This year, the Dragon Boat Festival (also known as the "Insect Extermination Festival") falls on June 10th of the Gregorian calendar. Since the beginning of June, women have been excitedly telling each other, "The day to exterminate insects is coming soon!"
According to traditional customs, the Dragon Boat Festival (Tết Đoan Ngọ) in Vietnam is celebrated at noon on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month each year. Ancient people believed that parasites, especially in the digestive tract, often live within the human body. If not eradicated, these parasites would multiply and cause harm. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival not only symbolizes prayers for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and prosperity, but also serves as an occasion for people to eat fruits and drink glutinous rice wine as a way to eliminate harmful parasites, ward off disease, and pray for good health, well-being, and a prosperous life.
On this day, each family prepares an offering tray to present to their ancestral altar. The offering tray on the Dragon Boat Festival usually includes fruits, fresh flowers, and some characteristic dishes, such as purple sticky rice wine, five-colored sticky rice, and molasses rice cakes…
From traditional markets to online marketplaces, the most sought-after products for the Dragon Boat Festival are lychees, plum blossoms, glutinous rice wine, molasses rice cakes, and five-colored sticky rice...
Ms. Tran Thuy Duong, from Bac Cuong ward ( Lao Cai city), said: "It has become a habit for many years now. As the 'insect extermination' day approaches, I buy plums, molasses-coated rice cakes, and fermented sticky rice to offer as sacrifices. After the ceremony, the whole family gathers to enjoy the fresh taste of the fruits, the fragrant and rich flavor of the molasses cakes, and especially the intoxicating sweetness and spiciness of the purple sticky rice wine... This is an occasion for the whole family to reunite and wish everyone good luck and peace."
Understanding customer psychology, since the beginning of June, social media platforms have been bustling with services offering pre-ordered ceremonial trays and sets of offerings for the Dragon Boat Festival, with attractive promotions. At some shops and local markets, many vendors are also accepting orders for ceremonial trays for the Dragon Boat Festival, including traditional dishes with various menu options and price ranges.
According to a survey by reporters, this year, the price of offerings for the Dragon Boat Festival ranges from a minimum of 150,000 VND to several million VND. However, sets priced between 150,000 VND and 500,000 VND are more popular. These offerings are complete with all the necessary items and beautifully arranged according to each customer's order.
Ms. Nguyen Thu Hang, an officer at the Provincial Employment Service Center, said that the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional holiday, but due to her busy work schedule, she always orders a pre-prepared offering tray every year. For Ms. Hang, sincerity is the most important thing; it doesn't need to be overly extravagant or elaborate. Therefore, her family's offering tray for the Dragon Boat Festival is prepared with some traditional dishes, incense, flowers, and fruit.
These days, Ms. Linh (a small business owner at Pho Moi tourist market in Lao Cai city) is busy taking orders for colorful sticky rice for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. Besides orders from regular customers, Ms. Linh also posts on her personal Facebook page to take orders for colorful sticky rice at prices ranging from 30,000 VND per small plate to 40,000 VND per large plate. To date, Ms. Linh says she has received nearly 40 orders for colorful sticky rice for the Dragon Boat Festival.
"Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, there's a huge influx of customers buying sticky rice between 5 and 9 a.m. People's purchasing power on the Dragon Boat Festival is usually twice as high as on the 15th and 1st days of the lunar month," Ms. Linh added.
Besides colorful sticky rice, glutinous rice wine is an indispensable item during this time. On online and traditional markets, glutinous rice wine is sold at prices ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 VND/kg. However, for the convenience of customers, sellers often package it in small boxes priced at 20,000 - 30,000 VND/box.
Carefully inspecting the pot of glutinous rice wine, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham from Lao Cai ward (Lao Cai city) said: "I've been selling glutinous rice wine for many years now. On normal days, I only cook about 3 kg of rice. This year for the Dragon Boat Festival, I plan to cook about 50 kg of glutinous rice. The afternoon of the 4th and the morning of the 5th of May are the times when most people order glutinous rice wine. However, I will still maintain the selling price of 50,000 VND/kg of glutinous rice wine as usual."
Unlike the bustling Lunar New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival has its own unique characteristics, deeply ingrained in the consciousness of each individual and becoming a beautiful aspect of the nation's traditional culture. It's an occasion for family members to strengthen their bonds of love, thereby contributing to the preservation of the beautiful traditional values of the Vietnamese people.
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