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Foods to Avoid During Tet Celebration

Tết is the time when you can eat to your heart's content, but not all dishes are considered lucky if you consume them because they are believed to bring bad luck for the whole year.

Administrator

5 January, 2024

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Lunar New Year is a time when people want to try all the delicious and exotic dishes. However, there are some dishes that are considered unlucky and should be avoided during the first days of the new year. This belief comes from the traditional saying “black as ink,” so it is best to avoid giving or eating squid during this time.

Find out more: To avoid complications and troubles that may affect the family in the new year.

Squid is considered an unlucky food to eat during the first days of the new year.

2. Balut eggs

Although balut eggs are considered a delicacy, people in the northern and central regions of Vietnam avoid eating them during the first days of the new year. According to folklore, eating balut eggs during this time can turn good luck into bad luck and disrupt one’s life.

According to folklore, eating balut eggs during this time can turn good luck into bad luck.

3. Dog meat

Most Vietnamese people avoid eating dog meat not only on normal days but also during the Lunar New Year. It is believed that eating dog meat at the beginning of the year will bring bad luck, so it is considered a food to be avoided during the Tet holiday.

It is believed that eating dog meat at the beginning of the year will bring bad luck.

4. Duck meat

Duck meat is also a food that people avoid eating during the first days of the new year. It is believed that eating duck meat will bring bad luck, so it is better to use other meats with better meanings.

It is believed that eating duck meat will bring bad luck.

5. Shrimp

Shrimp is a food that many people avoid eating because it is believed to cause setbacks and slow down progress in work. Shrimp is considered unlucky because it swims backward, and it is said that eating shrimp will make one’s mind unclear.

Find out more: 13 taboos during the Tet holiday.

Shrimp is considered unlucky because it swims backward, causing setbacks in work.

6. Bananas

While bananas are an indispensable fruit in the diet of people in the northern region, people in the southern region avoid eating bananas during the first days of the new year. The word “banana” sounds similar to the word “can’t raise up” in the southern dialect, meaning it may hinder progress in work if eaten during Tet.

The word “banana” sounds similar to the word “can’t raise up” in the southern dialect.

7. Shrimp sauce and garlic

In the first days of the month, many people, especially those in the northern region, avoid eating shrimp sauce and garlic because they fear bad luck. This is especially true on the first day of the lunar month when people go to temples and pagodas. They avoid eating shrimp sauce and garlic because they are believed to be impure and offensive to the deities.

Many people in the northern region avoid eating shrimp sauce and garlic to avoid bad luck.

The Lunar New Year is a time when you can enjoy food and drink with friends and family. However, don’t eat these foods if you don’t want an unlucky new year.