The meaning of the five-fruit tray on Tet holiday

In the spiritual culture of Vietnamese people, the five-fruit tray on Tet holiday holds an important position, showing respect to ancestors and the morality of "when drinking water, remember its source".

Along with green Chung cake and red parallel sentences, the five-fruit tray is an indispensable part of the altar of every Vietnamese family during Tet. Vietnamese people spend a lot of time and effort to display the five-fruit tray because it not only has aesthetic meaning but also contains many hopes for a new year of prosperity, health and luck.

Indispensable offerings on the altar of every Vietnamese family

According to Vietnamese traditional customs, every Lunar New Year, almost every family prepares a tray of five fruits to worship on the ancestral altar or to display in the living room. On the 30th night of Tet, after finishing cleaning, sanitizing, and decorating the house, it is also the time when everyone prepares the tray of five fruits in time for the New Year's Eve worship... Perhaps that is why every family tries to make the tray of five fruits on Tet both beautiful and make the Lunar New Year more lively and sacred, especially conveying the wishes of their family in the new year.

The five-fruit tray originated from Buddhism, mentioned in the Ullambana Sutra with the image of "five-colored fruits". The five colors symbolize the "five good roots" according to Buddhism, including: faith root (faith), perseverance root (perseverance), memory root (remembering), concentration root (mindfulness), and wisdom root (wisdom).

With the philosophy of life “When drinking water, remember its source”, Vietnamese people always want to offer their achievements to their ancestors, not only delicious cakes but also fragrant flowers and sweet fruits to express their sincerity. The five-fruit tray is where those good values crystallize with the products offered on holidays in general and on Tet in particular.

Each type of fruit chosen to be arranged in the five-fruit tray has its own specific meaning. Due to the different living conditions in the areas where Vietnamese people live, there are many different ways to display the five-fruit tray. It is called five-fruit, but in fact, the selection and arrangement of what types of fruit on the tray depends on each locality with its own characteristics of climate, products and cultural concepts. Normally, the five-fruit tray in the North focuses on the five elements including Metal - Wood - Water - Fire - Earth corresponding to the colors white, green, black, red, yellow, while the five-fruit tray in the Central and Southern regions focuses on the meaning of the fruit, representing temperament and natural advantages.

Characteristics of the Tet fruit tray in three regions

Depending on the circumstances of each family and each region, there are different ways to display and arrange the five-fruit tray. But in general, the five-fruit tray on the altar on Tet is still the place where the soul of the fruit, the scent of the tree and the wishes for peace, safety and sufficiency that the Vietnamese people send.

Northerners display the five-fruit tray according to the Five Elements theory in Eastern culture, which is that all things are in harmony with heaven and earth. Therefore, the five-fruit tray must also be arranged in five colors: Metal is white, Wood is green, Water is black, Fire is red, Earth is yellow. Accordingly, indispensable fruits are bananas, grapefruit (or Buddha's hand fruit), oranges, kumquats, mangoes, persimmons, apples, pomegranates, etc.

The traditional way of presentation is usually according to the five elements, first of all, the banana bunch is placed at the bottom to support all the other fruits. In the middle of the dark green banana bunch is a plump grapefruit or a beautiful yellow Buddha's hand fruit. Smaller fruits such as oranges, kumquats, persimmons, etc. will be arranged alternately around. The delicate and detailed arrangement between the colors and sizes of the fruits will bring a beautiful harmony.

Meanwhile, Southern people pay more attention to the meaning of the fruits, so the five-fruit tray often includes custard apple, fig, coconut, papaya, and mango. In which, custard apple is a wish for everything to go as desired; coconut, pronounced similarly to "vua", means not lacking; fig - abundant in health and money; papaya means bringing a new year of abundance and prosperity; mango, pronounced similarly to "xai" - wishing for spending without shortage. When reading the pronunciation of these fruits is similar to the sentence "cầu sung giá thất giá" or "cầu giá thất giá".

People in the Central region are not too particular about the form or meaning of fruits, so the Tet fruit tray of each family is different, any fruit is fine as long as it is fresh and delicious and the homeowner sincerely offers it to their ancestors. Some common fruits include dragon fruit, watermelon, pineapple, custard apple, orange, tangerine, persimmon, custard apple...

Although the way of choosing and presenting the fruit tray in the three regions is different, above all, it shows respect towards the ancestors and wishes for a new year of reunion, peace, happiness and abundance.

Nowadays, fruits are increasingly abundant, so the five-fruit tray also has more types of fruits. However, the name remains the same - "five fruits". The five-fruit tray always creates a joyful, warm and brilliant space for ancestor worship. It vividly represents the ideas, philosophy-beliefs-aesthetics of Tet. Learning about the five-fruit tray is also learning about the origin, history and fine traditions of the Vietnamese people.