Vietnamese Culture
Vietnam Lunar New Year
Vietnam Lunar New Year
Tet is the most important Vietnamese celebration, symbolizing renewal, family unity. Marked by festive traditions, it reflects hopes for prosperity, happiness, and a fresh start in the year ahead.
- Introduction of Tet
What is Tet?
Tet Nguyen Dan, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, commonly known as Tet, is the most significant and widely celebrated holiday in Vietnam. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar year and is a time for family reunions, honoring ancestors, and welcoming new beginnings. Tet is not just a festival but a deep reflection of Vietnamese cultural identity, traditions, and values.
When is Tet celebrated?
Tet follows the lunar calendar, so its date varies each year but usually falls between late January and mid-February. It coincides with Lunar New Year celebrations in many countries across Asia, such as China, South Korea, North Korea, Japan,…
Origin of Tet
Tet has been celebrated in Vietnam for thousands of years and is deeply rooted in both ancient Vietnamese traditions and Chinese cultural influences. Originally, it was an agrarian festival, marking the transition between harvest seasons and honoring deities for a prosperous new year. Over time, Tet evolved into a significant spiritual and cultural event, blending elements of ancestor worship, Buddhism, and Confucianism.
Comparison with Chinese New Year
Although Tet and Chinese New Year share common roots, they have distinct cultural expressions. Both follow the lunar calendar and emphasize family, renewal, and good fortune, but Tet features unique Vietnamese traditions such as chung cake, tet cake, and the replacement of the Ox, Rabbit, and Sheep with the Buffalo, Cat, and Goat, respectively, in the zodiac. Vietnamese Lunar New Year includes traditional rituals like xong dat (first visitor to your house of the year) and strong ancestral worship practices. Despite these differences, both celebrations reflect the shared values of gratitude, unity, and hope for a prosperous year.
- Preparation for Tet
Preparations for Tet Nguyen Dan begin weeks in advance as families get ready to welcome the new year with good fortune and prosperity. Some of the key customs include:
Cleaning and decorating homes: Families thoroughly clean their houses to remove bad luck from the past year and make space for new blessings. They decorate with peach blossoms, kumquat trees, apricot flowers, and red banners symbolizing luck and prosperity.
Shopping for Tet: Markets become lively as people buy new clothes, festive foods, and gifts for relatives, friends, and business associates.
Cooking traditional foods: Families prepare special dishes such as chung cake, tet cake (sticky rice cakes), mut (candied fruits), and other festive treats.
Preparing the five-fruit tray: Families carefully arrange five kinds of fruit on the tray on the ancestral altar as a way to honor their ancestors and pray for blessings in the new year.
Visiting ancestral graves: Many families visit cemetery to clean and pay respects to their ancestors, inviting their spirits to join the family during Tet.
Preparing offering for ancestor: A special altar is set up with food, flowers, and incense to honor deceased family members and invite them to celebrate with their descendants.
Paying off debt and resolving conflict: Before Tet, people settle debts and mend relationships to ensure a fresh start in the new year.
- Tet’s main days & Traditions
Before Tet
The full moon of the twelfth lunar month
The full moon of the twelfth lunar month (Ram thang chap) is the final full moon offering of the year, serving as a preparation for the Kitchen Gods Ceremony and the New Year’s Eve to welcome the new year. Because of its significance, many Vietnamese families consider this ritual more important than other full moon offerings throughout the year.
Kitchen Gods’ Day (Cung ong Cong ong Tao)
Kitchen Gods’ Day is a significant Vietnamese pre-Tet ritual on 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, marking the farewell of the Kitchen Gods (Tao quan) as they return to heaven to report on the family’s affairs to the Jade Emperor. On this day, families prepare offerings such as fruits, sticky rice and boiled chicken and burn symbolic paper votives, and release carp into rivers or lakes, as it is believed that the Kitchen Gods ride them to heaven.
Year-end meal (Tat nien)
Year-end party is a traditional gathering before Tet, marking the end of the old year and welcoming the new one. Families gather to prepare a special feast, offer traditional dishes to ancestors and enjoy a meal together. Businesses also hold year-end parties to express appreciation for employees and partners.
New Year Eve
Outdoor Ceremony: Families set up an offering table outside with fruits, sticky rice, boiled chicken, incense, and paper votives to send off the old year’s guardian deity and welcome the new one, symbolizing a fresh start and new blessings.
Indoor Ceremony: A separate offering on the ancestral altar is made to pray for health, prosperity, and happiness, expressing gratitude and remembrance for past generations.
Fireworks & countdown celebrations
As New Year Eve approaches, major cities across Vietnam come alive with fireworks displays and countdown events. People gather in public squares, parks, and along rivers to witness the spectacular fireworks. Many families stay up late to welcome the new year together, while others visit temples and pagodas to pray for health, success, and happiness. The vibrant energy of these celebrations makes New Year’s Eve a memorable and meaningful moment for all.
