The reason why Tet Doan Ngo is considered the strangest Tet of Vietnamese people

Foods often offered as incense during the Duanwu Festival. Photo: Anh Trang

The Duanwu Festival is held at noon on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year. Vietnamese people also call the Duanwu Festival the Insect Killing Festival.

People celebrate the Duanwu Festival to catch insects and destroy pests that harm crops, praying for a bountiful harvest.

In many places, families have the habit of eating ash cakes, sweet rice balls, lotus seeds... to kill insects and diseases in the body.

According to the concept of the Duanwu Festival, you must rinse your mouth three times to clean out the worms, drink a bowl of sticky rice wine to get the worms drunk, then eat fruit to kill the worms.

According to the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, Doan Ngo is considered the most unique Tet of the Vietnamese people.

The book Hanoi geography, customs section records the custom of wrapping wormwood leaves, dyeing fingernails, tying thread around wrists... on the Duanwu Festival.

Or Dong Khanh Geography records: "On the Duanwu Festival, people prepare wine and fruits to worship their ancestors from early morning. Everyone drinks wine and eats fruits, which is called killing insects.

On that day, people picked medicinal herbs to store for use, picked mugwort leaves depending on the year and tied them into the shape of the animal symbolizing that year.

According to folk beliefs, people often avoid throwing shoes around to avoid attracting evil spirits. They should stay away from hospitals and funerals because these places have too much negative energy, which can easily attract illness and evil spirits.

In some regions, adults are not allowed to put their feet on the ground when they wake up in the morning, but must rinse their mouths three times to clean out any bugs, then eat a boiled duck egg.

Many people also believe that you should avoid dropping money on the Dragon Boat Festival because then you will lose your fortune, causing your luck to decline.

If you stay in a hotel or motel, avoid choosing the first and last rooms in the hallway. These two locations attract negative energy, making it easy for the body to get sick.

After Tet Nguyen Dan, perhaps "Tet to kill insects" is the festival with many customs associated with people's lives, an occasion for family reunion.

In Asia, the Duanwu Festival is a traditional holiday in some East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, China... According to the customs of each country, the offering tray also has special offerings.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/ly-do-tet-doan-ngo-duoc-xem-la-tet-ky-la-nhat-cua-nguoi-viet-3360035.html