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Buy salt
Illustrative image.
“Buy salt at the beginning of the year, and buy lime at the end of the year” is associated with two customs of the Vietnamese people in the new year. The ancients believed that salt is a substance that fights against evil spirits, drives away demons, and brings luck to the family, wishing for a smooth economy and favorable winds.
The custom of buying salt at the beginning of the year also signifies the desire for richness and strong bonds within the family. Moreover, it represents the saltiness and close affection throughout the year in family relationships, among relatives, neighbors, and business relationships.
Therefore, on New Year’s Eve, early morning on the first day of the new year, many people spend 10,000-15,000 VND to buy a small bag of salt from wandering vendors at the gates of communal houses, temples, and pagodas, to bring good luck home.
Buy fire
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In the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people, besides salt, fire is also believed to have the ability to ward off bad luck and misfortunes. In addition, fire helps to attract prosperity and luck, warm the family, and create a warm and harmonious atmosphere for the family.
During the early days of the new year, instead of buying salt, buying a bag of matches or a lighter is also a good suggestion for users. It is not only convenient to use at home for lighting incense on the ancestral altar during the Tet days but also brings luck to the family.
Buy gold
Buying gold for good luck on New Year’s Day is a folk cultural tradition of the Vietnamese people. Buying gold is not only for accumulating wealth but also has rich cultural and spiritual meanings. It is believed to bring luck and wealth throughout the year. For many people, buying gold on the day of the Wealth God’s Day (the 10th day of the Lunar New Year) carries a lot of meaning, especially for wishing for luck and abundant wealth throughout the year. Therefore, on the Wealth God’s Day, people line up from morning until evening to buy gold.
Buy lucky papers
Buying lucky papers is considered a cultural activity with many meanings. Asking for lucky papers at the beginning of the year signifies the value of words and the desire for luck and blessings throughout the year. By requesting lucky papers, individuals hope to receive blessings from the person offering the papers and to have the words in accordance with the aspirations and efforts of their families and themselves.
The commonly requested words are blessings, mind, peace, love, luck, filial piety, patience, talent, wisdom, or sentences, verses, idioms with good meanings. These sentences and words carry both meanings of blessings and are in line with the wishes of the person requesting the words.
During the early spring days, people who come to ask for lucky papers will line up to buy paper at a price ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 VND per sheet and will be given a voucher with a table number. Then, the person requesting the words will present the voucher to the person in charge and ask for lucky words.
Buy Feng Shui items
Many people choose to buy Feng Shui items at the beginning of the year. Feng Shui items like lucky cats can help increase the vitality and dispel misfortunes for homeowners. These lucky cats are a good suggestion to attract more good things into one’s life and bring prosperity.
When choosing Feng Shui items, it depends on the age and destiny of the homeowner to choose the suitable item, such as: Pi Yao, Kirin, carp, golden egg-laying rooster, lucky cat… After buying, you should choose a direction and place it in a good position for you, to help you ward off bad luck and attract wealth.
Buy lucky plants
