The Mid-Year Festival 2023 (Tet Doan Ngo)

Tet Doan Ngo, also known as Tet to Kill Insects, the Mid-Year Festival... occurs every year on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Why is that the case? Let's learn about the origins, meaning, and interesting aspects of the Tet holiday!

What is the Mid-Year Festival?

Tet Doan Ngo, also known as the Mid-Year Festival or the Double Fifth Festival, is held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, also known as Tet Doan Duong. Doan Ngo (Doan is the beginning, Ngo is noon) is the start of the day; Yang is the sun, and yang qi is the yang qi. Doan Duong means to begin when yang is thriving.

Mid-Year Festival is a traditional New Year's Day celebration in many East Asian countries. Every year on May 5th of the lunar calendar, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam celebrate the Mid-year Festival. In China, on this day, they celebrate a festival called Dragon Bloat Festival. Tet Doan Ngo, Worm-killing Festival, or Vietnamese Mid-year Festival is celebrated on May 5th in Vietnam.

Tet Doan Ngo, also known as the Mid-Year Festival or the Double Fifth Festival

The origins and significance of the Mid-Year Festival

Let's learn about the origin and meaning of this Tet holiday

Origin of the Mid-Year Festival 

Every year, the Doan Ngo Festival is held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, when the sun is hot and the insects are at their peak.

According to legend, the farmer celebrates the good harvest after a bountiful harvest. However, the insects came in large numbers that year and ate up all of the fruit and food that had been harvested. People are worried, and they have no idea how to solve the pest problem. Doi Truan, an elderly man, appeared out of nowhere.

He told the people in each house to set up an altar with simple offerings such as banh gio and fruit, then go out in front of his house to exercise. Everyone did as he said, but the worms and insects eventually fell down. The old man also added, "Every year on this day, the annual insects are very aggressive, just follow what they were told and they will be cured."

People are grateful, and to commemorate this, the New Year is known as "killing insects." Many people refer to it as the Tet Doan Ngo because the worship time is usually in the middle of the Horse.

Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

Meaning of the Mid-Year Festival 

The Doan Ngo festival is held to launch a movement to catch insects, destroy pests that harm crops, and pray for a bountiful harvest.

Folklore holds that on May 5, people eat fruit and sticky rice to ward off insects. On this day, you must gargle three times to get rid of insects, eat a bowl of glutinous rice wine to get the insects drunk, and then eat fruit to kill the insects.

In many places, families eat banh tro, also known as banh gio, water drifting tea, lotus seeds, and other ingredients to kill insects and diseases.

People eat fruit and sticky rice to ward off insects

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What should you do during the Mid-Year Festival?

What should you eat on the Mid-Year Festival?

Glutinous wine, sticky rice: This is an indispensable thing during the Mid-Year Festival. Many individuals hold the belief that because hazardous parasites are frequently found deep inside the belly, they cannot always be eliminated from the human digestive system. Only on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month do these parasites frequently surface. We can take advantage of this period by eating foods with a sour, spicy, or acrid taste, of which glutinous rice wine or sticky rice has the strongest flavor. The more effective this wine will be, in particular, the earlier you drink it in the morning, right after you awaken.

Banh Tro: a dark yellow cake made from sticky rice soaked in ash water from dried plants, wrapped in banana leaves, and boiled.

Fruits: In order to "kill pests" inside the body, people frequently choose sour fruits such as plums, green mangoes... and eat them right after waking up.

Duck meat: this is an indispensable dish of the Southern people during the Mid-Year Festival. Many people believe that eating duck meat will help cool the body down on hot May days.

Duck meat

Floating tea: is a must-have dish during the Southern people's Mid-Year Festival. The tea balls made from glutinous rice flour, inside with green bean paste, served with coconut milk have a cool, delicious taste.

Millet sweet soup: is a traditional Hue dish during the Mid-Year Festival. After grinding millet seeds and removing the skin, people soak and boil them until they are soft and viscous, then add sugar water and a pinch of ginger to make a fragrant, visually appealing millet tea.

What should be taboo for the Mid-Year Festival?

To avoid bad luck, Tet Doan Ngo should avoid the following:

Be careful not to lose money

Losing money on May 5th is considered to be losing one's fortune, causing it to fall. As a result, when going out on this day, people should pay special attention to personal property to avoid dropping or losing it.

Don't pause in a gloomy, murky place

People should avoid stopping at gloomy, murky places with many evil spirits on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as cemeteries, funeral homes, hospitals, and so on, because it can affect their health.

Abstain from messy slippers

The word footwear is homophonous with the word "evil" in Chinese, and if it is left untidy, it will easily attract evil spirits. As a result, on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, people should pay attention and neatly arrange their shoes to avoid bad luck on the road of fortune and love.

Do not look in the mirror after midnight

Folk belief holds that after 12 p.m. on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, the yin energy is extremely active, so do not look in the mirror or take pictures in front of the mirror to avoid attracting evil spirits that harm your health.

Hopefully, this article will help you better understand the Mid-Year Festival, as well as its history and significance. There are also many other interesting holidays or Vietnam tourist destinations in Vietnam that are worth learning about and exploring.

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