What does the offering tray on the first day of Tet include?

(CLO) According to folk beliefs, on the morning of the first day of Lunar New Year, families in Vietnam prepare a tray of offerings to offer to their ancestors to show their gratitude. So what ingredients are needed for the offering tray on the morning of the first day?

Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year and also the most important holiday for Vietnamese people. On the morning of the first day of Tet - Lunar New Year, families prepare a tray of food to offer to the gods and ancestors, express gratitude and pray for a new year of peace, prosperity, and smooth sailing.

What does the offering tray on the first day of Tet include? Photo: illustration

What is needed for the offering tray on the first morning of Tet?

According to the book Vietnamese Beliefs by author Luu Anh, published by Tre Publishing House, offerings on the first morning of Tet include:

Fruit tray

floral scent

Joss paper money

Lamps and candles

Betel and areca nuts,

Wine, tea

The tray has banh chung (or banh tet).

Depending on conditions and beliefs, each family will prepare a vegetarian or non-vegetarian tray, but all must be carefully and meticulously prepared, using the best foods for the New Year.

Northern Vietnamese New Year's Eve offerings

Normally, the Northern New Year's Day offerings are very diverse with 4 bowls and 4 plates symbolizing the four pillars, four directions, and four seasons. The 4 plates include 1 plate of boiled chicken, 1 plate of pork, 1 plate of pork sausage, and 1 plate of sticky rice with gac fruit, with the wish for good luck and prosperity in the new year.

4 bowls usually include 1 bowl of braised pig's feet with bamboo shoots, 1 bowl of meatballs, 1 bowl of cellophane noodles and 1 bowl of mushroom and meatballs.

Because killing is taboo in the new year, almost all dishes on the tray must be prepared in advance, and chicken must also be slaughtered the day before.

The offering tray on the first day of Tet in the Central region

The Central Vietnamese feast is full of dishes from dry to wet, usually including grilled spring rolls, grilled beef, roast chicken, roast pork, braised lean meat and indispensable banh chung or banh tet.

The offering tray on the first day of the year always has some typical dishes of the Central region such as spring rolls, rice paper, raw vegetable rolls, mixed bamboo shoots, chicken mixed with Vietnamese coriander... and desserts such as five-color cakes, fu ling cakes, lotus cakes, sticky rice cakes, and various types of green bean cakes.

Southern Vietnamese New Year's Eve offerings

Southern dishes are very rich and not too constrained to a certain standard, usually have fried spring rolls, fresh Chinese sausage, shredded boiled chicken salad, pickled onions and especially always have banh tet. Nowadays there are many versions of banh tet such as sticky rice banh tet, sweet banh tet, or coconut banh tet, the filling can be meat or duck eggs...

Two indispensable dishes on the Southern Tet tray are braised pork and eggs and bitter melon soup, with the wish for a good and prosperous year.

Vegetarian offerings on the first day of Tet

Buddhists believe that one should not kill on the first day of the year, so many families choose to prepare vegetarian dishes. Dishes often included in vegetarian dishes include:

Stir-fried vegetables like carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, cabbage...

Fried tofu, stir-fried tofu with mushrooms, Sichuan tofu...

Vegetarian mushroom soup: On the offering tray or meal tray, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian, there must be a bowl of soup.

Sticky rice: Appearing on both vegetarian and non-vegetarian trays, sticky rice is always present on the Tet offering tray, it can be green bean sticky rice, gac sticky rice, pandan sticky rice...

PV

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/mam-co-cung-sang-mung-1-tet-bao-gom-nhung-mon-gi-post332350.html