What do you need to prepare for the first day of Lunar New Year?
To pray for a healthy, peaceful and happy new year for the family, all families pay great attention to the worship on the morning of the first day of Lunar New Year. In that worship, the offering tray is always carefully prepared by every family.
According to the book Vietnamese Beliefs by author Luu Anh (published and circulated by Tre Publishing House), offerings on the first day of Tet include: a tray of five fruits, incense, flowers, votive paper money, lamps, candles, betel and areca nuts, wine, tea, and banh chung (or banh tet). Salty or vegetarian dishes are deliciously prepared and solemnly presented Tet dishes.
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| Tet holiday tray |
In Hanoi, the traditional feast usually has "four bowls and six plates", while the rich have more (eight bowls and eight plates).
The bowls on the tray include:
+ A bowl of meatballs cooked with boiled feet and chicken broth (boiled feet include kohlrabi and carrots thinly sliced into flower shapes).
+ A bowl of vermicelli with chicken gizzards.
+ A bowl of dried bamboo shoots stewed with pork.
The discs include:
+ Boiled chicken dish (usually a castrated rooster but prepared from the afternoon of the 30th of Tet because people abstain from killing on the first day of the year).
+ Spring roll plate
+ Sauteed ham and pork roll
+ Gac sticky rice dish
+ Salad plate
The remaining meals during the three days of Tet only need to offer Chung cake, pork roll and various kinds of cakes, jams and candies. On the altar, the worship lamp (candle or candle) burning continuously during the three days of Tet along with the fragrant scent of flowers will create a warm and cozy Tet atmosphere...
However, according to feng shui experts, during Tet people should not burn too much incense, only when performing rituals before meals.
