It's explained here:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/
Zongzi (粽子), or simply zong (粽), is a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo, reed, or other large flat leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling. In the Western world, they are also known as rice dumplings, or sticky rice dumplings.
Vietnamese sticky rice cakes, a must in Tet tradition is called
banh chung. Vietnamese banh chung is a cousin to Chinese zongzi (
joong in
Cantonese;
cung in
Hakka) in that they are made of sticky rice, pork and mung beans and wrapped leaves. In Vietnam, they’re wrapped in green leaves called la dong.
Aha! The Chinese people has this special Chinese New Year's cake or
Nian Gao 粘糕, it is a cake prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in celebrating New Year.
Thus, Banh Chung is the Vietnamese style, equals to Chinese New Year's
cake or Nian Gao 粘糕; while Bánh ú tro or Bánh tro equals to Zongzi 粽子
Chinese New Year's cake or Nian Gao 粘糕
Zongzi 粽子 or stuffed glutinous rice
As it diffused to other regions of Asia over many centuries, zongzi has become known by various names in different languages and cultures. Pya Htote in Burmese-speaking areas (such as Myanmar), Nom Chang in Cambodia, and Bachang or Khanom Chang in Laos and Thailand. Vietnamese cuisine has also copied this dish as Bánh ú tro or Bánh tro.
In Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, zongzi is known as
bakcang,
bacang, or
zang (from
Hokkien Chinese: 肉粽 bah-chàng), as Hokkien is commonly used among overseas Chinese. Similarly, zongzi is more popularly known as machang among Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines. (Wiki and other sources)
I have question in my mind:
are all or most of these Tet celebration traditions applicable to ALL Vietnamese in general or some traditions (for example hongbao 红包 or red envelope) are simply limited to the Vietnamese of Chinese descent?
@Viet
