Spring colors with pairs of red watermelon

Spring sets in, every family jubilantly welcomes Tet festival with green "chưng" cakes, fat meat, vegetable pickles, etc and being laid onto any altar is a five-fruit tray with a pair of red watermelon as an indispensible component.

"Tết, Tết, Tết , Tết đến rồi..." (Tet, Tet, Tet comes) is a very popular song that always make people agitated. Tet is coming much close; peach has not bloomed, yellow plum flower has not shown off its beauty, but people are all eager for it. Tet is greatly important to Vietnamese people since it is the occasion for their family, friends to unite, for them to memorize their ancestors. Hence, anyone who lives far away from their hometown longs to return to reunite during Tet festival.

No matter how poor or rich, people try to prepare a well-off Tet festival for their family. Five-fruit tray is indispensible on every ancestor altar in families. A pair of red watermelon is displayed in the middle of altar with deep spiritual significance. According to Vietnamese cuisine, it is believed that a watermelon with red pulp will be luck and good fortune for their family for entire year to come. As a result, housewives always have thorough selection of watermelons.

Watermelon holds a legend of a brave An Tiem (An Tiêm) who himself settled down. During three days of Tet festival, pair of red watermelon really warms up Tet atmosphere and solemnize ancestor altar. Watermelon at this time is not only a refresher as usual; it actually becomes a symbol of Spring which may bring about Luck-Fortune to all families in early days of a lunar new year.

According to experience descended a watermelon of big size, round shape, bass slap, bright skin with hair covered, that could be a good one with red and solid pulp. Being a belief, members in a family together sit on dining table to cut watermelons to get luck. Their family will overwhelm with lots of luck if watermelon's pulp is red and succulent, its skin is green. Each member is given a piece of crescent-moon- shaped-watermelon as luck division in early days of a lunar new year.

Red watermelon, one of component on five-fruit tray during tet festival, is much useful since it is a good refresher that can ease your thirst; watermelon with its skin and pulp functioning as febrifuge remedies which are widely used in oriental medical treatment. With skillful hands of housewives or girls, watermelon's look may be magically changed to be greatly splendid in a shape of a flower vase, a boat, etc to warm up dining table during Tet festival.

Source "Ha Noi - Delicious dishes"