Hoa Dao (Peach Blossoms)
Peach blossom are an essential symbolic and decorative plant of all households during Tet. It is used to ward off evil spirits during the Tet celebrations. The symbol of its power originated because two legendary deities -- Tra and Uat Luy once lived on a large peach tree in a village located East of the Soc Son Mountain, in North Vietnam. They were powerful deities and evil spirits so feared them that even the sight of a peach plant would scare the evil spirits away. At the end of the every lunar year however, the deities have to return to heaven for an annual meeting, leaving the villagers defenseless. To fight against the evil spirits during the deities’ absence, villagers displayed peach plants in their homes and these were sufficient to scare the evil spirits away.
