Unique fruits for Tet (Lunar New Year)

In the final days of the year, Pham Anh Minh's fruit decoration business in Van Phu ward, Viet Tri city, is bustling with orders for Tet (Lunar New Year). To meet market demand, in 2022, Minh invested in opening a business specializing in fruit decoration for holidays and Tet.

The decorative fruit arrangements made by Mr. Pham Anh Minh's family are popular and many people contact him to place orders for Tet (Lunar New Year) decorations.

Minh shared: “Having a natural talent and a love for fruit and vegetable carving, I taught myself how to do it. Over time, with some experience in decorating for Tet (Lunar New Year), I decided to invest in this profession, both to satisfy my passion and to beautify the world. Each year, each product will be improved in design and patterns to create attractive, unique, and sophisticated pieces, meeting the increasingly high demands of customers.”

To complete a product, many steps are involved. First, the craftsman cleans the fruit's surface with a damp cloth, sprays on a layer of glossy paint, lets it dry, chooses the decoration style, draws letters, attaches accessories, and sprinkles colored glitter to add emphasis to the fruit. However, the most important step is selecting large, evenly shaped, beautiful, and fresh fruits, which will create a high-quality, artistic product.”

Reportedly, Mr. Minh's fruit products for Tet (Lunar New Year) are ordered in large quantities by traders both within and outside the province, serving the needs of people during the Tet holiday. During the Lunar New Year alone, Mr. Minh's facility supplies over 100 pomelos and coconuts per day to the market. Each fruit is priced between 150,000 and 200,000 VND.

Decorative fruits, symbolizing good fortune, are popular during the Lunar New Year.

Decorative fruits for Tet (Vietnamese New Year) have the advantage of being unique and eye-catching, with vibrant colors and intricate carvings of folk motifs and inscriptions. Besides the characters for "Happiness," "Prosperity," "Longevity," "Good Fortune," and "Abundance," the fruits are also decorated with images of peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, poinsettias, branches, and glittering gold leaves, all bearing the distinct mark of spring. Another advantage is that these decorative fruits can be displayed for a long time. Therefore, they are a popular choice for many people, serving as gifts for relatives and business partners, conveying New Year greetings and other meaningful messages. Despite being many times more expensive than regular fruit, decorative fruits remain a popular choice for customers.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huyen from Bang Luan commune, Doan Hung district, said: “Creating a handcrafted product to display during Tet (Lunar New Year) is a very unique idea, both beautiful and elegant. Understanding the needs of the people, in addition to selling Bang Luan pomelos, a local specialty, my family imports other decorated fruits with calligraphy each year to serve the Tet shopping needs of families.”

Through the skillful hands of the artisans, the coconut and pomelo trees come to life.

Going to the market in the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), we will encounter stalls selling fruits for Tet decorations that always attract a large number of customers who come to buy and choose according to their needs. Mr. Phung Duy Hung from Tien Cat ward, Viet Tri city shared: “Every Tet, my family usually prepares a traditional five-fruit platter with specialties from Phu Tho such as bananas, pomelos, dragon fruit, tangerines... In recent years, I have seen many beautiful and unique decorative fruits on the market, so I also chose to buy a pair of golden coconuts and a red watermelon to display for Tet, hoping that my family will have much luck and prosperity in the new year.”

Besides being sold at local markets and supermarkets, these fruits used for Tet decorations are also sold by many people on social media channels, with videos instructing how to make them at home and selling accompanying accessories. With a little skill and care, anyone can decorate a pair of coconuts or pomelos for Tet to give to loved ones as a wish for a healthy, peaceful, and happy new year.

For many Vietnamese families, a carefully arranged tray of five fruits is an indispensable part of the Lunar New Year celebration. Each type of fruit, each color, and even the way the fruit tray is arranged during Tet (Lunar New Year) all carry their own meaning, representing the wishes of the family. While customs and personal viewpoints may vary across regions, above all, each traditional way of arranging the fruit tray during Tet expresses reverence for ancestors and a wish for a prosperous and fortunate new year.

Thu Giang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/doc-dao-trai-cay-chung-tet-226688.htm