What does the offering tray for the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year) include?

(CLO) According to folk tradition, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese families prepare a feast to offer to their ancestors' altar as a token of gratitude and respect. So, what ingredients should be included in this feast offered on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year is the biggest and most important holiday of the year for Vietnamese people. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, families prepare a feast to offer to the gods and ancestors, expressing gratitude and praying for a prosperous and peaceful new year.

What does the offering tray for the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year) include? (Image for illustration purposes only)

What should be included in the offering tray for the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year)?

According to the book "Vietnamese Beliefs" by Luu Anh, published by Nha Xuat Ban Tre (Youth Publishing House), the items offered on the morning of the first day of Tet include:

Five-fruit platter

Flower fragrance

Paper money for offerings to the deceased

Lamps, candles

Betel nut,

Wine, tea

The feast includes banh chung (or banh tet).

Depending on their circumstances and beliefs, each family will prepare a vegetarian or non-vegetarian feast; however, all must be carefully and meticulously prepared, using the finest ingredients for the New Year celebration.

A traditional offering tray for the first day of Tet in Northern Vietnam.

Typically, the offering tray for the first day of Tet in Northern Vietnam is very diverse, consisting of four bowls and four plates symbolizing the four pillars, four directions, and four seasons. The four plates include one plate of boiled chicken, one plate of pork, one plate of pork sausage, and one plate of red sticky rice, all with the hope of good fortune and prosperity in the new year.

A typical meal consists of four bowls: one bowl of braised pork trotters with bamboo shoots, one bowl of meatball soup, one bowl of vermicelli soup, and one bowl of mushroom and meatball soup.

Because killing animals is forbidden during the New Year, almost all the dishes on the feast table must be prepared in advance, and the chicken is also slaughtered the day before.

A traditional offering tray for the first day of Tet in Central Vietnam.

A traditional Central Vietnamese feast includes a variety of dishes, both dry and wet, typically featuring grilled pork skewers (nem lụi), grilled beef, roasted chicken, roasted pork, braised lean pork, and, of course, sticky rice cakes (bánh chưng or bánh tét).

The offering tray on New Year's Day always includes several typical dishes from Central Vietnam such as spring rolls, rice paper rolls, raw vegetable rolls, bamboo shoot salad, chicken salad with coriander... and desserts such as five-color cakes,茯苓 cakes, lotus seed cakes, glutinous rice flour cakes, and various mung bean cakes.

A traditional offering tray for the first day of Tet in Southern Vietnam.

Southern Vietnamese feasts are very diverse and not strictly bound by any particular standard. They often include fried spring rolls, fresh sausages, shredded boiled chicken salad, pickled shallots, and especially, bánh tét (sticky rice cake). Nowadays, there are many versions of bánh tét such as purple sticky rice bánh tét, sweet bánh tét, or coconut bánh tét, with fillings that can be meat or duck eggs...

Two indispensable dishes on the Tet feast table in Southern Vietnam are braised pork with eggs and bitter melon soup, symbolizing the wish for a prosperous and abundant year.

Vegetarian offerings for the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year).

Buddhists believe that killing animals should be avoided on New Year's Day, so many families choose to prepare a vegetarian feast. Common dishes in a vegetarian feast include:

Vegetarian stir-fried vegetables such as carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage...

Crispy fried tofu, stir-fried tofu with mushrooms, Sichuan tofu...

Vegetarian mushroom soup: In any offering or meal, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian, there must always be a bowl of soup.

Sticky rice: Appearing in both savory and vegetarian feasts, sticky rice is always present on the offering tray during Tet (Lunar New Year), in various forms such as mung bean sticky rice, gac fruit sticky rice, pandan leaf sticky rice, etc.

PV

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/mam-co-cung-sang-mung-1-tet-bao-gom-nhung-mon-gi-post332350.html