This year, the Duanwu Festival (the 5th of the 5th lunar month) (also known as the “insect extermination festival”) falls on June 10th. Since the beginning of June, mothers and grandmothers have been telling each other, “insect extermination day is coming soon!”
According to traditional customs, the Vietnamese Doan Ngo festival is held at noon on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year. The ancients believed that in the human body, especially the digestive tract, there are often hidden insects living, if not eradicated, the insects will grow and multiply, causing harm to humans. Therefore, the Doan Ngo festival not only has the meaning of praying for favorable weather, good wind, and bountiful crops, but is also an occasion for people to eat fruits and sticky rice wine as a way to eradicate harmful insects, ward off diseases, pray for good health and a prosperous and fulfilling life.
On this day, every family prepares an offering tray to present to the ancestral altar. The offering tray on the Doan Ngo festival usually includes fruits, fresh flowers and some typical dishes, such as sticky rice wine, five-color sticky rice, molasses ash cake, etc.
From traditional markets to online markets, the products for the Duanwu Festival that are most sought after by people are lychees, tam hoa plums, sticky rice wine, molasses-filled ash cakes, and five-color sticky rice...
Ms. Tran Thuy Duong, Bac Cuong ward ( Lao Cai city) said: It has become a habit for many years now, when the "insect killing" day is near, I buy plums, molasses ash cakes and sticky rice wine to make offerings. After the ceremony, the whole family gathers to enjoy the fresh taste of the fruit, the fragrant taste of molasses cakes, and especially the sweet and spicy taste of sticky rice wine... This is an occasion for the whole family to gather and wish everyone luck and peace.
Understanding the psychology of customers, since the beginning of June, on social networking sites, there has been a bustling service of accepting orders for making offerings and sets of offerings for the Dragon Boat Festival with attractive greetings. At some stores and traditional markets, many small traders also accept orders for Dragon Boat Festival offerings including traditional dishes with different menu options and prices.
According to a survey by reporters, this year, the lowest price for the Duanwu Festival offering tray is 150,000 VND, the highest is up to several million VND. However, the sets of offerings priced from 150,000 VND to 500,000 VND are chosen by more people to order. The offering trays have full offerings, beautifully arranged according to each customer's order.
Ms. Nguyen Thu Hang, an officer at the Provincial Employment Service Center, said that the Doan Ngo festival is a traditional holiday, but because of her busy work schedule, she orders a pre-made offering tray every year. For Ms. Hang, sincerity is the most important thing, it does not need to be too lavish or elaborate, so the family's offering tray on the Doan Ngo festival is prepared with some traditional dishes, flowers, and fruits.
These days, Ms. Linh (a merchant at Pho Moi tourist market, Lao Cai city) is taking advantage of the opportunity to receive more orders for five-color sticky rice for the upcoming Doan Ngo festival. In addition to orders from regular customers, Ms. Linh also posted on her personal Facebook to receive orders for five-color sticky rice with prices starting from 30,000 VND/small plate and 40,000 VND/large plate. Up to this point, Ms. Linh said she has received nearly 40 orders for five-color sticky rice for Doan Ngo festival.
“Every year on the occasion of the Duanwu Festival, the number of customers coming to buy sticky rice is very high from 5am to 9am. People’s purchasing power on the Duanwu Festival is often twice as high as on the 15th and 1st of the lunar month,” Ms. Linh added.
In addition to five-color sticky rice, purple sticky rice wine is an indispensable item on this occasion. On online markets and traditional markets, sticky rice wine is sold for 50,000 - 70,000 VND/kg. However, for the convenience of customers, sellers often pack it in small boxes priced at 20,000 - 30,000 VND/box.
Carefully checking the pot of sticky rice wine, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham in Lao Cai ward (Lao Cai city) said: I have been selling sticky rice wine for many years now, usually I only cook about 3 kg of rice. This year, for the Doan Ngo festival, I plan to cook about 50 kg of sticky rice. The afternoon of May 4 and the morning of May 5 are the times when most people order sticky rice wine. However, I still maintain the selling price of 50,000 VND/kg of sticky rice wine as usual.
Not as bustling as the Lunar New Year, the Doan Ngo festival has its own features, deeply ingrained in the consciousness of each person and becoming a beautiful feature in the traditional culture of the nation. This is an opportunity for family members to strengthen their love, thereby contributing to preserving the good traditional values of the Vietnamese people.
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