TL;DR: Tết Đoan Ngọ (also called Tết Đoan Dương, Tết Giết sâu bọ) falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, usually worshipped at the Ngọ hour. Main offerings include rượu nếp, summer fruit, bánh tro, incense, flowers and tea; the North has cơm rượu, bánh gio, plums and lychees; the Central region has duck and chè kê; the South has bánh ú Bá Trạng and chè trôi nước. The ceremony is directed to ancestors and Buddhas and deities according to traditional belief, not tied to one specific deity.
What is Tết Đoan Ngọ and why is it worshipped at the Ngọ hour?
Tết Đoan Ngọ is one of the major festivals in Vietnam, held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month each year, also called Tết Đoan Dương or Tết Giết sâu bọ[1]. In 2027 the day falls on June 9 of the solar calendar, in 2028 on May 28. In the common folk explanation, "Đoan" means beginning and "Ngọ" is the period from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., when the sun is highest; the fifth lunar month is also the month of Ngọ in the can chi system. The offering tray is usually prepared carefully and presented on the altar at the Ngọ hour[1]. Việt Nam phong tục also records: "At midday on that day a feast is prepared to offer to the ancestors"[2].
According to Phan Kế Bính's book Việt Nam phong tục, the fifth day of the fifth month is called tết Đoan ngọ or Đoan dương; early that morning people eat rượu nếp, boiled eggs, kê, bánh đa, peaches, plums, muỗm (a wild mango), watermelon and drink coconut water[2].
Whom is worshipped on the altar at Tết Đoan Ngọ?
Tết Đoan Ngọ is not tied to one specific deity, but it remains very important in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people[1]. People hold ceremonies for ancestors, Buddhas and deities according to traditional belief, with simple offerings: rượu nếp, bánh tro, summer fruit, incense, tea, flowers[1]. The offering tray is seen as how descendants show filial piety and gratitude[1]. Some Đoan Ngọ prayer texts first invite Thổ địa, Táo quân and the other household deities, and only then the ancestors on both sides of the family. Việt Nam phong tục tells the story of Khuất Nguyên of the state of Sở drowning himself in the Mịch La river on the fifth day of the fifth month, but notes that the Vietnamese followed the Chinese in keeping this Tết "without making any offering to Khuất-Nguyên"[2].
A distinction should be made between two layers: the family ritual layer directed to the ancestors, and the folk custom layer such as killing insects, dyeing nails and hanging charm threads on children. The second layer (see the section below) is not an act of worshipping anyone.
How do the three regions' Tết Đoan Ngọ offering trays differ?
Báo Tin tức (TTXVN) describes the common offerings as rượu nếp, bánh tro, summer fruit, incense, tea and flowers, and writes that the tray varies with the customs of each region[1]. Press descriptions of the trays in the three regions give these features:
| Region | Dishes often mentioned | Distinctive points |
|---|---|---|
| North | Cơm rượu (fermented sticky rice) of nếp cái hoa vàng or rượu nếp cẩm, bánh gio (bánh tro) eaten with molasses, plums, vải thiều lychees | The cơm rượu is left loose |
| Central | Duck meat, chè kê (millet sweet soup) eaten with sesame rice crackers, cơm rượu | Folk belief holds duck meat to be cooling; the cơm rượu is pressed into square blocks |
| South | Bánh ú Bá Trạng, chè trôi nước (glutinous rice balls in syrup), cơm rượu, fruit | Bánh ú Bá Trạng is pyramid-shaped and larger than bánh tro; the cơm rượu is rolled into small balls |
Each family may add or leave out items according to its own practice.
The "kill insects" custom and customs for children
The "kill insects" custom is the characteristic folk layer of Tết Đoan Ngọ. Việt Nam phong tục records: adults drink wine mixed with a little tam thần đơn or hồng hoàng, called killing insects; after eating, children have hồng hoàng smeared on the fontanelle, chest and navel to ward off parasites[2]. Today Tết Đoan Ngọ is still called Tết Giết sâu bọ[1].
Another layer is the custom of dyeing the tips of children's fingers and toes with móng (henna) leaves, except the index finger and the second toe, and of hanging five-coloured charm threads on children and taking silk shirts to the pagoda gate to be stamped with charms before the children wear them, "meant to drive away evil spirits so they do not bother"[2].
Is Tết Đoan Ngọ a Chinese festival?
Not exactly. Tết Đoan Ngọ is a major festival in Vietnam, held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month[1]. Việt Nam phong tục writes that the origin of the custom is unclear, that some trace it to the story of Khuất Nguyên of the state of Sở, and that the Vietnamese, seeing the Chinese keep the Tết, followed suit[2]. The Hoa (ethnic Chinese) community in Vietnam also keeps it: Dương Thị Hải Vân's study of the Hoa in Thừa Thiên Huế notes that besides the deity festivals at their assembly halls, the community follows the annual festival calendar of both the Hoa and the Vietnamese, with Tết Nguyên Đán, tết Hàn Thực, tết Thanh Minh, tết Đoan Ngọ and tết Trung thu[3]. Việt Nam phong tục records eating rượu nếp to kill insects and dyeing children's nails as customs of the Vietnamese[2].
What needs to be prepared for Tết Đoan Ngọ worship?
Based on descriptions of offerings and customs, a basic offering tray includes:
The Central and Southern regions often add the dishes in the table above. The boiled eggs, kê, bánh đa and coconut water mentioned in Việt Nam phong tục are eaten early that morning; the book does not record them as offerings[2].
Points to note when worshipping at Tết Đoan Ngọ
First, offerings should be fresh seasonal items, with no need for elaboration. Second, households with a Buddha altar usually make vegetarian offerings there; at the ancestor altar, meat or vegetarian offerings follow the family's practice. Third, smearing hồng hoàng and dyeing nails are old customs recorded in the book[2], not a required part of the offering.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: hồng hoàng (hùng hoàng, realgar) is a mineral containing arsenic, so if the family keeps the insect-killing custom, eat only rượu nếp and fruit, do not drink wine mixed with hồng hoàng, and do not smear it on young children.
