Tet Nguyen Dan is the most important and biggest festival of the year for the Tay ethnic group. The Tay people of Cao Bang believe that Tet (kin Chieng) lasts for 4 days, from the 30th of the 12th lunar month of the old year to the 3rd of the 1st lunar month of the new year. Tet begins with a “dispelling bad luck” meal on the afternoon of the 30th, with the main dish being duck meat.
From the 23rd of December, members of the Tay family often take turns cleaning the house, shopping, decorating peach branches, parallel sentences on the ancestral altar; washing banh leaves, preparing to slaughter pigs, chickens, wrap banh chung, make che lam, khau sli, thuc thec; decorating the five-fruit tray, votive paper... When the preparations for Tet are basic, on the 30th of Tet, women in the Tay family often wake up early to go to the market to choose ducks with smooth feathers, big soft beaks, round breasts, thick neck and belly skin to slaughter. Families who do not have time can buy pre-processed ducks to prepare for dinner on the 30th night.
Ms. Ha Thi Nhi, Group 5, Hop Giang Ward shared: Every year, although we cannot raise ducks, on the 30th of Tet, my family often asks our brothers and sisters to get a good duck to slaughter, then process it into many different dishes. The duck meat tray on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet is beautifully presented and delicious with many spices such as mac mat leaves, garlic, pepper, chili...
With the above meaning, the Tay people's Tet truly begins with a meal to dispel bad luck on the afternoon of December 30th of the lunar calendar. After the New Year's Eve meal, all leftovers from duck are thrown away. That's why there is a saying: On Tet, the Tay people make cakes and eat pork, chicken... "Bươn Chiềng bau kin nưa pet/Bươn Chất bau kin nưa cáy" (translated: Don't eat duck in January/Don't eat chicken in July).
Along with the custom of eating duck on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet, the Tay people also have taboos during the three days of Tet such as: not allowing people in mourning, sick people, disabled people, bad-tempered people, people in families with bad people who are criticized by society and neighbors to come to their house on the 1st day. In some places, on the 2nd and 3rd days of Tet, people are not allowed to sweep the trash in the house but only collect it until the evening to take it out; not allowing dishes, teapots and cups to be thrown away, not talking carelessly and being impolite. When meeting each other, people smile and chat warmly, wish each other the best; wish the elderly longevity, give lucky money to children; do not ask each other to pay debts during Tet...
Thai Ha
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