In the North
Avoid sweeping the house
Avoid sweeping the house, or more accurately, avoid taking out the trash. During the 3 days of Tet, if you sweep the house, you must put it in a corner, do not sweep the trash out the door, and do not sweep the trash away.
This custom originated from a Chinese folk tale and then spread to Vietnam.
Not only in the North, but people in all three regions have the concept that they absolutely should not sweep the house during the three days of Tet. Because luck and fortune will follow. They have to wait until after the 4th day of the groundbreaking ceremony to sweep the trash.
Avoid breaking dishes and furniture
According to ancient beliefs, bowls and plates represent the family. Breaking bowls and plates is a bad omen for the family in the coming year. Broken bowls and plates or quarrels at the beginning of the year represent separation and breakdown.
Many families also avoid saying unlucky, mournful words like "Dead", "Gone", "Poor"... During Tet, we should avoid negative words and harshness so that the family is always happy and harmonious.
Avoid fire at the beginning of the year
According to Vietnamese calculations, fire is one of the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Fire represents the color red, which brings luck and joy. At the beginning of the year, avoid giving fire, because it means giving away the luck in the house.
The reason for this is that in the northern countryside, every household uses a stove or a wood stove. Whether cooking or not, the stove must not be turned off, but always kept hot coals in the stove so that they do not have to be re-lit every time they need to cook. Therefore, at the beginning of the year, if a family lets the stove go out, they must immediately run to ask for hot coals to re-light the stove.
Avoid hanging unlucky paintings
Northerners avoid hanging unlucky pictures, especially pictures of jealousy and lawsuits during Tet. If you want a prosperous new year, you should hang pictures that symbolize wealth, such as pictures of chickens, pigs, and boys. Nowadays, Vietnamese people also hang calligraphy and parallel sentences with the meanings of Happiness, Prosperity, and Longevity.
In the Central region
Avoid eating duck meat
The reason for not eating duck meat at first was probably because duck meat is poisonous and should not be eaten at the beginning of the year. Partly because of the saying “Water poured on a duck’s head”, meaning that all the money poured in will be gone. Therefore, businessmen will not eat duck meat until the end of the first lunar month.
Even in the first days of the year, people in the Central region do not eat shrimp because shrimp goes backwards, and do not eat squid because its name brings bad luck.
Avoid wearing white clothes
For Vietnamese people, white symbolizes mourning, death, and bad luck, so they often avoid wearing clothes of this color on Tet. They also will not wear black or other sad colors.
Traditionally, we wear bright colors to express joy. Colors like red and yellow are always chosen during Tet.
In the South
Avoid leaving the rice mill empty.
In some rural areas of the South, there is a custom of avoiding leaving the rice mill empty because this symbolizes failure and crop failure for the next year. Or for families who do not grow crops, they also avoid leaving the rice bin empty, because they believe that next year will be hungry and their work will not be favorable. That is why they often put some rice into the mill, hoping for a bountiful harvest next year. Or they will fill the rice jar, hoping for a year without failure or famine.
Avoid losing the broom
Putting away the broom after sweeping is a common custom in the southern provinces. Here, people avoid losing their broom because they believe that losing their broom on Tet means that all their wealth and property will be swept away by thieves all year round.
Refrain from refusing the party.
When visiting on the first day of the year, if you are invited to a party, whether you don't want it or are full, you should still take a bite to please the host. Southerners are hospitable, so they always have a party ready to welcome guests. No matter what time you visit, you should eat some cakes and fruits when they invite you. In particular, you should not put your chopsticks on your bowl, which shows delay in work and loss in business.
Our ancestors have a saying: "If you worship, you will be blessed, if you abstain, you will be safe." Therefore, even though life is modern and many customs and practices have been lost over time, to keep the Tet holidays happy, harmonious, and a new year full of luck and fortune, the above taboos are still things we should keep.
Post:Bao Khuyen |Painting:Oldday team
