Top 6 Common Engagement Gift Trays in Southern Vietnamese Tradition

A traditional Vietnamese dish, sticky rice is often featured at significant family events. It symbolizes abundance and prosperity, reflecting the wish for a full and complete life. Moreover, the red color of the rice serves as a blessing for the couple, hoping their relationship remains strong and unbreakable, just as it was at the start.

In Southern Vietnam, depending on the family, the red sticky rice may be served with boiled chicken or simply prepared in its own separate tray. The key is to ensure that the proper wedding gifts are chosen and prepared to make the engagement ceremony smooth and successful.

Fruit trays are also a common offering at engagement ceremonies, not only in Southern Vietnam but also in the North. However, the fruits selected may differ based on regional climates. In the South, fruits such as apples, grapes, custard apples, papayas, and mangoes are popular choices. This tray symbolizes a sweet and harmonious married life, echoing the saying 'enough to live on.'

When choosing fruits, it’s important for the groom's family to avoid selecting those with unfavorable names or bitter, sour, or spicy flavors, such as bananas, pears, pomegranates, or limes.

For Southerners, it’s not just the sweetness of the fruits that matters but also the savory taste of meat. If the red sticky rice doesn’t come with boiled chicken, the groom’s family should prepare a tray with a roasted suckling pig. This dish symbolizes wealth and completeness in married life. The roasted pig is also a wish for the couple to become prosperous and to have children soon.

The betel leaf is often the start of the conversation, making the fresh betel and areca nut trays an indispensable part of any wedding gift set. The number of areca nuts is always odd, typically 105, with each nut accompanied by two betel leaves, totaling 210 leaves. The odd number 105 symbolizes fertility and the hope for a century of happiness in the marriage.

To prepare a beautiful betel tray, it is crucial to select the finest areca nuts. A good bunch should feature large, round, fresh nuts with a deep green color. Additionally, the stems should be straight, without bends, and the fruits evenly spaced. If possible, the groom’s family should purchase areca bunches while they are still flowering on the tree for optimal care and quality.

In Southern Vietnamese tradition, no wedding ceremony is complete without a tray of tea, wine, and candles. This offering symbolizes respect and remembrance for ancestors, as well as honoring the couple's journey ahead. Presenting this tray is like inviting the spirits of the ancestors to witness and bless the union of the couple for a lifetime of happiness.

The distinctive spicy taste of the wine represents the beautiful, warm, and passionate moments in marriage. Particularly, the Southern wedding tray always includes a pair of phoenix and dragon candles, which are lit during the engagement ceremony, symbolizing the smooth and prosperous flow of the event.

Phu The cake, also known as the couple's cake, carries deep philosophical meaning through the five colors of the cake: the white of tapioca and coconut, the yellow of yellow-gardenia used for the cake skin and mung bean filling, the black of sesame seeds, the green of leaves, and the red of the string that binds it all together. These elements symbolize the harmony between humans and nature, between people, and between husband and wife. The delightful taste of the cake blends sticky rice, crispy papaya, the rich flavor of mung beans, the creamy texture of coconut, the fragrant lotus seeds, and the sweet hint of sugar, creating a unique and harmonious flavor—a taste that symbolizes the sweet bond of marriage.

The balance of yin and yang in the cake represents a strong and lasting bond in the marital life of every couple. In Southern Vietnam, the sweet cakes differ from their Northern counterparts, with each cake being carefully shaped into a square and wrapped neatly in a small, charming pandan leaf.