the passage from the old to the new year.
It is popularly believed that in Heaven there are twelve Highnesses in charge
of monitoring and controlling the affairs on earth, each of them taking charge
of one year. The giao thua
is the moment of seeing off the old chieftain upon the conclusion of his term
and welcoming in the new one upon his assumption of office. For this reason,
every home makes offerings in the open air to pray for a good new year.
After the giao thua is the
start of the new year with many customs and practices,
amusements and entertainment, all of a distinct Vietnamese folk culture. If you
have an opportunity to visit
During the first three or four days of Tet, the first houseguest to offer Tet
greetings is considered the "first visitor of the year" (xong dat). Their luck is
considered to have a strong effect on the homeowner's business success for the
upcoming year. The belief of xong dat
remains very strong nowadays, especially among business people.
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Food specialties for Tet
Like many other people in
the world, the Vietnamese people attach special attention to the celebration of
Tet (lunar new year
holidays). To prepare for this event, beside reconfiguring the interior of their
homes to make them look more beautiful, they pay great attention to the
preparation of food specialties, so that they can have delicious and flavourfuI meals for their visitors on the occasion of the
new year.
In the Vietnamese language, there is a special expression An Tet which literally means "eat the Tet",
but which embraces the meaning of celebrating the event with all traditional
activities involved, including eating. Eating is important on the new year holidays.
On the last day of the old year, the preparation of food to offer to the
ancestors is of special significance. Dishes to offer to the ancestors differ
in the Northern, Central and Southern parts of the country, depending on their
respective weather conditions at the time and on different local agricultural
products available. What is common in all regions of
the country during Tet holidays are the varieties of
soups, and fried, boiled, and stewed dishes.
In the North, the
menu for the Tet banquet includes pig trotters stewed
with dried bamboo shoots, boiled chicken, carp cooked in salted sauce, jellied
meat, and kohlrabi, cauliflower or onion fried with pig skin or lean pork.
Thus, the menu includes meat, fish and vegetables. In addition, there
are two other items that can not be missed: Banh
chung (square cake made
of glutinous rice, pork and green beans wrapped in the dong leaves and boiled)
and pickled onions. As one eats much meat during Tet,
one should eat some sour pickled onions to facilitate digestion.
In
In the South, with
The foods that the Vietnamese eat at Tet are varied
and diverse What they have in common is that the
people throughout the country all want to have the best and the most beautiful
looking food on this occasion to offer their ancestors and to treat their
friends and guests.
The Banh Chung:
As the legend goes, the Banh Chung came into being under King Hung,
the national founder, 3,000 4,000 years ago. Prince Lang Lieu, one of the sons
of King Hung, made round and square cakes: the round Banh
Day symbolizing the sky, and the square Banh
Chung symbolic of the earth (under the ancient Viet's
perception) and offered them to his Father on the occasion of Spring, and ever
since the Banh Chung has been a
"must" during the Tet holidays. The Banh Chung is very nutritious, has an original tasty
flavour and may be kept for a long time. All of its
ingredients and materials, from the green wrapping leaves to sticky rice and
pork, green peas and pepper inside, are all medicines (according to Oriental
Medicine) that act to keep harmony between the positive and the negative, thus
helping the blood circulate well and preventing diseases. Certainly, no other
cakes could be of such cultural significance and produce such medical effects
as the green Banh Chung of
(from Internet)