Why Southerners Avoid Bananas on Tet: The Mekong Delta's Five-Fruit Tray
In the Mekong Delta, bananas are avoided on Tet because 'chuoi' sounds like 'chui', or to plunge. The five-fruit tray instead follows 'Cầu Vừa Đủ Xài'.
Results for "taboo"
Avoiding ancestors' taboo names: how did people in the past observe the taboo when praying and when naming children?
Vietnamese taboo names of ancestors: why giỗ prayers whisper the dead's name, whether children could share a grandparent's name, and where the custom endures.
Folk Beliefs About Taboos When a Household Has a Funeral
Folk belief holds that a funeral brings cold air affecting the living, so the sick stay away. Eastern medicine links this to yin-yang imbalance.
Saying you don't believe yet still observing taboos: why 'abstaining brings good fortune' persists even among the highly educated
Many people know a taboo has no scientific basis yet still follow it. Psychology calls this acquiescence, a mechanism that reconciles intuition and reason.
Foods to Avoid at the Beginning of the New Year According to Folk Beliefs
Duck, squid, banana, shrimp, snail and fertilized duck eggs are avoided at new year in Vietnamese folk belief, which links them to bad luck.
Folk taboos when opening a business: What you need to know
Vietnamese folk taboos for opening a business include choosing auspicious dates, avoiding the ghost month and holding opening rituals.
What is Hoang Ốc?
Hoang Ốc is a Vietnamese folk taboo checked before building a house, sorting lunar age into six positions, three of which are considered unfavourable.
What Does a Vietnamese Family Genealogy Record and Where Did People Keep It?
A clan genealogy lists taboo and courtesy names, birth and death dates, burial sites and children; it was kept in an altar cabinet or box at the clan hall.
What is Kim Lâu?
Kim Lâu is a Vietnamese folk taboo checked before building a house or marrying, found by dividing lunar age by nine, with remainders of 1, 3, 6 or 8.
Traditional Wedding Taboos in Vietnam
Vietnamese wedding taboos include age compatibility and the bride not looking back. Experts say happiness depends on mutual understanding.
Folk Taboos During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Explore common Vietnamese folk taboos during pregnancy and postpartum, explaining their origins and modern scientific perspectives.
Traditional Tet Taboos and Customs for Good Luck
Explore traditional Vietnamese Tet taboos: avoiding sweeping, giving fire, breaking things... and the spiritual meanings behind these customs.
Ghost Month, the 7th Lunar Month: Folk Taboos and Buddhist Perspectives
Ghost Month in the 7th lunar month: its origins, common folk taboos, and the Buddhist view of Vu Lan as a season of gratitude and filial piety.
Folk Taboos for Groundbreaking, House Construction, and Housewarming
Vietnamese folk taboos for groundbreaking, construction and housewarming cover dates, directions and rituals, rooted in yin-yang and five elements.
Folk Taboos When Making Offerings on the Full Moon and First Day of the Lunar Month
Folk taboos for offerings on the Full Moon and the first day of the lunar month, from choosing fruit and flowers to the incense burner and a reverent mindset.
Choosing a First-Foot Visitor by Age Compatibility: Folk Practice, Common Taboos, and the Limits of That Approach
Choosing a first-foot visitor by age compatibility: folk criteria, offerings, step-by-step practice, common taboos, and the limits to keep in mind.
What Is Trùng Tang, and Why Do Vietnamese Choose the Hour of Coffining and Avoid Certain Burial Days: Funerals Seen from Anthropology
Trùng tang, the hour of coffining and avoided burial days are folk beliefs from Bắc Kỳ; anthropology reads them as easing unease when someone dies.
How Did Wang Chong Criticize Day Selection Arts in the Lunheng?
Wang Chong of the Eastern Han refuted day taboos, Tai Sui avoidance and fear of spirit harm in the Lunheng chapters Jiri, Biansui and Nansui, with quotes.
Nguyệt Kỵ and Dương Công kỵ nhật: What Hiệp Kỷ Biện Phương Thư Records and What It Rejects
Hiệp Kỷ Biện Phương Thư records Nguyệt Kỵ and rejects Dương Công kỵ nhật. An analysis of the original Chinese text, separating old rules from folk beliefs.
Choosing Auspicious Times and Directions for the First Outing of the Year: The Lucky Customs of Tet's First Day
The first outing and calligraphy of the new year are Vietnamese luck-bringing customs. See how times and directions are chosen by lunar calendar and deities.
What Is Cửu Độc in the Fifth Lunar Month, What Is Avoided, and Where Did It Come From?
