Five-coloured sticky rice is an important traditional dish of many ethnic minorities in the northern mountainous regions. People call the dish five-coloured sticky rice because it has five colours: red, yellow, green, purple and white. The things that create the colours are not chemicals but natural roots and leaves. The five colours of the dish represent five elements of life according to Vietnamese beliefs: yellow is earth, red is fire, green is plants, white is metal, and purple or black is water. People believe that these five elements create harmony between heaven and earth. Five-coloured sticky rice is usually made and enjoyed at Tet, in festivals and ceremonies, on special occasions, and whenever the family has guests.