Chicken is an important offering in the Vietnamese worship tray, especially on occasions such as Tet, full moon, and house inauguration… Typically, you often see roosters, right? So, should we offer hen? Many people would rush to say no, but it’s not like that.
Why do Vietnamese people often choose roosters?
In Vietnam, influenced by Confucianism and Taoism, men are considered more important than women. Therefore, the offerings to ancestors and deities also tend to emphasize masculinity. Moreover, when choosing a chicken for worship on certain occasions, a young rooster that hasn’t mated with a hen yet is usually preferred. Hens usually reach the age to lay eggs.
Furthermore, roosters symbolize the connection between deities and humans. Roosters awaken the sun and bring light. Therefore, on important occasions like New Year, Tet, Kitchen God Day, and house inauguration, roosters are often chosen. Offering roosters is a way to deepen the connection with deities and to hope for favorable weather.
Roosters symbolize strength, fierce vitality, and represent men with their five virtues:
– Literature: A rooster has a comb on its head and two wattles that resemble the wings of a dragonfly.
– Martial: A rooster’s spurs represent weapons, symbolizing martial arts.
– Courage: Roosters are always ready to fight to protect their flock, willing to sacrifice themselves.
– Benevolence: Roosters often call their flock when given food.
– Faith: Roosters always crow at the right time, regardless of rain or cold wind.
Moreover, in terms of aesthetics, roosters have large combs, showing their courage, so placing a rooster on the worship tray is more beautiful than a hen. In the zodiac animals of the hexad (buffalo, dog, horse, goat, rooster, pig), roosters are the smallest but they have a strong and graceful posture. Roosters also usually sleep on trees instead of on the ground, symbolizing cleanliness and strength, representing good feng shui value, and showing health, prosperity, and improvement.
According to some people who have a belief in reducing killing, choosing a hen for worship may risk choosing one that has already laid eggs (because a house without eggs will be very small and pungent, so it’s rare to use the meat) which increases the risk of killing compared to a rooster.
Because of these factors, roosters are often chosen to worship ancestors and deities instead of hens.
What about offering hens?
According to folklore and feng shui, on important occasions such as New Year’s Eve, New Year, Kitchen God Day, and store openings, weddings… only roosters should be chosen, especially young roosters that are not mated or castrated to show cleanliness and bring wealth and good luck. Moreover, during these times, the crowing of roosters is needed to awaken new energy and connect with deities to bring wealth. In particular, if you worship a hen on New Year’s Eve, it is not suitable according to feng shui because there will be no rooster deity to awaken the sun in the morning, which will not bring a prosperous and bright new year.
Which occasions prioritize hens?
For full moon worship, offering a hen does not violate any major taboos as many people may think. However, when offering a hen, it is usually around a plate instead of placing the whole bird like a rooster. But offering a hen means offering a young fertile female, to show good luck and peace.
On special occasions, hens are preferred for praying for offspring, for regular family worship, for ancestral worship… In these cases, offering hens symbolizes fertility for prayer. As for worshiping a tray of food, offering hens is normal because hens are delicious and have tender meat.
Information for reference only.
Considering Offering Types for the July Full Moon Prayer
Do you want to know what offerings should be made to the full moon in July? It all depends on the traditions and personal preferences of every family. Find out how to prepare vegetarian or savory dishes for the seventh month full moon celebration.
7 Delicious Vegetarian Rice Dishes to Celebrate July’s Full Moon Easy to Make at Home
Celebrate the full moon in July with these delicious 7 trays of vegetarian rice offering! With simple and easy to make recipes, you can create the perfect rice tray at home.
How to Easily Change Pure Tuber’s Language to Vietnamese
Have you ever wanted to explore the online world of videos in your own language? Now is your chance to make that a reality! Making the switch to Vietnamese on Pure Tuber is simpler than ever – join the global YouTube community today!
Using Kiki Virtual Assistant to Control Music on Zing MP3
Kiki, the virtual assistant, has been seamlessly integrated into the Zing MP3 music app, allowing users to enjoy the convenience of voice commands for music and beyond.
No oven needed, just using a non-stick pan, I made a delicious sweet potato cake – A heavenly combination
Looking at that delicious, tempting cake, one might think I had to put a lot of effort into making it. However, the truth is quite simple.
