Vietnamese Tet

Tet is the Vietnamese New Year that is started in the first day of the Lunar New Year. The celebration lasts for seven day. Like the Chinese, the Lunar New Year is one of the most celebrated holidays.

Preparation for Tet starts weeks before New Year’s Day. Homes are cleaned to get rid of bad fortune associated with the old year. Families paint their houses to give it a new look. Everyone gets new clothes and new shoes. Pay their debt and resolve difference between families and friends.


A special ceremony called Le Tru Tich is held at the mid night on the New Year’s Eve. The ritual involves firecrackers and gongs and other festive item that make loud noise to usher out the old and welcome the new.


Like Chinese, Vietnamese people are very careful about what they do on the New Year’s Day. The events on New Year’s Day determine your luck for the rest of the year. Therefore, everything and every one you are in touch with on New Year’s Day should symbolize good fortune. Do not visit people who are in mourning because they are associated with death. Children should not fight or cry on the New Year’s Day. Homes are decorated with Hoa Mai, a yellow blossom that represent the spring. Family members exchange gifts and pay homage to Kitchen God. They also visit local temples to pray for prosperity and good health.


During Tet, Vietnamese families plant a New Year’s tree called “Cay Neu” in front of their houses. A bamboo pole is often used as “Cay Neu”. All the leaves are removed from the tree so that it can be wrapped or decorated by good luck red paper. Legends have it that red color scares off evil spirits. On the seventh day of the Tet, the Cay Neu is taken down. This is the last ritual of the New Year celebration.

By Phuong Le