Mysterious stories behind Tet: A unique story about hidden customs?

Tet Nguyen Dan - the annual holiday of Vietnamese people - is always associated with traditions and stories with deep cultural values. Besides, Tet also has mysterious stories, bringing people faith and hope at the beginning of the year .

In ancient times, Vietnamese people always sought ways to measure time and age. One story tells that the king of a peaceful land decided to reward the oldest person in the kingdom. However, no one knew who the oldest person was, because no one could remember their exact age. The king ordered his messenger to seek out the gods to ask about this.

The River God pointed to the Sea, the Sea God pointed to the Mountain, and the Mountain God pointed to the Sun. After a period of searching, the messenger met an old woman picking peach blossoms. She used peach blossoms to count her age each time the flowers bloomed, thereby knowing the passage of time. The King learned of this and decided to use peach blossoms as a sign to calculate age. Every time peach blossoms bloomed, people would celebrate the Lunar New Year for three days and three nights, a meaningful tradition to enjoy the joy and celebrate the passing of time. Since then, Lunar New Year has become a major holiday for the Vietnamese people, lasting until today.

Besides peach blossoms, another flower that has a lot of meaning during Tet is the yellow apricot blossom. According to legend, the apricot blossom is associated with the story of a girl named Mai, the daughter of a famous hunter. She was trained to be a talented female knight since she was young. One day, when the goblins occupied the village, Mai and her father went to purge the monster. Although she killed the goblin, Mai sacrificed herself to protect the people.

Thanks to the mercy and compassion of the Jade Emperor, she was reborn and returned to her family within nine days. However, after her family passed away, Mai did not return but turned into a yellow apricot blossom tree. This apricot blossom only blooms during Tet, lasting for nine days, bringing good luck and warding off evil spirits. Therefore, the yellow apricot blossom has become a symbol of peace, prosperity and belief in a new year full of hope.

Every time Tet comes, Vietnamese people erect a pole in front of their house, this is a very typical custom of Tet. According to a folk tale, the pole is not only decorative but also a symbol of the war between humans and demons to protect the land. The story goes that in ancient times, ghosts and demons often harassed and harmed people, causing famine and epidemics.

But with the help of Buddha, people defeated the devil. To commemorate this victory and avoid the devil's interference, people hang a pole in front of their house, along with pandan leaves and lime powder, believing that these will keep the devil away. The pole is not only a traditional symbol but also carries a deep historical meaning about the wisdom and intelligence of the Vietnamese people in protecting their families from mysterious forces.

The story of the Kitchen God is one of the most prominent stories during Tet. According to legend, there was once a poor couple, the husband was always drunk and bullied his wife. One day, the wife left him and met a kind hunter. They got married and lived happily, but disaster struck when the hunter's ex-wife committed suicide due to a misunderstanding. When the ex-husband repented, he burned himself to go with his ex-wife.

The Jade Emperor saw their repentance and decided to transform them into Tao Quan - the gods who govern the kitchen of each family. At the end of each year, Vietnamese people worship Tao Quan to send the gods to heaven and wish for a peaceful and happy new year. This story shows compassion and atonement in life, and encourages people to be kind and caring towards others.

Peach blossoms - the symbol of spring, also carry mysterious stories from ancient times. A legend tells that, in the past, there were two gods Tra and Uat Luy living on peach trees in Soc Son mountain. These two gods specialized in protecting people from ghosts and evil spirits. However, when the two gods went to the Jade Emperor at the end of the year, ghosts and evil spirits were rampant. To protect themselves, people broke peach branches to decorate their houses, to ward off evil spirits.

Since then, peach blossoms have not only been a symbol of spring but also associated with the spiritual beliefs of Vietnamese people, bringing peace and luck in the new year.

There is a story about the Narcissus, a beautiful flower that is said to bring good fortune. The story is about a rich man who had four sons. When he died, he asked them to divide his property equally. However, the three older brothers deceived him and left the youngest a piece of barren land. The youngest brother was sad but did not give up, and then a fairy appeared and told him that the land contained a precious treasure.

From then on, the youngest brother took care of the land and grew a precious flower called Narcissus. Every year in the spring, the Narcissus bloomed, bringing wealth and prosperity. Thanks to this growth, the youngest brother became rich and happy, while the three older brothers only received poverty.

Every Tet holiday, Vietnamese people cannot do without banh chung and banh day, dishes with deep traditional meaning. The story of banh chung and banh day is related to the selection of the successor of King Hung. Lang Lieu, son of King Hung, used sticky rice, green beans and meat to make these two types of cakes. The square banh chung symbolizes the earth, while the round banh day symbolizes the sky.

The sophistication and profound meaning of these cakes made Lang Lieu chosen as his successor, and from then on, banh chung and banh day became symbols of gratitude to ancestors and harmony between heaven and earth.

Finally, during Tet, Vietnamese people have the custom of burning firecrackers and sprinkling lime powder to ward off evil spirits. The story goes that there was an evil couple named Na-A and Mrs. Nma-A, who specialized in causing harm to the people. To chase them away, people learned to burn firecrackers and create noise and light on New Year's Eve, helping to ward off evil forces. The custom of burning firecrackers and sprinkling lime powder is not only a custom but also brings peace and drives away bad luck in the new year.

The legends of Tet Nguyen Dan are not only traditional stories but also profound spiritual values, contributing to the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people. From apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, banh chung to the custom of setting off firecrackers, each custom carries a message of solidarity, gratitude and hope for a peaceful and prosperous new year.

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