Tet Doan Ngo or popularly known as Tet to kill insects, half a year falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year.
Lunar New Year Also known as Doan Duong New Year, is held on the hour of the Horse – 11:00 – 12:00 PM, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year.
This is a traditional New Year’s Day in some East Asian countries such as Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China. “Doan” means the beginning, “Ngo” is the period from 11 am to 1 pm, to celebrate the Lunar New Year is to eat at noon. Doan Ngo means when the sun begins to be the shortest, closest to heaven and earth.
In Vietnam, the Lunar New Year is also known as the “Tet to kill insects”. To put it simply, this is the day of the launch of catching insects, eliminating pests and diseases that harm crops.
According to legend, one day after the harvest, the farmers celebrated because the harvest was good, but the insects that year dragged on to eat the harvested fruit and food. Everyone had a headache and didn’t know how to solve this pest problem, suddenly an old man came from afar, claiming to be Doi Trun. He instructed people in each house to set up a simple offering consisting of U Tro cake and fruit, then go out in front of his house to exercise. People followed suit only a moment later, the insects and the flood fell down.
The old man also added: Every year bugs on this day are very aggressive, every year on this day, just do what I told you to treat them. The grateful people were about to give thanks, but the old man had gone. To commemorate this, people call this day “Tet to kill insects”, some people call it “Tet Doan Ngo” because the worshiping time is usually in the middle of the hour of the Horse.
Currently, in some Vietnamese villages, the old customs are still maintained, and this Tet holiday is very important. After the Lunar New Year, perhaps the “Tet to kill insects” is the warmest reunion and has many customs associated with people’s lives…so the descendants, no matter how far away they work, try to arrange to about.
At this time, fruits and flowers begin to bear fruit, hoping for a bountiful season, so fruit is an indispensable offering. In addition, there are other dishes depending on local customs.
On this day, every house prepares offerings to the ancestors. It is believed that this is the time when the fruit on the tree and the leaves on the branch begin to bear fruit and worship ancestors to hope for a bountiful season.
After the festival, the ritual of killing insects is followed. The whole family gathers to eat sour seasonal fruit like plums and litchi, glutinous rice wine, U Tro cake … to kill insects, drive away diseases.
Tet Doan Ngo is a time for Vietnamese people to come together and celebrate their culture and traditions. It is a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.
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Source: Vietnam.vn