Southern Bánh Tét: a Tet offering wrapping up the wish for family reunion
Southern bánh tét is a signature Tet offering that symbolizes prosperity and family reunion. See its origins, meaning and traditional wrapping methods.
Results for "traditional dishes"
Meanings of Dishes in Traditional Vietnamese Wedding Feasts
Each dish at a Vietnamese wedding feast carries symbolic meaning, from red sticky rice to boiled chicken, pork rolls and braised pork.
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.
What Makes Vietnamese Traditional Cuisine Distinctive Across Regions?
An overview of Vietnamese traditional cuisine by region: Tet dishes, ancestral trays, festivals, vegetarian food and local specialties, with cultural context.
Cúng Đất in Huế: Which Months, What the Three Offering Trays Hold and Why the Land Deity Is Thanked
Cúng đất in Huế is held in the second and eighth lunar months, with three offering trays to thank the land deity and remember the former Chăm owners.
Traditional Cuisine in the Cultural Festivals of the Chơ Ro People
Chơ Ro festivals use dishes like canh boi, com lam and five-color sticky rice as cultural symbols and a bridge for preserving identity.
Traditional Ancestral Worship Trays by Region
Vietnamese ancestral worship trays reflect regional character: the North favors formality, the Central region is lavish, and the South is simple yet refined.
Traditional Tet customs of the Dao Quần Chẹt people in Phú Thọ
Tet customs of the Dao Quần Chẹt people in Phú Thọ include making chung and day cakes, ancestor worship, and community rituals that mark the new year.
What offerings does a new car blessing include and what is the traditional sequence?
A new car blessing usually has flowers, fruit, roast pork or chicken or a vegetarian tray, salt, rice, wine, tea and votive paper, set before the car.
Chôl Chnăm Thmây: Three Days of the Khmer Traditional New Year
Chôl Chnăm Thmây is the Khmer New Year, held in mid-April over three days with rituals like the Maha Sangkran procession and bathing the Buddha.
What Dishes Are on a Northern Vietnamese Death Anniversary Offering Tray and How Is It Arranged?
A Northern Vietnamese gio tray usually features boiled chicken, sticky rice, bamboo shoot soup, spring rolls, and a bowl of rice with a boiled egg.
Vegetarian death anniversary offering tray: when should you hold a vegetarian giỗ and what dishes go on it?
A vegetarian giỗ uses plant dishes like gỏi cuốn, canh kiểm, bánh bèo and lẩu nấm, fitting when the deceased ate chay or the family follows Buddhism.
What dishes are on a Southern Vietnamese death anniversary offering tray, and how is a Nam Bộ gio ceremony held?
What goes on a southern Vietnamese giỗ tray and how a Mekong Delta death anniversary is held: the dishes, the two days, and the portions guests take home.
Comparing Tet Feast Trays Across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam
Tet feast trays in Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam differ in ingredients and meaning, from banh chung in the North to banh tet in the South.
Hue Tet Feast: Echoes of Royal Cuisine in the Lunar New Year Meal
The Hue Tet feast blends royal essence with folk culture, shaped by a philosophy of frugality, elegance, harmony and transformation.
Three Offering Trays on the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: Offerings to Buddha, Ancestors, and Wandering Souls
The 15th day of the 7th lunar month has three offering trays: a vegetarian tray for Buddha, a full tray for ancestors, and one for wandering souls.
How to Arrange the Full Moon of the First Lunar Month Offering Tray for the Family: What to Offer, How Many Trays, How to Place Them
How to set out Ram thang Gieng (first full moon) offering trays at home: how many trays, vegetarian or savory dishes, order of offering, layout and taboos.
Dong Chi and Tết Đông Chi: the shortest day of the year, che troi nuoc, ancestor worship, and why Dong Chi was once the year's starting point
Dong Chi is the 22nd solar term and the shortest day of the year. For the Chinese community it is Tết Đông Chi, a time for che troi nuoc and ancestor worship.
Comparing everyday cuisine across Vietnam's three regions: North, Central, South
Everyday meals in Vietnam's North, Central and South reflect climate and culture: mild and balanced in the North, bold and salty in the Central.
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.
Death Anniversaries in Central Vietnam: the Hue-Style Tray and the Joint 7th-Month Giỗ in Quảng Nam
How is a death anniversary kept in Central Vietnam? The tiên thường and chính kỵ rites, the joint 7th-month giỗ in Quảng Nam, and Hue dishes on the tray.
Five-Color Sticky Rice of the Tay People: Natural Colors in the Lồng Tồng Festival
Five-color sticky rice is essential to the Tay people's Lồng Tồng festival, its colors drawn from natural leaves, roots and fruits with five-element meaning.
Year-End Offering in Three Regions: Dates, Offering Trays and Meaning
Cúng tất niên is the year-end offering that thanks the ancestors and sees off the old year: the day, the trays of three regions, the prayer and its meaning.
