Submit a comment
There are many important ceremonies in December that are performed with great respect, because for Vietnamese people, December is a time to turn to their ancestors.
The 12th lunar month is the time when Vietnamese people prepare for the traditional New Year, paying tribute to their ancestors and deceased family members.
The first and last months of the lunar year are filled with many offerings. Among them, the important offerings that every family performs in December include:
December 1st
There are many important ceremonies in December.
The first day of the lunar month is also known as the new moon day, dedicated to remembering gods and ancestors. Offerings are usually vegetarian, including fresh flowers, incense, areca nuts, betel, candy, tea, water, etc.
The first day of the twelfth lunar month is often given more attention because it is a special month of the year. Therefore, in addition to flowers, tea and fruit, many families prepare vegetarian or non-vegetarian offerings to make the offering more solemn than on other first days.
Full moon of December
Like the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the full moon ceremony in the twelfth lunar month is given more importance by many families than the usual full moon day, with a sumptuous feast.
The offering ceremony can include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, or just one of the two, depending on local customs or family traditions.
Vegetarian tray includes: Candles or lamps, incense, clean water, betel and areca nuts, fruit, fresh flowers.
The savory feast includes: Boiled chicken (choose a rooster), sticky rice with beans or sticky rice with gac fruit, vermicelli soup, ham or sausage, stir-fried dishes (such as stir-fried beef, stir-fried chicken gizzards with bean sprouts), rice wine. There may be some other dishes.
Ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods
The ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods must be performed before they fly to heaven, that is, before 12 noon on the 23rd of December.
This is one of the important ceremonies in December and must be performed before the Kitchen Gods fly to heaven, that is, before 12 noon on December 23.
Offerings include 3 carps and a set of hats and clothes; the Tao Quan hats include 2 male hats and 1 female hat. The female hat does not need dragonfly wings, but the male hat needs 2 dragonfly wings. The votive offerings will be burned after the ceremony on December 23.
The offering tray for the Kitchen Gods usually includes: 1 plate of rice, 1 plate of salt, 500 grams of boiled pork shoulder, 1 bowl of mushroom soup, 1 plate of stir-fried mixed vegetables, 1 plate of ham, 1 plate of sticky rice with gac fruit, 1 plate of sweet soup, 1 plate of fruit, 1 pot of lotus tea, 3 cups of wine, betel and areca, and flowers.
New Year's Eve Ceremony
The New Year's Eve offering is an important ceremony in December to invite grandparents, ancestors and deceased relatives to celebrate Tet together. This is also an occasion for family members to reunite. Therefore, the New Year's Eve offering tray is often prepared by families very lavishly, with many typical dishes of the region and locality.
For example, in the North, there are often banh chung, ham, stewed trotters and bamboo shoots soup, vermicelli with chicken gizzards, stir-fried ham... The Central region often has banh tet, ham, chicken with Vietnamese coriander... The South often has bamboo shoot soup, shrimp and meat salad, braised pork... In addition, the ceremony also has a tray of five fruits, incense, flowers, votive paper money, betel and areca nuts, wine, tea, candles...
Many people wonder what the month of the gallbladder is, what kind of root is the gallbladder? In fact, “the gallbladder” is not any kind of root. This is a Sino-Vietnamese word, in which “the root” means to examine, to control, as the ancients used to call “the gallbladder”. And “the gallbladder” means to be closed, tight, meaning to be careful, not to reveal, not to let it escape.
Why is December called the month of honey?
“Gallery” simply means careful control.
Why is December called the month of honey? This name is a reminder from the ancients that in the last month of the year, we need to be extremely careful and cautious, avoiding mistakes as much as possible.
In the past, this was a month where theft was easy to happen, because people were busy and tired, so they were easily negligent. The last month of the year was also the harvest month, everyone who did business would collect money, anyone who had lent money would ask for it back, then buy and sell everything to celebrate Tet. Meanwhile, thieves also increased their activities to earn money to spend, anyone who was not careful would easily become their victim.
In addition, people are also "bitter" about firewood. The last month of the year is full of parties and feasts, and then drunkenness and negligence, which can easily cause fires. The dry weather also contributes to fires easily breaking out, turning houses and belongings into ashes, thus ruining the holiday.
For modern people, December is even more demanding. This is the month when people are crazy busy, extremely tired but still participate in many year-end parties. The consequences of overexertion and lack of alertness are traffic accidents, alcohol poisoning, food poisoning, strokes, stomach bleeding… and many other disasters.
TH (according to VTC News)