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    Tet Holiday - Everything about Vietnam Lunar New Year 2020

    1/20/2020 3:00:28 AM
    haiviet

     Tet holiday or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is the most significant festival in Vietnam. As a result of being calculated by the lunar calendar, Tet often occurs at the end of January, which is later than the New Year's Day. As the longest public holidays in Vietnam, Tet is the most wonderful time for all foreign tourists to spend their vacaion in Vietnam enjoying the festive atmosphere and exploring one of the oldest holidays in the world. Tet holiday 2020 is on January 25th, 2020 (New Year Eve is the previous day).

    What is Tet Holiday?

    Tet Holiday is celebrated to welcome the New Year (Lunar calendar) and summarize what they did in the old year. It is considered an important mark for changes, plans, and progress. In addition, Vietnamese people believe that what they do on the first day of the year will affect their rest. Therefore, they pay great attention to every word they say everyting they do. Furthermore, Tet may be the only occasion for family members to have happy moments together after a year of hard-working .
     
    A traditional Tet often lasts for a month. However, the busy life makes it shorter, even disappears. If you choose a new type of travel like cruising to enjoy multi-culture Lunar New Year you should pick the right countries where people still hold a long festival such as China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, which is often a week. Recently, some people express their idea to cancel the Vietnamese Lunar New Year and only celebrate the Western New Year. Although it is constructive, Tet holiday will have still been remaining  as the vital festival in Vietnam because of its priceless tradition, feture and meaning.

    The Features of Tet Holiday

    1. Vietnamese Lunar New Year is NOT Chinese Lunar New Year
     
    It is absolutely mistaken to say that the Vietnamese are celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. Although both countries use the lunar calendar, the Vietnamese have different customs and traditions from China. According to the historical document, in the thirteenth century, the Vietnamese people often celebrated Tet holiday by drinking traditional glutinous-rice wine, using betel nuts to welcome guests, and eating Chung cake, pickled onions. In Ly dynasty (1009-1226), many important rituals were made such á setting up a dome to pray for the rains or building communal houses to crave for a year of abundant harvests. In the period of King Le Thanh Tong (1442-1497), Tet holiday was the most important festival and hundreds of mandarins had to gather at the court to celebrate it with royal families.
     
    2. The Cruise of Tet Holiday 
     
    In the Vietnamese language, to celebrate Tet also means to eat, which affirmed the important role of the cuisine in Vietnamese Lunar New Year. One Vietnamese traditional proverb denotes that you can be hungry all year expect three days of Tet because dozens of delicious foods will be prepared on Tet to feast the ancestors as well as every family member.

    Chung Cake
     
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    Chung cake is the traditional cake in Vietnam that only appear on Tet holiday. Tasty and savory Chung cake is made from very familiar ingredients to all Vietnamese such as sticky rice, green beans, and pork, which is wrapped in green leaves and boiled overnight. According to a legend that has been passed on for thousands of generations, Chung cake is the symbol of Earth because it combines all unique ingredients of Vietnamese agriculture. Although nowadays Chung cake can be tasted all seasons, enjoying these cakes at Tet holiday still brings special feeling for Vietnamese people.
     
    Jam 
     
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    Jam is the common snak to welcome guests on Tet holiday. It is mainly made from dried fruits like carrots, coconuts, apples or some kinds of seeds such as roasted watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds mixed with sugar. The Vietnamese believe eating sweet things on Tet holiday will bring them luck for the New Year.
     
    Pickled Onions 
     
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    On Tet holiday, people often eat fat and oiled food which easily cloys their appetite. This is high time for something with low calories and fresh like pickled onions. Pickled onions help the digestive system digest high protein food more easily. In the minds of Vietnamese people, Tet is only complete when there are fat meat, pickled onions, and red distiches.
     
    Besides, there is myriad of signature dishes that inspire the taste in different regions on Vietnamese Lunar New Year such as spring rolls, boiled chickens, Vietnamese sausages, sticky rice and so on.
     
    3. Mascots of Tet holiday
     
    Vietnamese Zodiac Signs 
     
    Vietnam-Tet-Holiday-6
     
    Each Lunar New Year will have a symbolic animal. 12 Vietnamese zodiac signs are different from Chinese ones (The fourth zodiac sign in Vietnam is Cat while it is Rabbit in China). Every animal will bring the unique lucky in its year so you can see them everywhere in Vietnam through decorations or advertisement signs. Tet holiday 2020 is the year of ther Rat. 
     