How Does Tet Jam Differ Across the Three Regions of Vietnam?
Tết preserves across Vietnam: lotus-seed and kumquat mứt in Hà Nội, Kim Long ginger mứt in Huế, bánh tổ in Quảng, coconut mứt in the South.
Tết Đoan Ngọ: The 5th Day of the 5th Lunar Month "Killing Summer Bugs" Festival
Tết Đoan Ngọ falls at noon on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, when folk belief says yang energy peaks. The bug-killing custom and ancestor worship.
Tết Rites in Southern Vietnam: Welcoming the Ancestors, the Giao Thừa Offering, Tết Nhà on the Third and the Farewell
Tet rites in southern Vietnam: welcoming the ancestors on the 30th, giao thừa offerings outdoors and indoors, Tết nhà on the third, farewell on the fourth.
What must be prepared for a yearly giỗ thường (cát kỵ) offering tray to make the rites complete?
Giỗ thường (cát kỵ) yearly rites need no full feast like giỗ đầu or giỗ hết. Core offerings: hương đèn, trầu cau, rượu trà, a bowl of upside-down rice.
Full Moon of the First Lunar Month - Tết Nguyên Tiêu: Why It Is Considered the Most Significant Full Moon of the Year and What to Prepare for the Offering Tray
Tết Nguyên Tiêu, the first full moon of the lunar year, is greatly valued in Vietnamese culture. See why it matters and what to prepare for the offering tray.
Hanoi Family Traditions: Death Anniversaries, Weddings and Funerals, and the Unspoken Rules the Whole Clan Follows
Hanoi death anniversaries, weddings and funerals run on unspoken rules of hierarchy, invitations and conduct, rooted in the elegant Tràng An character.
How Do Families in Vietnam's Three Regions Hold the Year-End Ancestor-Welcoming Ceremony on the 30th of Tet?
The rite on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet invites ancestors home for the New Year. North, Central and South differ mainly in the feast and the fruit tray.
Đám giỗ in the Western Mekong Delta: How Are Tiên Thường, Chánh Giỗ, and Hậu Thường Organized?
A Western Mekong Delta đám giỗ spans tiên thường, chánh giỗ and hậu thường. Hosting guests and giving take-home portions show a compassionate way of life.
How to Arrange the Worship Tray for Tết Đoan Ngọ (5th day of 5th lunar month)
Tết Đoan Ngọ worship tray guide: offerings like fermented rice and tro cakes, step-by-step arrangement following regional customs, plus safety notes.
Prayers for the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: What the Three Texts Cover, Ritual Order, and What to Know
Rằm tháng 7 prayers include three texts for deities, ancestors, and wandering souls, with ritual order, offerings, and how to recite them.
How to Worship and Visit Ancestral Graves During Thanh Minh (Qingming) Festival
Thanh Minh is when descendants clean ancestral graves and offer rituals. This guide covers offerings, step-by-step procedures, prayers, and safety notes.
How to Prepare and Perform the Kitchen Gods' Offering on the 23rd of the Twelfth Lunar Month According to Customs of Three Regions
How to prepare the offering tray and perform the Kitchen Gods' ritual on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, following regional customs.
Sene Dolta Festival of Southern Khmer People (Sen Đôn Ta, Pchum Ben, Ancestor-Repaying Ceremony): Timing, Rituals and Meaning
Sene Dolta (Sen Đôn Ta, Pchum Ben) in 2026 runs three days, 10 to 12 October. Temple and home rituals and meaning of the Southern Khmer ancestor festival.
Regional Differences in Ancestor Worship and Tết Customs Among the Kinh Across North, Central, and South Vietnam
Though united as one Kinh ethnic culture, ancestor-worship, wedding, and Tết customs differ substantially across North, Central, and South Vietnam.
Rằm Tháng Giêng (Tết Nguyên Tiêu): The First Full Moon and Temple-Going Traditions
Rằm Tháng Giêng, the lunar year's first full moon, brings temple visits and star-releasing rites, with the saying "a year of offerings cannot match this one.
When Is the Votive Paper Burning Ceremony to See Off Ancestors After Tet, and What Should You Prepare?
Burning votive paper to see off ancestors after Tet usually falls between the 3rd and 10th of the first lunar month, most often the 3rd. What to prepare.
Tet in Hue: How Do Hue Locals Prepare for and Celebrate Tet?
Tết in Huế runs from the twelfth lunar month to the seventh of the first: the Thướng tiêu rite, đạp đất, vegetarian offerings and many cakes and preserves.
Where Do Mooncakes Come From and What Goes Into Traditional Fillings?
Vietnamese mooncakes come as baked bánh nướng and soft bánh dẻo. Where they are said to come from, and what the traditional fillings are.
Housewarming Ritual (Nhập Trạch) for a New Home: Offerings and Step-by-Step Procedure
A guide to the Vietnamese housewarming ritual (nhập trạch): the offerings and each step in order, from the auspicious date to moving in.