Culture
2017
Sunday, January 29
What is TET:
Year of the Rooster
Tet is Vietnamese New Year and is the most important festival and public holiday in Vietnam. An example of Tet being the definitive Vietnamese holiday is that ' Tet ' itself means ' festival ' and is the shortened version of ' Tết Nguyên Đán ', which is Sino-Vietnamese for ' Feast of the First Morning of the First Day '.
Traditionally, the purpose of Tet holiday is that Vietnamese would like to thank Gods for the arrival of spring with a variety of blooming trees and flowers after a cold and harsh winter. Also, this is the privileged occasion for family’ s members to reunite, celebrating a new year which has come together, and saying farewell to the previous one. All the best things are prepared and consumed during this holiday as people want to ensure that they will have a new year full of prosperity.
Kitchen God Day- Tet Tao Quan
The tradition of celebrating Tet Tao Quan comes from a popular fairy tale about“ 2 men and a woman”, who later would become the trio of Deities, or“ Tao Quan”.
The story began with the couple of Trong Cao- the husband, and Thi Nhi- the wife. They had been married for such a long time but had no children yet, which made them very upset and quarrel with each other frequently. One day, Trong Cao was so angry at his wife that he casted her out. Thi Nhi left home, and after that married Pham Lang.
As time went by, Trong Cao realized his fault, and went out to find his beloved woman. He spent every single coin on his way and unwillingly became a beggar. He met Thi Nhi by chance at her new home. Cao’ s explanation touched Thi Nhi and they talked for hours about the past and their current life.
As Pham Lang came home, Thi Nhi thought it would be awkward if the two men saw each other so she told Trong Cao to hide inside the stack of straw in the backyard. Pham Lang burnt the straw into ashes for fertilizing the field, accidentally cremated Trong Cao. The story had a tragic ending when Thi Nhi decided to jump into the fire to die with Trong Cao, and Pham Lang also killed himself after witnessing the death of his wife. However, when their souls flied to the Heavens, Ngoc Hoang( the Jade Emperor) conferred them with the title of‘ Tao Quan”: Pham Lang would be Deity of Kitchen, Trong Cao would be the Deity of Land and House, and Thi Nhi would be the Deity of Market. Together, they looked after the well-being of people’ house and property.
The MAG Vung Tau 19