    Trees & Flowers on Tet holiday 
     
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    Peach blossom in Northern Vietnam and apricot blossom trees in Southern Vietnam are also symbols that exlusively appear on Tet holiday. The light red of peach blossom will the luck while the yellow of apricot blossom will bring fortune to the owners. It is said that Tet is not Tet if missing two of them.
     
    Neu Tree
     
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    It is originally a 5 meters tall bamboo shoot. The chop of the tree hangs different things based on each region such as votive papers, amulet exorcism or alcohol bottle made of straw. It is believed that the tree is the signal for the devils to realize that this place is home of living people, not to harass.
     
    Tray of Five Fruits
     
    Vietnam-Tet-Holiday-6
     
    This is tray of five different feuits such as bananas, grapefruits, oranges, and other tropical fruits which are only prepared on the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Although each region choose different fruits, a tray of five fruits is still used to express the wishes of the host family by their names, colors, and arrangements.
     
    In addition, kumquat trees, Dong Ho painting, red distiches are also believed by the Vietnamese to bring luck and wealth for them all around the year.

    How is Tet Holiday Celebrated? 

    1. Before Tet Holiday - How Tet Holiday is Prepared?

    Tet Ong Cong, Ong Tao (Gods and Goddess of Kitchen)
     
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    On the 23th of the last month in the lunar calendar, Vietnamese people prepare the traditional offerings and especially the carps to regale three gods and goddesses of their kitchen. Then they will release the carps into the river and these fishes will be used by the Gods as the transportations to come to heaven, according to the legend. At the haven,they will report everything happening in the previous year of their family to the King of heaven, they will comeback on the last day of the year to celebrate Tet holiday with the family. The carps then become the dragons. Tet Ong Cong, Ong Tao of Tet Holiday 2020 is on January 17th.
     
    Cleaning the House 
     
    Tet holiday is also called by a jolly name "house-cleaning festival". A week before Tet, all members of the family clean the house, the garden, and the altars as well as redecorate them together. Broken things will be repaired, old things will be replaced. Clothes and decorations such as lanterns, distiches, led lights will be bought. All those preparations have the same purpose - to be best to welcome the New Year and to receive luck as well as fortine.
     
    The Last Day of the Year & New Year Eve
     
    On the last day of the year, every member of different generations gathers around a grand banquet to enjoy the last meal of the year. The alk at the time is about things already heppening in the year. The ambiance of the reunion is always the most wonderful and happoest of all time.
     
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    In New Year Eve, the young often go out to watch the firework performance while the elderly and adults stay at home making offerings of boiled chicken, rice and salt for outdoor worshipping to the Gods and indoor one to the ancestors. They will pray for a nnew year of luck, health, and fortune to every family member.
     
    After that, the young come back home and become the first one coming to the house in the new year. It is believed that the wishes of that person for the host will come true. Then everyone gathers again to drink some alcohol or juice. Then the wishes, as well as plans of every person for the new year, will be shared with others.

    During Tet Holiday

    Tet Holiday traditionally last for three days. People often stay at home to welcome guests to their house or go to relative and neighborhood houses. The elderly will be receive whishes for health, the adults will be received the ones fortune and success while the young and children will be received lucky money. Laughs and talk appear everywhere on Tet holiday these days. Besides, Vietnamese people often go to pagodas. By donating money and asking for letters, they will receive several lucks and fortune.

    Festivals after Tet Holiday

    Tet ends when votive papers are burned and oferings are taken down from the altars to share for every family member. It is the time for people to join in festivals all around the country such as bufalo fighting festival or boat racing, wrestling, lion or dragon dances. Festivals will be organized for a month after Tet holiday so you are able to attend and explore them as many as possible.
     
    Vietnamese Lunar New Year is the priceless value of Vietnam and an indispensable part of the life of all Vietnamese people. Plan Vietnam tours to enjoy Tet holiday and experience unforgettable experiences of Vietname cultures, customs, and traditions.

    How to Experience the True Traditional Tet Holiday in Vietnam 

    Vietnamstay Travel is one of the most trusted local tour operators in Vietnam. We have a lot of unique experiences, long-standing cultures, and interesting activities on Vietnamese Lunar  New Year to share with you. Contact us now to gain wonderful and memoravle vacation in Vietnam on Tet holiday.
     
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