What is Doan Ngo Tet and the meaning of Doan Ngo Tet
According to the book Vietnam Traditional Worship - Rituals and Ritual Practices (World Publishing House, 2024), Doan Ngo Tet (also known as Doan Duong Tet, Pest Destroying Tet) takes place on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year.
In the past, Doan Ngo New Year was considered one of the official ceremonies of the nation. Under Le Trung Hung, Doan Ngo New Year was an opportunity for the king and the royal family to offer feasts to ancestors and grades. The sacrifice ceremony was held in Thai Mieu, owned by the Emperor himself.
During the Nguyen Dynasty, the king established a grand ceremony at Thai Hoa Palace, the royal court and the court officials stood in the hall outside, offered gifts, then the king gave a feast and awards. That day, the bureaus and offices were all off work, which was considered a normal day every year.
For Vietnamese people, Doan Ngo Tet is also the festival of insect destruction. Because our country is a purely agricultural country, making offerings to the sky and earth to buy in the right direction, the bumper crop to combine with insect destruction is a very important act in the lives of farmers in ancient times.
Besides, May 5 is also the death anniversary of Au Co model. Therefore, the folk say: "May is Doan Duong New Year/ Remember the death anniversary of Viet Thuong Van Lang".
In January, the climate is hot and sunny, suitable for pests to breed and develop, and can also easily cause people to develop diseases, especially digestive diseases. The folk custom has children wearing spells, tying colored handles (on wrists), using leaves to dye nails, wearing markers, and graffiti.
At the same time, Doan Ngo Tet is also an occasion for children and grandchildren to offer off off off the products of the off-season to their ancestors, using food to "eat pests" in people such as sticky rice, plums, peach blossoms, fabric... with the meaning of destroying pests that destroy the crop, while also destroying bacteria and worms in the body.
On the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, the silver bar offering tray offered to heaven and earth shows respect, praying for a prosperous and peaceful life that shows the rustic and simple beauty of the people's religious life.
What day is Doan Ngo Tet this year?
Doan Ngo Tet takes place on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year. In 2025, Doan Ngo Tet will fall on Saturday, May 31.
This year's Doan Ngo Lunar New Year falls on the weekend, making it convenient for families to gather and prepare ancestral worship trays with dishes imbued with traditional identity.
This Tet holiday is not only associated with the meaning of protecting the crop from pests and pests, but is also considered an occasion to purify the body and prevent diseases during the transitional season, when people are easily affected by climate and epidemics.
According to folktales, some traditional customs done on this day include: staying up, not touching the ground, clearing the mouth three times, eating boiled duck eggs, then drinking wine to make "buffalo stew", then eating fruit to "eat them".
Depending on different localities, the dishes on this day are also different. Fruits such as plums, cloth, peach, watermelon... along with banh gio, sweet soup with water or lotus seeds are all familiar dishes on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.
