Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Tet or Tet Nguyen Dan, which is Vietnamese lunar new year, is the most important festival of the year in Vietnam. Celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar, Tet lasts up to seven days, making it the longest holiday in Vietnam.

When is Tet?

For the date of Tet is based on lunar calendar, it varies from year to year in solar calendar. For example, in 2016, Tet started from February 8^th, but in 2017, it started from January 28^th. Normally, the celebration of Tet varies from late January to early February.

What is Tet?

Tet is the time for Vietnamese people to not only express their respect and remembrance toward their ancestors, but also welcome a new year. A special meaning of this holiday is the reuninion of family members. In the past, Tet was the occasion for farmers to take a long break during an agricultural year,  after harvesting the crops and before sowing the next ones.

Nowadays, as the economy has been industrialized and modernized, and urbanization is promoted, people tend to find job in big cities for a living, which means they have to live far away from their hometown. Tet therefore becomes increasingly essential for it provides a rare chance in the year for people to come back their dear hometown, gather with their beloved siblings and relatives after such a long time not seeing or talking or updating one another’s news.

The meaning of reunion that Tet brings about will never fade and Tet will forever remains in the heart of every person who is Vietnamese. Tet is always the traditional festival which all Vietnamese people long for in the year.   

Flower market at Tet

How is Tet celebrated?

Tet can be considered as the festival that holds major beliefs and customs of the Vietnamese.  Since Tet plays a very important role in the Vietnamese’s beliefs, the celebration of Tet will be prepared really carefully and thoroughly. Vietnamese people usually begin the preparations well in advance of the upcoming New Year. People normally spend a few days before the new year’s eve to clean their house because according to the beliefs of the Vietnamese, by sweeping all the dust away from their house, the bad luck of the old year will follow the dust. Of course, cleaning is just one of the tons of things that family members need to do prior to Tet.

Peach blossom and apricot blossom

Decorating the house is another task. At the bustling Tet market, mothers are busy choosing some bunches of bananas, kumquats, and other fruits for the five-fruit tray. Fathers and sons are somewhere finding a satisfied pot of  ornamental tree. Normally, in the Southern part of Vietnam, apricot blossom is the symbolic flower of Tet, but in the Northern part, peach blossom and kumquat trees are the symbolic trees of Tet. Especially, for the native Hanoian, there is another kind of flower that remind them of Tet – narcissus. This pure white and charming flower with yellow stamen symbolizes luck, wealthiness and longevity. It is believed to bring happiness, optimisim and well-being to the family in the whole new year.      

Narcissus - Tet flower of Hanoian     

The ancestral altar is especially taken care of, apart of the five- fruit tray, there are votive papers, along with many religious rituals.

At Tet, children are excited to be bought new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of the new year. People also try to pay all their pending debts and resolve all the arguments with colleagues, friends, neighbours or members of family before New Year’s Eve.

Like other Asian countries, the Vietnamese believe that red and yellow are the colors that bring good fortune. This is the reason why these colors can be seen everywhere in Vietnam at Tet. People consider what they do on the dawn of Tet will determine their fate for the whole year, hence people always smile and behave as nice as they can in the hope for a better year. Besides, gifts are exchanged between family members and friends and relatives, while children receive lucky money kept in red envelopes.

The whole family gather to wrap Chung cake

Welcoming Tet activities and activities during Tet

- Ông Công, Ông Táo (Kitchen God day) - December 23^rd (lunar calendar)

- Wrapping Chung cake

- Tất niên - December 30^th or December 29^th  

- New Year's Eve, Xông đất First visit to a family in the new year)

- First three days of the new year

- Visit relatives, friends and neighbours (about from January 3rd - 5th) 

- Burn the offerings: January 4th

- Reopen business: owners usually pick a good date according to lunar calendar to reopen their business, hoping that their business will run smoothly for the whole new year

- Go to pagodas

-...

Typical foods at Tet

Traditional foods at Tet

The following foods are typical of Tet

- Chung cake, Tet cake

- Pickled onions

- Boiled chicken

- Vietnamese sausage (giò)

- Red sticky rice(xôi gấc)

- Jellied meat

- Sugared fruits

-...

Travelling to Vietnam during Tet

Tet has a very special attached meaning to all Vietnamese. It is the time for everybody to come back to their hometown, gather with family, visit relatives and have a good relaxing time after a hard working year. If you are to visit Vietnam at Tet occasion, wish you good time enjoying the festive, warm and happy atmosphere of Tet together with Vietnamese people!