AISD Vietnamese Dual Language Program

About Lunar New Year (Tet)

 

Tết Nguyên Đán, more commonly known by its shortened name Tết, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year based on the lunar calendar. The name Tết Nguyên Đán is Sino-Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning.
 

Tết is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tết shares many of the same customs of the Chinese New Year and was derived from Chinese traditions.  There are quite a few customs practiced during Tết, such as visiting relatives or friends on the first day of the new year, ancestral worshipping, exchanging New Year’s greetings, giving lucky money to children and the elderly. 
     

Many Vietnamese prepare for Tết by cooking special holiday food such as bánh chưng (tightly packed sticky rice with meat or bean fillings wrapped in banana leaves). People often buy presents, decorations, food, and clothing to celebrate the new year. It is also customary that every family thoroughly cleans the house before the first day of the new year to sweep away any bad luck in order to make way for incoming good luck.  
      

Tết is also an occasion for pilgrimages and family reunions. During Tết, the Vietnamese people visit their relatives and temples, leaving behind the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. The Tết traditions are a great way to reconcile grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.  

*All the above information were taken from various online media source.