In the New Year’s offering tray, incense and lamps are two indispensable items. Incense symbolizes the stars, connecting yin and yang, and lamps represent the Moon and Sun, so there will usually be 2 lamps on the altar.
An indispensable ceremony in the year-end offering tray is the five-fruit tray, consisting of 5 different types, each type symbolizing a wish of the homeowner, through name and color. This tray cannot use fake fruit; All fruits must be edible, popular, beautiful, and not damaged or bruised.
The dishes on the savory tray will be much more hearty than usual; Depending on the regional culture, there are different dishes.
Northerners, especially Hanoians, often prepare food offerings very carefully and meticulously with many traditional dishes such as boiled chicken, bamboo shoot soup, stir-fried vermicelli, spring rolls, sticky rice, banh chung, and pickles.
People in the Central region are usually not as picky and meticulous as Northerners. New year’s offerings are cooked quite simply, but the feast is still very filling, often with pork sausage, chicken, pork, banh chung, and cakes. Served with a plate of salted onions.
In the South, because the weather on Tet is hotter, the New Year’s Eve offering menu often includes bitter melon soup, spring rolls, braised meat with eggs, and banh tet served with palanquin.
Depending on the region’s characteristics, the New Year’s Eve offering tray will have different dishes. (Photo: Mai Lien Do)
New Year’s Eve offerings can be savory or vegetarian. On the altar, only use fresh flowers, fresh fruit, and some symbolic votive money.
If the offering is vegetarian, the New Year’s Eve feast can include the following dishes: Vegetarian stir-fried vegetables, vegetarian vegetable soup, fried tofu with fresh mushrooms, stir-fried vegetarian vermicelli, vegetarian spring rolls, gac sticky rice, braised tofu, tubers. braised lotus, braised mushrooms with five spices, rolls…
