According to the book "Vietnamese Traditional Prayers" - Culture and Information Publishing House, according to ancient customs, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese families often prepare offerings to worship family gods and ancestors, praying for family members to be healthy, safe, lucky and more successful.
The first day of Tet has vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Accordingly, the vegetarian offering tray has incense, flowers, betel and areca nuts, fruit, votive paper money, a cup of water and other dishes such as stir-fried vegetables, sticky rice, mushroom soup, etc.
Meanwhile, the savory offerings on this day include wine, chicken and savory dishes depending on each family.
In the book "Vietnamese Beliefs" - Tre Publishing House, author Luu Anh wrote that on the first day of Tet, the homeowner can make vegetarian or non-vegetarian offerings, but must prepare carefully, meticulously, and arrange them neatly. Depending on each region and locality, the offering tray on the first day of Tet At Ty will have different dishes, suitable for the culture and family conditions.
In the past, the Northern tray of food usually had 4 bowls and 4 plates, symbolizing the four pillars, four seasons, and four directions. More elaborate families could have 6 bowls, 6 plates, or 8 bowls and 8 plates. Of which, 4 plates included: boiled chicken, pork, pork roll, sticky rice with gac fruit and 4 bowls usually included pig's feet and bamboo shoots, soup with tapioca balls, cellophane noodles, and mushroom balls.
For families that do not follow the rule of 4 bowls and 4 plates, the offerings prepared can include sticky rice, banh chung, boiled chicken, bamboo shoot soup, meatball soup, fried spring rolls, braised meat, pickled onions, ham, boiled vegetables, etc.
The offerings do not have to be the same and follow traditional cultural features. Depending on the family's conditions, each family can prepare accordingly, the most important thing is to show respect.
The Central region has many differences from the North in the offerings on the first day of Tet. In the North Central region, families will have dishes including boiled chicken, sticky rice, pickled vegetables, bone soup, vermicelli soup, braised fish, pork, fried spring rolls, etc.
In the Central and South Central regions, local people often make roast chicken, roast pork, braised lean meat, chicken salad, spring rolls... In addition, five-color cakes, fu ling cakes, lotus cake, and sticky rice cake are also prepared.
In the South, the first day of Tet offerings usually include chicken salad, braised pork with eggs, bitter melon soup stuffed with meat, banh tet, sweet and sour pickled vegetables, Chinese sausage, fried spring rolls, etc. Of these, the two dishes braised pork with eggs and bitter melon soup are usually indispensable on Tet.
