Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) – 5/2/2019

Vietnam Lunar New Year (or Tet Holiday) is considered as the biggest and the most
important Vietnam holidays of the year with very people in the country downing tools for family
gatherings. It is originally celebrated by Vietnamese locals to thank the gods for the arrival of
spring, a ritual dates back thousands of years ago. Today, Tet Holiday is a time for The
Vietnamese paying respects to their ancestors and welcoming the New Year with family
members.

Photo: Hanh Trinh Tam Linh

This is an interesting time to visit Vietnam and you’ll witness bustling Hanoi or other big cities in a
rare tranquility atmosphere because everyone traveling from across the country (or even the
world) back to their hometown to spend Tet Holiday with their families. You can also find locals
lighting fireworks, visiting temples with their families and the interesting radiant colors of the
Vietnamese flag, lanterns, flowers stalls at every corner.
 Lunar New Year in Vietnam
Where to go and What to do during Tet:
Tet Holiday is celebrated throughout Vietnam, but it’s best to be in the larger cities
like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or ancient Towns like Hoi An, Hue, as smaller towns
really do shut down, making it difficult to find food and transport.

Tet in Vietnam
Hanoi is the best place to enjoy this holiday. When visiting Vietnam temples like Quan Su
Pagoda or Ngoc Son Temple, you can see locals lighting incenses and praying to their ancestors
in the morning while Hanoi Opera House often organizes vibrant parties and fireworks displays.
Tet in Vietnam’s equivalent to the Chinese New Year and is just as auspicious.
The Vietnamese consider Tet to be the year’s most important festival. Family members gather in
their hometowns, traveling from across the country (or the world) to spend the Tet holidays in
each other’s company.
On the stroke of midnight, as the old year turns into the new, Vietnamese usher out the old year
and welcome the Kitchen God by beating drums, lighting firecrackers, and goading dogs to bark
(a lucky omen).

http://topsvietnam.com/vietnam-festivals-bucket-list/

http://www.vietnam-guide.com/festival/

http://www.vietnam-guide.com/festival/tet-festival.htm

https://www.vietnamonline.com/tet.html

https://www.dolenglish.vn/ielts-library/blogs/talk-about-tet-holiday-in-vietnam-speaking-part-2

– I would like to talk about the Lunar New Year festival, also known as the Tet
holiday, which is the occasion expected the most by Vietnamese people every year.
The festival usually lasts for around 3-4 days, and it takes place when a new year
comes according to the lunar calendar.

– The Lunar New Year festival takes place because it is one of the most well-
known traditions of Vietnam. Our people have been celebrating this occasion for
thousands of years, and although there has been some recent argument about
whether we should stop celebrating this festival, I do not think this activity will
come to an end soon, at least not in the short term.

– There are some common things that people do during this festival. Perhaps the
most important thing is that people who work and study in big cities would go back
to their hometown to celebrate the new year with their families and relatives. The
new year festival is one of very few occasions that families can gather together, so
it is easy to understand why everyone in Vietnam expects this festival so much.
Another thing that we usually do is that we give children some “lucky money”
with the hope that it will bring fortune to those kids. We also have some other
activities such as making “chung” cake, visiting temples and pagodas… and so on.

– The new year festival is so important to me and also to all Vietnamese citizens.
The reason is because we get more days off from work and study, and therefore we
have more time to spend with our families and our loved ones. It is also a great
time to think about what we have done in the previous year, and to make plans for
the upcoming year.