At 10am on the 23rd day of Chạp month, on Xuân Diệu street, Nguyễn Du, Nguyễn Công Trứ (Hà Tĩnh city), many people brought fish to sell. They released the fish in small basins and carried a bucket of water next to them to keep them alive. When customers buy, they put the fish in nylon bags.
According to many fish sellers, there are fewer buyers this year, even though the price has been reduced.
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Hà (60 years old, from Thạch Trung commune, Hà Tĩnh city) brought two buckets of fish near Vườn Ươm market to sell. According to Ms. Hà, normally she sells until around 11am, but by 9am there were still few buyers even though there weren’t many sellers this year.
“Normally, people come to buy until around 10am. If the fish are not sold, they will either take them home or release them into the lake. But this year, there’s not much demand, and I imported a lot of fish, so I am worried about losing my capital,” shared Ms. Hà.
Releasing carp on the day of Ông Công ông Táo (Kitchen Gods) is a symbol of the Vietnamese people’s belief in abundance and development from ancient times to the present.
Many small traders are upset because they imported more fish than last year, but the demand has decreased significantly.
After purchase, people put the fish in nylon bags to take home. After Ông Công ông Táo ceremony, the carp will be released into ponds, lakes, and rivers around the area where the family lives
