DOUBLE FIFTH DAY

Picking herbs to make medicine

With a tropical monsoon climate, Viet Nam is bestowed with a remarkable diversity of grasses and fruits, each having its own healing properties. Herbs are widely considered to have highest medicinal value between 11:00 and 13:00 on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Therefore, they are often picked, chopped, dried and preserved carefully for use as medicine and tea in the family throughout the year.

I am Wedelia Chinensis, and I heal inflammationandrashes!

I’m otus Leaf, and I can give you sound sleep!

I am Boadleaf Plantain, and Idetoxicate liver and ease pain.

Wearing five-color amulets

On the occasion of Đoan Ngọ Festival, adults often wear for children the five-color amulets (fringe amulets, pocket amulets) or square cloth bags containing dry coriander in the chest, tying five-color thread to the wrists and ankles. Folk believes that five-color thread correspond to the five basic elements to help eliminate evil; the realgar powder has the effect of chasing snakes, centipedes; coriander seeds avoiding wind; fruit implying to kill worms.

DOUBLE FIFTH DAY

Five-colored amulets sewing street in the Đoan Ngọ Festival of yore (Hàng Mụn Street)

Hàng Mụn Street (now Hàng Bút Street) is a small street of the poor who lived on haberdashery. They bought small bits of cloth and then sewed them into five-colored amulets which were used to carry coriander seeds or realgar powder and decorated with different types of cloth fruits and vegetables like starfruits, chillis, peaches, guavas, etc. and colorful bands. Bags of coriander seeds can ward off bad wind while the realgar powder scares away insects; fruits can kill worms while five-colored bands, thought to represent the five elements, can be worn as prayers for peace and safety. The five-colored amulets were purchased by the families for their children to wear on the occasion of Đoan Ngọ Festival.

HANGING WORMWOOD/CACTUS

On Đoan Ngọ Festival, people took the wormwood to hang on the front door to avoid sickness and exorcism. Depending on the year in which the wormwood was formed into the animal images of that year, such as the year of the Ox - forming buffalo, the year of the Pig - forming the pig,... Some areas, it was changed the wormwood to cactus, willow... or put cactus pots in the house.

DOUBLE FIFTH DAY

STEAMING WITH AROMATIC LEAVES

Against the hot heat of summer days, all the elderly and young people often boil kinds of leaves such as grapefruit, coriander, perilla, marjoram, lemongrass, bamboo... to bathe and steam to prevent colds. In particular, women also wash their hair, wanting to have black, smooth, long hair. This is a healing method of the ancients, helping the body to poison detoxify, relaxed spirit and elation.

POLISHING NAILS

On the evening before the May 5th, women and children often picked leaves to polish nails. The leaves were crushed, added a few drops of lemon, mixed well and then covered to the nails and toes, except the index finger; usedcoral or loofah leaves to wrap nails steadily to stay overnight; in the next morning, opening the wrap and the nails were bright red.

DOUBLE FIFTH DAY

STRINGING EARS FOR GIRLS

To string ears to wear earrings is a custom from the primitive time, popular in all ethnic groups. Derived from many different notions it is considered as items to make beauty, treatment, mark growth or wish health. Over time, this custom is focused only for girls.

WEARING MARKED SHIRTS

Some families often bring new silk clothes to the temple to ask for vermillion stamps and bring them back to the children to wear, implying to use the power of the gods to ward off evil spirits and harmful effects of nature such as heat, snakes, centipedes... This custom is spiritual, no longer existing decades ago.

DOUBLE FIFTH DAY

FESTIVAL GREETINGS - VISITING PARENTS-IN-LAW

Đoan Ngọ Festival day is an occasion to visit relatives such as parents and grandparents to grateful people such as teachers, doctors,... Especially, Đoan Ngọ Festival has the rules that men engaged but not married yet to visit future parents-in-law. The presents are often a dozen of turtle birds, double gooses, sticky rice, green beans, black beans, black sugar and fruits,...

PASSING DISEASES TO TREES

In folklore in some areas, at the right time of noon of Đoan Ngọ Festival, people do some tips to prevent and treat diseases such as: taking off the clothes and rubbing the back to banana tree to stop prickly heat; the women wrapping rope around the tree to stop back pain; at right noon, facing up to sky or swallowing sesame flowers to avoid eye diseases…

DOUBLE FIFTH DAY

PROTESTING PLANTS

According to folklore, if in the garden there are trees planted for many years but not yet yielded or very little yielded, at Đoan Ngọ Festival, these trees will be protested, usually jackfruit, rose apple... To do this custom, there is one or two people, mostly children. The survey or use a pestle, a knife or a stick to hit the trunk, stump and threaten to cut down the tree. The other plays the role of tree and begs not to cut down and promises to bear fruits next year.