Taboo foods on Tet holiday according to the concept of "better safe than sorry"

Balut

Balut is a delicious and nutritious dish. However, according to the beliefs of people in the Central and Northern regions, they should not eat balut at the beginning of the month and the beginning of the year.

They believe that if you eat balut at the beginning of the month or year, the whole month and year will be unlucky. Everything that happens will be against your will.

Những món ăn kiêng kỵ ngày Tết theo quan niệm — Many people believe that eating balut eggs at the beginning of the year can bring bad luck.

As a delicious and nutritious dish, balut is also a dish chosen to effectively "dispel bad luck". When people encounter consecutive misfortunes or disasters, they often buy balut to eat in the hope that the word "bung" in this dish can help them turn the situation around.

If you eat balut on the first day of the month or the first day of the year according to the lunar calendar, the whole month and the whole year will be unlucky, everything will go against your wishes. Therefore, the elders in the family advise their children to avoid eating balut on Tet to prevent bad things from happening.

Squid

Squid is also a food on the “black” list of all three regions of the North, Central and South. The reason for this comes from the concept of “black as ink” of our ancestors many years ago.

Nowadays, squid is one of the first dishes that many people put on the blacklist of foods that we should not eat on Tet to avoid bad luck all year round.

According to the belief, if you eat squid at the beginning of the year, you will have bad luck all year, and if you eat squid at the beginning of the month, you will be unlucky. Many parents even do not let their children eat squid before exams. Many people avoid eating squid when traveling far away for important work.

Duck meat

Similar to dog meat, duck meat is also a dish that many people, especially those in the North and Central regions, avoid eating at the beginning of the year.

In Oriental medicine, duck meat is cool and sweet, which helps to move blood and increase energy, nourish the body. Duck meat is effective in treating high fevers that can lead to convulsions, detoxifying acne and reducing fever.

However, at the beginning of the new year, duck meat is included in the list of foods to avoid. People believe that eating duck meat will bring bad luck and "dispersal of the flock and young". Instead of using duck meat, people use chicken meat with the meaning of good luck.

Dog meat

Dog meat is rich in protein and has a delicious, distinctive flavor. It was even once considered a national dish. However, many people abstain from eating this meat during the Lunar New Year or the beginning of the lunar months.

They believe that dog meat is a dish that symbolizes bad luck if eaten on these occasions.

Regarding the origin of the concept of "eating dog meat to ward off bad luck", perhaps since ancient times in Vietnamese folklore, dogs have often been mentioned as the image of an animal that has to endure bad luck.

Therefore, eating dog meat at the end of the month and the end of the year is to wash away bad luck and misfortunes that have passed. People consider eating dog meat to overcome the limitations or bad luck that people have. At the beginning of the month and the beginning of the year, people absolutely abstain from dog meat to avoid bad luck.

Bream

Grass carp is a nutritious and healthy food that can be processed into a variety of delicious dishes and is also effective in treating many diseases. Fish meat is rich in protein; fish fat is rich in unsaturated fatty acids; fish bile contains sterols similar to grass carp and common carp bile.

According to Oriental medicine, grass carp is sweet, warm, and non-toxic. Grass carp meat is delicious and fatty; it has the effect of nourishing the brain and marrow, moistening the lungs, and benefiting the spleen and stomach. Although grass carp has many effects on human health, it is a taboo dish during Tet.

People in the North and Central regions both avoid eating grass carp at the beginning of the year. Many people believe that the reason is because the word “grass carp” goes with the word “grass carp”. Moreover, grass carp is more fishy and has more bones than other types of fish.

Perhaps that is why they believe that this fish will bring a year of bad luck. Especially for people in the Central region, they believe that eating silver carp at the beginning of the year will bring bad luck all year long.

Shrimp

Shrimp is an excellent source of protein and vitamin D, without adding carbohydrates to your daily intake. The health benefits of shrimp include improved bone and brain health, weight management, and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

Shrimp has anti-inflammatory, cancer-preventing and anti-aging properties that help reduce the risk of various health diseases, help treat age-related macular degeneration and reduce eye fatigue, and relieve menstrual pain.

Northerners do not avoid shrimp during Tet, but Southerners especially "avoid" shrimp on this occasion because of the belief that shrimp have big heads and move backwards. If you eat dishes with shrimp at the beginning of the new year, it will be difficult to do everything easily and smoothly.

Therefore, everything in the new year will not be smooth sailing, without promotion and prosperity.

Durian

Durian contains vitamin C, B, fiber, iron, copper, potassium... good for resistance, improves blood flow and helps overcome depression effectively.

So durian is the perfect choice for you when you need to add more energy to your body, because just eating 1/5 of a durian can provide you with the necessary energy for a long day.

Durian is an extremely delicious and nutritious dish, but it is taboo to eat on the first day of the year because many people are afraid that eating it will bring about many sad things, making the whole year sad and miserable.

Southerners also value the semantic association principles of names, so they also avoid fruits with "unlucky" names, which are taboo to eat on the first day of the year. Because they fear that eating durian will bring about many sad events, making the whole year sad and troubled.

Papaya

Papaya is a tropical fruit with a refreshing, sweet taste and attractive color. The uses of papaya have long been proven through a series of health benefits, making it a favorite fruit of many people.

People from the North and the South both believe that papaya is an indispensable part of the five-fruit tray, bringing a full and prosperous year. However, people from the Central region abstain from eating this fruit.

They value the semantic association principle of the name, so they also avoid fruits with "unlucky" names. Accordingly, they do not choose papaya because this name, pronounced in the Central accent, sounds almost like "thu du" with an unlucky meaning.

Banana

Bananas are rich in antioxidants, which protect the body from free radicals. They are also a great source of magnesium, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6. The advantages of bananas over other fruits are undeniable.

Although bananas are an indispensable fruit in the five-fruit tray of people in the North, people in the South avoid eating bananas at the beginning of the year.

The word "chuoi" is a bit distorted to become "chúi" in the Southern accent, meaning unable to look up, so eating bananas on Tet will greatly affect career advancement.

Orange, pear

Oranges and pears are two fruits that are very good for health and are used by many people every day. However, at the beginning of the month and the beginning of the year, most people in the South abstain from eating oranges and pears.

This is one of the dishes that should absolutely not be eaten during the first days of the new year because of the wish to enjoy sweet things all year long, to progress in work next year, not to regress, and to stay away from bad luck.

Along with bananas, oranges and pears are taboo foods for people in the South during Tet. According to folk beliefs, “Quỳt lam, cam chinh” or “lẻ lết” both have unlucky meanings, so people in the South should not display these fruits on the five-fruit tray.

Sour, spicy, salty, astringent foods

Sour, spicy, astringent, and salty dishes help enhance the taste of the eater. However, sour, spicy, and salty dishes are limited during Tet holidays for people in the South.

At the beginning of the new year, people often choose sweet dishes so that the whole year will pass peacefully and they will enjoy sweet things. They avoid sour, spicy, astringent, and salty dishes to avoid suffering and bitterness in life.

Conclusion

In some ways, abstaining from “unlucky” foods is also a manifestation of traditional culture. These abstinences ultimately reflect the dream of a peaceful, prosperous, and lucky life all year round.

Nowadays, although society has developed much more modernly, the concept of "worshiping and being sacred, abstaining and being safe" in Tet dishes still exists, and is an extremely valuable spiritual culture in the Vietnamese soul.

This article is for reference only, however, eating in moderation is the "key" to help you maintain your health so that Tet is more joyful, healthy and peaceful.

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