Offering a tray of three offerings to the God of Wealth

Instead of offering sticky rice, sweet soup, and fruit, on God of Wealth's day this year, many people offer a tray of three offerings with lobster and crab, hoping to "gain more fortune" than the previous year.

Ms. Minh Hoa, 45 years old, owns a hair salon in Cau Giay district, Hanoi . Previously, she often prepared the offering tray on the day of God of Wealth with simple items, but recently her friends told her that "you have to prepare a high tray full of food" for her wishes to come true soon.

The day before the ceremony, Hoa decided to order a three-dish offering tray worth nearly one million VND, including sticky rice with gac fruit, three eggs, three lobsters, three Ca Mau crabs, roasted pork belly, and gold-shaped dumplings.

"After researching and listening to the seller's advice, I learned that the three-alms offering tray must be in harmony with the elements of Earth, Water, and Heaven, praying for abundance and prosperity," Hoa explained.

The hair salon owner added that pork belly represents living things on land (Earth), shrimp and crab represent living things in water (Water), while eggs represent the sky (Heaven). The offering tray must have all three elements above, and be beautifully arranged to show the homeowner's respect for the gods and pray for fortune.

Calculating that preparing it herself would be more expensive, Ms. Hoa ordered an offering tray, which was both convenient and did not require her to spend time going to the market early. According to the concept, the offering tray to the God of Wealth should be offered at Mao hour (5-7am), Ty hour (9-11am) and Than hour (3-5pm).

Tam Anh's offering tray of three offerings costs 400,000 VND to serve customers on the day of God of Wealth. Photo: Provided by the character — Tam Anh's offering tray of three offerings costs 400,000 VND to serve customers on the God of Wealth's day in 2024. Photo: *Provided by the character*

Because he highly values worship, the offering tray of Mr. Quoc Bao, 40 years old, owner of a lubricant company in Hai Phong, to the God of Wealth changes every year.

Five years ago, on the 10th of January, he would buy a tael of gold, then prepare a fruit tray, sticky rice and sweet soup for the offering. "A few years ago, I only offered tiger prawns, a piece of ham and a plate of sticky rice, but now I offer Alaska lobster, large Ca Mau crab, shaped kim sa buns, and sticky rice with the word "Loc" printed on it. In addition, I also put a cake in the shape of a pot of gold on the altar, which is not only beautiful but also makes the offering tray more complete," said Mr. Bao.

He also said that seeing other people offering high and full trays of food, his family was simple and afraid of lacking sincerity, so the offering tray every year only increased, not decreased.

According to a survey by VnExpress , nearly a week before January 10, many groups on social networks continuously shared posts about making offerings with a full set of three offerings including pork, eggs, shrimp, crab, sticky rice, fruits, candy... to pray for wealth and luck. Many catering units and seafood stores also offered offerings priced from 300,000 VND to nearly 2 million VND, depending on demand.

Ms. Tam Anh, owner of an online food store in Dong Da district, Hanoi, said that the offerings for God of Wealth Day are diverse, from vegetarian to meat. In the past 5 years, customers have tended to choose more luxurious and expensive dishes.

"Every year, my shop only accepts orders until the 8th, and the remaining two days we start paying. The price of each tray ranges from 400,000 to 500,000 VND. However, this year, due to economic difficulties, the price has been slightly reduced to suit many people's budgets," she said.

Many service providers specializing in providing three-dish offerings also said that they only accept pre-orders to prepare fresh shrimp and crab. The offerings, once completed, are beautifully arranged and carefully wrapped in plastic wrap to deliver to customers, avoiding dents and jostling.

The 300,000 VND gold jar cake model made by Thuy Duong on God of Wealth Day. Photo: Provided by the character — The gold jar cake model of fortune worth 300,000 VND provided by Thuy Duong on God of Wealth Day 2024. Photo: *Provided by the character*

In addition to offering tray making services, many shops also offer different sizes of gold jar cakes, ranging from 300,000 to 600,000 VND. Thuy Duong, owner of a bakery in Ba Dinh district, Hanoi, said that this type of cake is chosen by many customers on the day of the God of Wealth.

"Nowadays, people often like to display offerings in a beautiful form, both adults and children can 'receive blessings', so golden jar cakes have become popular," Duong said. However, due to the time it takes to prepare, the store only limits orders to provide the best products.

Cultural researcher Pham Dinh Hai, from the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, said the oldest recorded custom of worshiping the God of Wealth is worshiping the Five-Direction Earth God, which was established during the Han Dynasty in China on the second day of the Lunar New Year, and in the South on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. This custom lasted and was consistent until the late 1990s.

"However, since the end of the 20th century, due to the influence of 'cultural economy', some folk tales and legends have been interpreted, distorted and attributed. The most typical example is the God of Wealth's day," said Mr. Hai.

According to the expert, the original humanistic meaning of the custom was to give thanks and pray for the gods to protect human life, but now it has been transformed into praying for wealth and profit, "bribing" the gods to get rich, taking full advantage of human greed.

Mr. Hai said that offerings in general and offerings to the God of Wealth in particular are the most precious products of the family, there are no specific regulations, because they represent the concept of the worshiper and the natural and economic conditions of the locality. Those offerings are all symbolic, whatever is produced is offered, whatever job is done is offered, the most important is gratitude. Nowadays, when economic conditions develop and the purpose of praying for profit, people display more offerings.

According to the expert, folk customs do not have specific regulations on rituals and offerings, so it is best to follow the classical concept. The core is incense, fruit, wine, water, rice, salt... whatever is available for offering. Depending on your personal and family conditions, prepare offerings, do not follow the crowd because sincerity is the most important.

For many years, Mr. Chinh Hung, 35 years old, opened a furniture store in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi. He only made a fruit offering tray for the God of Wealth to report on the results of his work in the old year and pray for luck in the new year.

"The way you worship is not as important as your own efforts. Anyone would do anything to achieve their wishes with lavish feasts," Hung said.

Hai Hien - Quynh Nguyen

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