After king Hùng Vương XI successfully defeated the Chinese, he wanted to pass down his position to his many sons. During the start of the new year, the king gathered all his sons and told them, "Whoever can find the best-tasting food and is most meaningful, I will choose you as the next king." Next day, all the princes set out to seek exotic and tasty foods. King Hùng Vương's youngest son, Tiết Liêu is a very humble person. He lost his mother at a very young age
The creation of Bánh Chưng and Bánh Dầy
and lives by himself. Because there his no one to guide him, he doesn't know what to prepare for his father. One day in his sleep, Tiết Liêu dreamed of seeing a fairy. The fairy told him, "Hey child, there is nothing on Earth that is more precious than rice because rice is the food that helps people live. You should take the rice and shape one into a square and one into a circle. representing Heaven and Earth. Take leaves and wrap the outside, put some kind of filling to represent your Mother and Father. Tiết Liêu woke up and was very happy because he now knew what to do. He right away did what the fairy told him to do. He chose the best kind of rice to represent Earth and boiled it until edible. The square cake is named Bánh Chưng. Then he ground the rice and made a circle representing Heaven. The cake is soon known Bánh Dầỵ At the day of the meeting, the princes brought all of their offerings up to the king to see who would be chosen as the next king. All sorts of rare and exotic things were brought up. Tiết Liêu's dishes were the simplest, which made king Hùng Vương curious. After getting questioned, Tiết Liêu answered the exact same thing the fairy told him and explained the meanings of Bánh Chưng and Bánh Dầy. Seeing it was meaningful, king Hùng Vương decided that Tiết Liêu would be the next king. From that day on, every Tet, people of Vietnam would make Bánh Chưng and Bánh Dầy.