Culinary artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet: Doan Ngo Festival - a traditional cultural beauty of Vietnamese people

Today (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month) is the Duanwu Festival, also known as the Duanyang Festival. In traditional Vietnamese culture, Duanwu is considered one of the most important festivals, also known as the “Insect Killing Festival”.

On this occasion, Culinary Artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet shared with the People's Army Electronic Newspaper about the features of Vietnamese culture of the Duanwu Festival.

Reporter (PV): What are the unique features of the Duanwu Festival, artist?

Artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet: “Doan” means beginning, “Ngo” is the period from 11am to 1pm, eating Doan Ngo Festival is at noon. That is why, in Vietnam, every year on the 5th of May, from the splendid royal palaces of the past to the countryside or in the cities today, everyone happily celebrates Doan Ngo Festival.

The Duanwu Festival in each region has its own culture. Although there are different rituals and customs, it is an occasion for descendants to turn to their roots and remember the merits of their ancestors. This is a unique cultural feature that not every country in the world has.

Culinary artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet and the traditional sticky rice wine that she makes every year on the occasion of the Doan Ngo Festival.

PV : Artist, please tell me, on the occasion of the Duanwu Festival, how do Vietnamese people worship their ancestors?

Artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet: In a Vietnamese year, Tet Nguyen Dan, Tet Nguyen Tieu, and Tet Doan Ngo are indispensable. From ancient times to the present, the ancestral altar on Tet Doan Ngo includes items made from rice and fruits typical of each region, such as in the North, the ancestral altar includes flowers, fruits, sticky rice wine, cakes, etc.

In the past, when we were young, every family worked in the fields, so every family had to make sticky rice wine or white sticky rice wine, and fruits were bought or picked from the home garden to display on a tray, offering to the ancestors. But the special thing that could not be missing on the ancestral offering tray on the Doan Ngo Festival of Hanoians was banh gio. Almost all women in Hanoi in the past had to know how to make this cake, but now there are many more convenient services.

PV: In the old Doan Ngo Festival, after the offering tray was presented to the ancestors, the elders in the family would guide the children and grandchildren to eat the dishes in order. How was this expressed, artist?

Artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet: In the old days, on the morning of May 5th, the elders in the family often woke up early to make tea and prepare the offering tray. Each dish on the ancestral offering tray had a meaning. After the offering was finished, the first dish that the elders would instruct their children to eat was sticky rice wine, followed by various fruits.

Moreover, the ancestral altar also has the meaning of eliminating insects for good crops and healthy people. In addition, any house with a garden always has the action of whitewashing the trees to eliminate pests and keep the trees healthy.

Vietnam is a hot country, and May is the hot season, creating favorable conditions for insects and bacteria to develop, damaging crops and affecting human health. Therefore, people must find ways to fight the heat and prevent diseases through food, drinks, and utensils. This good custom has entered the treasure trove of Vietnamese literature.

Culinary artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet introduces dishes for the Duan Ngo Festival to visitors at Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

PV : According to the artist, what should be done for today's generation to preserve the traditional cultural features of the nation?

Artist Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet: I think, the more developed society is, the more Traditional culture needs to be preserved and maintained.

Tet in general and Doan Ngo Festival in particular represent solidarity and respect for ancestors. In the past, it also had the meaning of taking care of crops and human health. The younger generation now needs to absorb the quintessence of the previous generation to learn and maintain.

I see that in some countries like Korea and Japan, traditional things are preserved, respected and developed very well. When I went to Japan, I invited my friends to try black sticky rice with yogurt. They all praised it and analyzed that, scientifically speaking, yogurt and black sticky rice mixed together to become a fermented dish would be very good for health.

I think that with very unique cultural features that are not found anywhere else, we must maintain and develop them more in the community. Only then will the traditional rituals of the nation not be lost.

PV: Thank you very much artist!

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