Tet (Lunar New Year) of the San Diu ethnic group

Việt Nam•11/02/2024

As the year ends and Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, the San Diu people in Dao Tru commune, Tam Dao district, strive to complete their production work in preparation for celebrating Tet and welcoming the Spring. The customs and traditions of the traditional Tet holiday are still preserved and maintained by the people here.

The tradition of pasting red paper during the Lunar New Year of the San Diu ethnic group is still preserved by families in Dao Tru commune. Photo: Kim Ly

Dao Tru commune is one of the localities with a large population of the San Diu ethnic minority. In the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), after finishing their farm work, families clean and decorate their houses meticulously. On the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, families cook a sweet soup made from mung beans, sticky rice, and molasses.

This dish has a yellow color from molasses and a fragrant, chewy texture from glutinous rice. The San Diu ethnic people cook this dish to offer to their ancestors' altars. On the last day of the old year, families visit the graves of their ancestors, inviting them to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) with their descendants.

The San Diu people have a custom of pasting red paper during their traditional Lunar New Year. Mr. Luu Van Sinh, from Tan Lap village, Dao Tru commune, said: “On the 29th day of the Lunar New Year, families paste red paper on the altar, in front of the house, at the entrance gate, and on the trees inside the house. The meaning of pasting red paper is to signal the arrival of spring and to mark the belongings of the family. Red is also the color of good luck, expressing the wish for a happy, prosperous, and fulfilling new year.”

In addition, the ancestral altar of the San Diu people cannot be without two couplets written in Chinese characters, meaning a wish for a happy and lucky new year.

The Tet (Lunar New Year) cuisine of the San Diu ethnic group is quite diverse. According to Ms. Tran Thi Hang from Tan Lap village, the Tet feast is meticulously prepared by families, including pig's head, chicken, white wine, and especially the indispensable traditional cakes of the San Diu people such as humpback sticky rice cake, glutinous rice cake, and small sticky rice cake.

All three types of cakes are made from glutinous rice as the main ingredient. The small cakes are made from glutinous rice flour, rolled into small balls, and then boiled until they float to the surface before being removed. The humpbacked glutinous rice cake is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and pepper, wrapped in bamboo leaves or banana leaves. The gio cake has a beautiful amber color; the rice used is soaked in ash water from forest trees, and it is eaten with molasses for added flavor.

The San Diu ethnic people of Tan Lap village, Dao Tru commune, wrap glutinous rice cakes and sticky rice cakes for Tet (Lunar New Year). Photo: Kim Ly

On New Year's Eve, families prepare offerings to their ancestors. After the ceremony, family members gather together, drinking wine and enjoying the feast to celebrate the new year. Young men and women go out to pick lucky branches in the spring to pray for a prosperous year. Mothers and grandmothers go to the temple to pray for peace and safety for their families. The San Diu people have a custom of keeping a fire burning on New Year's Eve. The women of the family prepare a large log to burn in the kitchen and keep the embers glowing until the morning of the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year), symbolizing a wish for good fortune and happiness to continue from year to year.

Unlike the Kinh people, San Diu ethnic families do not offer sacrifices to their ancestors on the morning of the first day of Tet, but on the morning of the second day. After eating and drinking, everyone goes out to visit and exchange New Year greetings. Each person visiting usually brings cakes, candies, Tet jams, sticky rice cakes, etc., to give as gifts to parents and relatives.

On this day, family members gather together. Around the New Year's feast, everyone eats, chats, and wishes each other well for the new year. Old and young, men and women, sit by the warm fire, humming simple, rustic, and lyrical folk songs praising spring, love for their homeland, and family affection…; young men and women exchange sincere feelings through melodious, captivating songs.

From the third day onwards, families choose an auspicious day to perform thanksgiving rituals, burn votive paper, and remove the red paper offerings, signaling the end of Tet and the return of normal production activities.

Nevertheless, the vibrant atmosphere of the new spring still permeates the villages. People organize many folk games and cultural and sporting activities such as Soọng cô singing and xèng playing... These Tet customs are still preserved and promoted by the San Diu ethnic group in modern life, contributing to further enriching their ethnic cultural identity.

White Russia

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