Cửu Độc: nine days of the fifth lunar month (5-7, 15-17, 25-27). What the Kinh Sở tuế thời ký says, what is avoided, and solar dates for 2026 to 2030.
Borrowing an Age to Build a House: the Custom, and Where It Must Stop
What age-borrowing means before building a house in Vietnam, how the stand-in is chosen, the five customary steps, and why the symbolic sale is ritual only.
Muong Ethnic Wedding Customs
Explore the unique wedding customs of the Muong people in Thanh Hóa: from elopement and ancestor worship to bride-price negotiations and wedding day taboos.
Meanings of Each Fruit in the Five-Fruit Tray for Tet
The five-fruit tray for Tet carries wishes through bananas, pomelos, papayas and mangoes, with regional differences between North and South Vietnam.
The Custom of "Father Must Stay Home Until Baby Is Named" of the Pu Péo People
Among the Pu Péo, a father stays home until his newborn is named, three days for girls and five for boys, to guard against evil spirits.
What Northern Vietnamese Tet Celebrations Include: Offering Trays, Peach Blossoms and Three Days of Family Reunion
Tết in northern Vietnam: the feast tray, Nhật Tân peach blossom, the Hàng Lược flower market and three days of family reunion, with origins and meaning.
From the 1st to the 7th day of Tet, what does each day mean in Vietnam? Customs and significance
Vietnamese Tet customs from day 1 to 7: first-footing, New Year greetings, votive paper burning and khai hạ, with their meanings and regional differences.
Cap Sac Ceremony of the Dao People: The Most Sacred Coming-of-Age Ritual in a Man's Life
The Cap Sac ceremony of the Dao Dau Bang people in Lai Châu marks a man's coming of age, with strict trials and the conferring of a secret am name.
First-day Tet travel for the 2027 Lunar New Year: how to choose the hour and direction, and where sources disagree
First-day Tet travel for 2027: how to choose the hour and direction, prepare offerings, and follow the route, plus why sources disagree on the calculations.
How Does the Nhập Trạch Ritual for an Apartment or Rented Home Differ from a Landed House? Offerings and Sequence
Apartment and rented-home nhập trạch rites still announce the move to ancestors and thổ công but skip động thổ and structural changes, with simpler offerings.
How does the first-visitor custom differ between the North, Huế and the South of Vietnam?
Xông đất, xông nhà and đạp đất are one new-year custom. Books on the North, Huế and the South differ on its name, lộc-picking and the vào khem wait.
What Is the Twenty-Eight Mansions Day Ruling Star and Why Does Each Day Have One?
Nhị thập bát tú trực nhật assigns 28 stars to rule days in a cycle, tied to diễn cầm and date selection. This article analyses its origins and calculation.
Staircase Feng Shui: Principles for Auspicious Arrangement
Staircases guide chi between floors. Feng shui principles cover placement, direction, step count, materials and lighting for smooth chi flow.
What Is Cưới Chạy Tang, Why the Rushed Wedding, and What Did People of the Past Think of This Custom?
Cưới chạy tang is a rushed wedding before the funeral announcement, squeezed into one or two days because mourning would force postponement.
Unique Rain-Praying Ceremony (Tra Hat) of the Khmer Mu People
Explore the Tra Hat rain-praying festival of the Khmer Mu people in Điện Biên: origins, rituals, offerings, and profound agricultural cultural significance.
Should You Build a House, Marry, or Have a Child in Your Zodiac Year? How to Calculate Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, Tam Tai, and Understand Them Correctly
Zodiac year taboos on building, marrying, or having a child, how Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, and Tam Tai are calculated by lunar age, and why methods differ.
The Lao Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Lao in Vietnam call themselves Thay and Thay Duồn, speak a Tay-Thai language, live in Điện Biên, Lai Châu and Sơn La, and keep ancestor altars.
Vietnamese Lunar New Year Customs and the Meaning Behind Each Ritual
Vietnamese Lunar New Year customs: the Kitchen Gods send-off, New Year's Eve rites, first-footing, and lucky money, with the meaning behind each.
Can You Celebrate the Full Moon of the First Lunar Month on the 13th or 14th, and Where Does the Early Offering Custom Come From?
Is offering the First Full Moon on the 13th or 14th lunar day acceptable, where does the early custom come from, and what should the tray include?
Offering to wandering souls: should the tray face outward or inward, and where should it be placed?
By folk custom, the cô hồn tray is set in the yard or before the gate, not indoors, and many homes turn it outward. Timing, regional trays, and taboos.