Fora long time, together with horizontal lacquered boards engraved withChinese characters, parallel sentences written on crimson paper,ornamental kumquat and peach trees, and popular Hang Trong and Dong Hopictures, the five‑fruit tray prepared for Tet has transcended itsmaterial value to become a spiritual symbol, an original nationalproduct in the spiritual life of the Vietnamese. At present, while manyof the ancient spiritual values have sunk into oblivion, the custom ofarranging the five‑fruit tray on the altar during the lunar New Yeardays is being jealously preserved as a fine legacy of Vietnam'straditional culture. The buying of votive offerings and the decorationof ancestral altars during the traditional New Year days are closelyconnected with the rituals of worship practiced by the Vietnamesetowards their ancestors. During these New Year days, in addition tosuch national dishes and products as "Fat pork, salted onions, parallel sentences written on red paper. Long bamboo poles planted upright, strings of fireworks, and square glutinous rice cakes", it is indispensable for each Vietnamese family to display a five‑fruit tray on the ancestral altar for Tet.

Nomatter whether rich or poor, on New Year’s Eve, it is also veryimportant for the Vietnamese to select the best five-fruit tray. Thefruits are placed on a red-lacquered wooden tray and arranged in abalanced cone and in harmonious colours. Fruits that may be laid out onthe tray include bananas, finger citrons, watermelons, oranges,kumquats, coconuts, apples, persimmons or tomatoes, and chilis. Eachkind of fruit has its own indication. A hand of green bananas or afinger citron, for example, symbolises one's wish for the protection ofsupernatural powers and ancestors, pomelos and watermelons indicatefertility, and kumquats or persimmons connote wealth and prosperity.

Custom of the five‑fruit tray...

Onetheory says that the five fruits are symbolic of the five basicelements of oriental philosophy - metal, wood, water, fire and soil.Other theories regard the tray as symbolic of the fruits of a family'shard work throughout the past year, which are consecrated to heaven andearth and their ancestors as sign of respect and gratitude.

Afive-fruit tray, though varying from one region to another due todifferences in climate and fruit crops, light up altars with theirample colours. In northern areas, five-fruit trays ornamented withpomelos, peaches, kumquats, bananas and persimmons are relativelysmaller than those in southern areas with pairs of watermelons,coconuts, papayas, custard apples, mangos, and figs. Improvements inpeople's living conditions in recent years have led to a greatersophistication in choosing fruits for the altar for the Tet holiday. Atray may contain more expensive, rarer fruits like grapes and pears,but all in all it is still a five-fruit tray, a nice offering of theVietnamese people to their ancestors. It not only displays a life-longtradition but also sends a message of hope for happiness, good luck andprosperity for the new year.

Thecustom of displaying the five‑fruit tray as votive offerings at theholy place of the house has been reflected in many popular legends andtales. It has originated from ancient popular beliefs observed from onegeneration to another in their worship towards their forefathers. Tothis day, the Vietnamese still observe a long‑standing custom ofplacing the first ripe fruits harvested from the home garden on thealtar and burning incense sticks in memory of their ancestors.

Preparation for a five‑fruit tray

Likeother popular rituals, the preparation of a five‑fruit tray for Tet hasbecome an established convention. Although it is called a five‑fruittray, it does not necessarily contain exactly five kinds of fruit.Arranging fruits on the crimson, hourglass‑shaped wooden tray is reallyan art. One has to combine the colours and shapes of the differentfruits in arranging them on the tray to make it look like a still lifepicture.

Toensure balance on the tray, one usually places the hand of bananas inthe middle with the bananas pointing upright and the pomelo on theconcave surface of the hand of bananas. Then one puts the oranges,sapodilla plums, apples, etc. in the gaps between the bananas and thepomelo. The last little gaps are filled in with little kumquats tocreate a full, compact tray of fruits. In colours, the fruit‑traypresents a harmonious combination of the different colours of fruits:dark green of banana, light yellow of pomelo, deep red of persimmon,reddish‑yellow of orange and kumquat, light green of apple, and darkbrown of sapodilla plum. To complete the picture, the fruit‑tray willbe covered here and there with some small, fresh leaves of kumquat.

The“Mam Ngu Qua” in Tet festival represent the quintessence that Heavenand Earth bless humans. This is one of the general perceptions of lifeof the Vietnamese, which is “Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây” ("When taking fruit, you should think of the grower")