Celebrate Lunar New Year on the Coast with items you can buy from this Biloxi market

Happy Lunar New Year!

Lee’s Supermarket in Biloxi sells a variety of items to celebrate holiday on the Mississippi Coast. Last year, the Sun Herald learned more about their offerings for the celebrations held by members of the Vietnamese community.

Here’s what you can buy at Lee’s to celebrate the holiday and what the items represent.

Yellow chrysanthemums: The potted plants tucked in every corner at Lee’s symbolize life, and the color yellow represents prosperity and good luck.

Bánh chưng and Bánh Tết: These cakes, made of sticky rice filled with mung beans and pork, are a quintessential Tết dish. The former is square and eaten in northern Vietnam, while the latter is cylindrical and eaten in the South. Ly said Lee’s buys their bánh chưng and bánh Tết from local cooks.

Mứt Tết: Trays of dried and candied fruits, including coconut strips, lemon and mango, are stacked near the meat counter at Lee’s. During holiday gatherings, hosts set out these trays for guests to snack on while chatting and drinking green tea.

Lucky money envelopes: During Tết, older people give younger relatives and friends Li Xi, or lucky money. Lee’s sells red envelopes for this purpose. The small envelopes represent discretion and avoiding comparison, while the color represents prosperity.

Fruit: Trays bearing five different kinds of fruit are a staple in Vietnamese households during Tết, with each fruit having a different symbolic meaning. The types of fruits varies by region but often includes papaya, apple custard and mango. According to legend, a royal family once survived on an island by eating only watermelon, so pairs of watermelons are also a common home decoration during the holiday. Ly said Lee’s buys “fancy watermelons” for Tết.

Hoa Mai and hoa đào: Yellow Mai flowers are an important household decoration for families in southern Vietnam, while pink peach blossoms and trees are more common in northern Vietnam. Lee’s sells both.