Tết Đoan Ngọ

Tết Đoan Ngọ is the Vietnamese version of Chinese Duanwu festival (literally: Tết: festival, Đoan: the start/straight/middle/righteousness/just, Ngọ: at noon (from 11 am to 1 pm). Đoan Ngọ is the moment that the sun is the most near the earth and this day often is "The middle day of summer" (Hạ chí). In Vietnam, this day is also the death anniversary of National Mother Âu Cơ.

Compare to Cantonese Chinese term "dyun eng" (which is duan wu in Mandarin Chinese) ngo/eng/wu all refer to the ancient Chinese calendar term: the seventh of the twelve Earthly Branches, which was a component for determining time based on a series of 60 years (just as today we refer to 100 year periods as centuries).) Ngo/eng/wu refers to the sun at noon.

Rượu nếp, a sticky rice wine, is traditionally eaten on this holiday. Bánh tro, a kind of bánh lá, is used during this holiday. Bánh tro is considered as "cool", symbolized yin because it includes vegetable ash water as an ingredient. Bánh tro is a perfect match with extreme hot day like May 5 in the lunar year.

On the occasion of Tết Đoan Ngọ, there is Festival of Delicious Fruit celebrated in Chợ Lách, Bến Tre Province with activities: fruit competition, fruit arrangement competition and fruit crop competition. At this time, there is also Festival of Southern Fruit celebrated in Suối Tiên amusement park, Ho Chi Minh city.

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