Tet is an occasion to exchange gifts, and local consumers are willing to open their pockets for any bizarre product that can make a unique present.

The Vietnamese have a custom of buying fruit as a religious offering and ornament during the holiday, which will begin on February 19 this year.

Local farmers have thus been trying to grow fruit in unique shapes suitable for offerings over the last few years, and manage to introduce new products every Tet.

A pair of bottle gourd grapefruits

Vo Trung Thanh, Chairman of a farming club in Hau Giang Province, said 5,300 grapefruits shaped like a bottle gourd grown by the club members have been ordered by customers in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, and the central region.

The fruits fetch between 300,000 VND and 1.2 million VND (14-56 USD) each.

Farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces have also harvested their first few dozen pomelos which boast the Buddha’s hands protruding on their skin.

The Buddha's hand pomelos.

The grapefruits, which are shaped like a jar and weigh from 800 grams to less than one kilogram, have two visually protruding human hands on their skin and edible flesh. The hands are thought to be those of the Buddha.

Another fruit that also symbolizes happiness, longevity and good fortune, and is thus a favorite religious offering, is the Buddha's hand, also known as finger citron.

A plantation of Buddha's hand fruits

The unusually shaped fruit, which earns its name because it is segmented into finger-like sections, yields all year round but becomes sought-after only before Tet, as it will be a delicious religious offering during the week-long holiday.