The First Three Days of Tet
The first day (Mung 1): Reserved for family reunions. People visit their parents and closest relatives, exchange Tet greetings, and children receive lucky money in red envelopes. The first visitor is believed to influence the household’s fortune for the year. Many families also visit pagodas and temples to pray for health and prosperity.
The second day (Mung 2): Traditionally a day for visiting in-laws, close friends, and extended family. Businesses and shops begin reopening, and families continue to honor their ancestors with offerings and prayers.
The third day (Mung 3): The day to visit teachers, mentors, and distant relatives, showing respect and gratitude. Some also perform farewell rituals for ancestors, marking the end of the main celebrations.
After Tet
Burning Offerings: This ritual, usually performed around the 3rd to 7th day of Tết, is a farewell ceremony for ancestors. Families burn paper votives, clothes, and symbolic money, believing that these offerings will be sent to their ancestors in the afterlife. It also signifies the end of ancestral visits during Tet.
15th Day of the First Lunar Month (Tet Nguyen Tieu): Marks the official end of the Tet season. Many people visit pagodas and temples to pray for peace, health, and prosperity throughout the year.
- Tet food
Sticky Rice Cakes (Banh chung & Banh tet): Iconic Tết dishes. Banh chung (square-shaped) is popular in the North, while banh tet (cylindrical) is favored in the Central and Southern regions.
Braised Pork with Eggs: A Southern specialty at tet, featuring slow-cooked pork and eggs in a rich caramelized sauce.
Pickled Onions & Vegetables: Tangy and refreshing, these pickles balance the rich flavors of Tet dishes.
Candied Fruits (Mut): Made from dried fruits like coconut, kumquat, and lotus seeds.
Boiled Chicken: A key dish in ancestral offerings.
Spring Rolls: Crispy and flavorful.
- Important Customs & Taboos
Giving lucky money: Elders give red envelopes with lucky money to children and younger family members as a symbol of blessings.
Visiting Relatives & Friends: People exchange New Year greetings, expressing wishes for health, happiness, and success.
First Footing: The first visitor to a home after midnight is believed to determine the family’s fortune for the year. Families often invite someone with a compatible zodiac sign and good character.
Taboos to Avoid:
No Sweeping: to avoid sweeping away wealth and luck.
No quarreling: Tet should be filled with joy and harmony, so arguments should be avoided.
No Breaking Objects: Breaking dishes or mirrors is considered a bad omen, symbolizing bad luck.
- Tet celebrations across regions
Tet in Northern Vietnam is deeply rooted in tradition, with a strong emphasis on ancestral rituals and formal customs. Families carefully prepare banh chung, pickled onions, and boiled chicken for offerings and gatherings. People visit temples and pagodas, and folk games like bamboo swings and cockfighting are popular during the celebrations.
Tet in Central Vietnam is known for its solemnity and spirituality with its royal heritage. Families prepare banh tet and pickled vegetables for ancestral offerings. Traditional Bai Choi singing, a mix of folk performance and card game, is a highlight, while many people visit pagodas to seek blessings for the new year.
Tet in Southern Vietnam is lively and festive, focusing on joy and relaxation. Families enjoy banh tet with various fillings, braised pork with eggs, and pickled scallions. People gather at flower markets, watch dragon dances, and participate in boating festivals, making Tet a vibrant and colorful celebration in the South.
- Tet festivals
Perfume Pagoda Festival: Held from the 6th day of the Lunar New Year in Hanoi. Pilgrims travel by boat and hike up the mountains to pray for blessings and prosperity.
Dong Da Festival: Celebrated in Hanoi on the 5th day of Tet, this festival honors Emperor Quang Trung, who led a great victory against invader and features martial arts, performances and processions.
Yen Tu Festival: A famous Buddhist pilgrimage in Quang Ninh province that begins on the 10th day of the Lunar New Year.
Tran Temple Festival: Held in Nam Dinh province on the 14th-15th day of the first lunar month, this festival pays tribute to the Tran Dynasty.
- Traveling to Vietnam during Tet
You can experience traditional customs and celebrations, including lion dances, fireworks, and festive markets. Visting the decorated streets and flower festivals, especially in cities like Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City is another memorable experience. Travellers can also try Tet food specialties, prepared only during this time.
Best Destinations to Visit
For those seeking lively celebrations, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offer grand fireworks displays, cultural performances, and temple visits. Hoi An becomes even more magical with its lantern festival and traditional rituals. In Hue and Da Nang, visitors can explore imperial traditions, ancient pagodas, and peaceful beaches.
Important Travel Tips
Book transportation and accommodation early, as prices rise and services are limited.
Expect business closures, especially on the first few days of Tet, though major attractions remain open.
Respect local customs, such as wearing appropriate clothing at temples and avoiding unlucky topics in conversations.
