Important Notes to Remember When Presenting a Fruit Platter

Can be seen as a symbol of traditional Vietnamese Tet holiday culture. The number 5 carries the meaning of the five elements, representing durability and strength. The display of the five-fruit tray is a form of worshiping ancestors and praying for a year of peace and prosperity.

Over time, the culture has changed slightly, but this custom still remains thanks to its humanistic significance. However, you must know the precautions to remember when displaying the five-fruit tray to avoid taboos and bring disaster into the house, thereby ensuring the fulfillment of wishes.

1Choose ripe and beautiful fruits for the five-fruit tray

Choose ripe and beautiful fruits for the five-fruit tray

On the Lunar New Year, each family usually prepares the five-fruit tray 1-2 days in advance to put on the ancestral altar by the 30th of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, many people see beautiful fruits and buy them, but when they bring them home to display, the fruits are overripe, withered, and sometimes rotten if placed on the altar for too long. That’s why, when buying, you should pay attention to choosing green bananas, fruits such as mangoes, pomegranates, papayas… choose fruits that are almost ripe. If you want to display watermelons, you should choose ones with green stems, not too withered, without any signs of discoloration or rot.

2Do not put other types of flowers or food on top

Do not put other types of flowers or food on top

In addition to the five types of fruits, people often add other types of flowers and fruits on top to make it more eye-catching and abundant. But you need to note that the five-fruit tray should only have fruits and should not have flowers or other things to avoid losing the true meaning of the five-fruit tray.

3Displaying wet fruits is a mistake

Displaying wet fruits is a mistake

Due to forgetting or being in a hurry, many people, after rinsing the fruits, immediately put them on the tray. In fact, this is not good because wet fruits will make the tray wet, and the contact area between the skin and the tray will make the fruits prone to rot, mold, and damage. Therefore, after rinsing the fruits, you should place them in a well-ventilated place to dry them completely or use a cloth to dry the outer part before placing them on the five-fruit tray.

4Do not display the five-fruit tray with thorny or foul-smelling fruits

Do not display the five-fruit tray with thorny or foul-smelling fruits

Normally, a five-fruit tray will have 5 types of fruits symbolizing Prosperity – Luck – Longevity – Health – Peace, and not every fruit will be suitable to place on it. The fruits that are suitable to include are mandarins, grapefruits, mangoes, papayas, and you should avoid fruits with thorns like rambutans, durians, or fruits with foul smell, spicy or bitter taste like durians. In addition, root system fruits such as carrots, beets… that grow close to the ground or wild fruits should absolutely not be placed on the five-fruit tray.

Wishing you and your family a year of peace, prosperity, and good luck with the above tips from us. Please be careful and take care of all items offered to the deities to bring luck and blessings.