According to folk customs, the year-end ceremony is usually held on the 29th or 30th of the 12th lunar month, when all the cleaning and preparation for Tet has been completed. This is also the ideal time for the whole family to gather together and participate in the year-end ceremony.
The New Year's Eve ceremony is an occasion for the family to thank heaven, earth, gods and ancestors for their blessings throughout the past year. At the same time, this ritual also has the meaning of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new year with the hope of luck and fortune.
According to the book "Vietnamese Traditional Worship - Rituals and Rituals", the New Year's Eve offering tray can be vegetarian, non-vegetarian or both depending on the homeowner. Normally, the offering tray must be prepared deliciously, in some places it is very elaborate, sumptuous with all the dishes for Tet.
However, families should note that the offering tray (vegetarian or non-vegetarian) must have 1 full bowl of rice and 4 half-bowls of rice.
The savory feast includes the following popular dishes (families can freely change or add or subtract):
North:
- Boiled meat/boiled chicken
- Braised pig's feet and bamboo shoot soup
- Chicken gizzard vermicelli
- Gac sticky rice
- Chung cake
- Spring rolls
- Ham
- Sausage...
Central region:
- Chung cake
- Banh tet
- Ham
- Chicken with Vietnamese coriander
- Boiled pork
- Sour price
- Tuna (or other fish) braised...
Southern:
- Banh tet
- Bitter melon soup stuffed with meat
- Braised pork
- Shrimp and meat salad
- Pickled onions with dried shrimp
- Spring rolls
- Spring roll...
Vegetarian tray can include the following dishes:
Stir-fried vegetables
- Bitter melon soup stuffed with tofu
- Fried tofu with fresh mushrooms
- Stir-fried noodles
- Vegetarian ham
- Sticky rice with gac fruit (or sticky rice with peanuts, green beans);
Vegetarian and non-vegetarian trays all come with incense, lamps, candles, fruits, clean water (you can add a bottle of rice wine, make good tea and pour it into 3 cups), clothes, votive paper money, horses, shoes...
Note, the offering tray should be neatly arranged, clean and complete to show respect. The year-end offering tray can be placed on the family altar, the altar of the God of Wealth or in the yard (if it is a land offering).
