How to prepare the rice tray for the year?

The Year of the Tiger is a traditional ceremony conducted in the afternoon and evening of 30 Lunar New Year, before the New Year's Eve offering. The rice tray of the year does not need to be too fussy, mainly showing the heart of the worshiper to express the gratitude to the land, heaven, and gods that have complied with the family in the past year. So, how to prepare the rice tray for the year? Please refer to our article below to know how to make the rice tray at the end of the year.

Basically, at home on the 30th of the New Year, it is necessary to prepare two trays, one tray to serve all year and then to have dinner.

In recent years, many families tend to make early years, alternate in a few days before Tet to be able to reach each other's home or plan to travel.

Basically, in the family on the 30th of the New Year, prepare two trays, one tray to serve all the year and then to have dinner, and another to prepare for the new year. The oldest man in the house lit incense and read the vows, and the other members did the ceremony. The main content is to invite gods and ancestors to eat Tet with family. For simplicity, many families combine the ceremony to celebrate the year with the New Year's Eve offering.

Meal all year long.(Photo: Phu Thi).

Year-end meals are more than usual. Depending on each region that has its own characteristics, such as the North or have a basement nail soup with bamboo shoots, vermicelli with chicken, sticky rice, banh chung, spring rolls, silk rolls, fried pork .; Central region or have banh chung, banh tet, silk rolls, chicken squeeze laksa leaves, boiled pork, sour price .; South Vietnam has tét cake, bamboo shoots, meat stock, meat and shrimp salad, spring rolls, spring rolls .

Each family set up a worshiping ceremony to worship one another, however the offerings (salty or vegetarian) should be placed under the table below. On the main altar just let fresh flowers, fresh fruit, a little symbolic gold coins. It is also possible to order banh chung, sticky rice, and tea on the main altar. Do not plug "golden leaf branches" (code) on the altar because there are many negative sound fields.

The tray of five fruits for worshiping should be used to choose common, edible and beautiful fruits and must be ripe enough fruit to be eaten. Green fruits, fake fruits (plastic) are not allowed to be offered to the ancestors. The five fruits / plates / platters are not placed in the middle of the bowl because they block the main air shaft, but should be left on both sides.

Depending on the region, there are specific features in the tray to celebrate the year.

Flowers are also displayed on the altar, there is a need for fresh flowers , not artificial flowers, plastic flowers. Many people often use the phrase "free of sincerity is good" to sophistication, when performing again in the form, showing off to outsiders without paying attention to the quality of fruits to worship.

Recently many people associate feng shui for all fields, from worshiping flowers to five fruits tray, and then without reasoning. Such a multi-grain pomegranate, symbolizing the fullness and development; pomelos, watermelons are rounded, symbolizing the fullness, luck or orange, the original meaning is sweet (the orange plus miserable, the sweet share) is reflected into resignation. Some people even need to go to spirituality unnecessarily, such as counting bananas and having new fruits, and counting buddhists who have new branches. commentary on meaning and constraint. Many times, when thinking too much, there will be no fruit to decorate.

During the year-end meal, the members should be present, say funny stories of the year or new year plans, encourage each other to rise up, make more efforts, create a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Nguyen Manh Linh
Head of Feng Shui Architecture
Institute of Urban Planning & Architecture - Construction University