Instead of offering sticky rice, sweet soup, and fruit, on the God of Wealth's day this year, many people offer a tray of three offerings with lobsters and crabs, hoping to "gain more fortune" than the previous year.
Ms. Minh Hoa, 45 years old, owns a hair salon in Cau Giay district, Hanoi. Previously, she often prepared offerings for the God of Wealth's day with simple items, but recently her friends told her that she "must prepare a high-class offering" to make her wishes come true soon.
The day before the ceremony, Hoa decided to order a tray of offerings worth nearly one million VND, including sticky rice with gac fruit, three eggs, three lobsters, three Ca Mau crabs, roasted pork belly, and gold-shaped buns.
"After researching and listening to the seller's advice, I learned that the three-sent offering tray must be in harmony with the elements of Earth - Water - Heaven, praying for abundance and prosperity," Hoa explained.
The hair salon owner added that pork belly represents living things on land (Earth), shrimp and crab represent living things in water (Water), while eggs represent the sky (Heaven). The offering tray must have all three elements above, and be beautifully arranged to show the homeowner's respect for the gods and pray for fortune.
Calculating that preparing it herself would be more expensive, Ms. Hoa ordered an offering tray, which was both convenient and did not require her to spend time going to the market early. According to the concept, the offering tray to the God of Wealth should be offered at Mao hour (5-7am), Ty hour (9-11am) and Than hour (3-5pm).
Tam Anh's three-piece offering tray costs 400,000 VND to serve customers on the God of Wealth's day in 2024. Photo: Provided by the character
Because he values worship, the offering tray of Mr. Quoc Bao, 40 years old, owner of a lubricant company in Hai Phong, to the God of Wealth changes every year.
Five years ago, on the 10th of January, he would buy a tael of gold, then prepare a fruit tray, sticky rice and sweet soup for the offering. "A few years ago, I only offered tiger prawns, a piece of ham and a plate of sticky rice, but now I have replaced it with Alaska lobster, large Ca Mau crab, shaped kim sa buns, and sticky rice with the word Loc printed on it. In addition, I also put a gold jar-shaped cake on the altar, which is not only beautiful but also makes the offering tray more complete," said Mr. Bao.
He also said that seeing other people offering lavish feasts, his family was simple and afraid of lacking sincerity, so the offering tray every year only increased, not decreased.
According to a survey by VnExpress , nearly a week before January 10, many groups on social networks continuously shared posts about making offerings with a full set of three offerings including pork, eggs, shrimp, crab, sticky rice, fruits, candy, etc. to pray for wealth and luck. Many catering units and seafood stores also offered offerings ranging from 300,000 VND to nearly 2 million VND, depending on demand.
Ms. Tam Anh, owner of an online food store in Dong Da district, Hanoi, said that the offerings for God of Wealth Day are varied, from vegetarian to non-vegetarian. In the past 5 years, customers have tended to choose more luxurious and expensive dishes.
"Every year, my shop only accepts orders until the 8th, and the remaining two days we start paying for orders. The price of each tray ranges from 400,000 to 500,000 VND. However, this year, due to economic difficulties, the price has been slightly reduced to suit many people's budgets," she said.
Many service providers specializing in providing three-plate offerings also said they only accept pre-orders to prepare fresh shrimp and crab. The completed offerings are beautifully arranged and carefully wrapped in plastic wrap to deliver to customers, avoiding dents and jostling.
The gold jar cake model of fortune worth 300,000 VND provided by Thuy Duong on God of Wealth Day 2024. Photo: Character provided
In addition to offering tray making services, many shops also offer different sizes of gold jar cakes, ranging from 300,000 to 600,000 VND. Thuy Duong, owner of a bakery in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, said that this type of cake is chosen by many customers on the day of the God of Wealth.
"Nowadays, people often like to display offerings that are beautiful in appearance, so both adults and children can 'receive blessings', so gold jar cakes have become popular," Duong said. However, due to the time it takes to prepare, the store only limits orders to provide the best products.
Cultural researcher Pham Dinh Hai, from the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, said that the oldest recorded custom of worshipping the God of Wealth is the worship of the Five Directions of the Earth God, which was established during the Han Dynasty in China on the second day of the Lunar New Year, and in the South on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. This custom lasted and was consistent until the late 1990s.
"However, since the end of the 20th century, due to the influence of 'cultural economy', some folk tales and legends have been interpreted, transformed and attributed. The most typical is the God of Wealth's day," said Mr. Hai.
According to the expert, the original humanistic meaning of the custom was to thank and pray for the gods to protect human life, but now it has been transformed into praying for wealth and profit, "bribing" the gods to get rich, taking full advantage of human greed.
Mr. Hai said that offerings in general and offerings to the God of Wealth in particular are the most precious products of the family, there are no specific regulations, because they reflect the concept of the worshiper and the natural and economic conditions of the locality. Those offerings are all symbolic, whatever is produced is offered, whatever job is done is offered, the most important thing is gratitude. Nowadays, when economic conditions develop and the purpose of praying for profit, people display more offerings.
According to the expert, folk customs do not have specific regulations on rituals and offerings, so it is best to follow the classical concept. The core is incense, fruit, wine, water, rice, salt... whatever is available for offering. Depending on your personal and family conditions, prepare offerings, do not follow the crowd because sincerity is the most important.
For many years, Mr. Chinh Hung, 35 years old, opened a furniture store in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi. He only made a fruit offering tray for the God of Wealth to report on the results of his work in the old year and pray for luck in the new year.
"The ceremony is not as important as your own efforts. Anyone would do it if they wanted to have a big feast and achieve their wishes," Hung said.
Hai Hien - Quynh Nguyen
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