Tet holiday ( Vietnamese New Year) is the largest and most important festival day in Vietnam. People gather with others, express their respects to ancestors and get together to eat a big meal to welcome the Lunar new year. 

Tet Holiday in Vietnam

Tet Holiday is also known as Vietnamese New Year, one of the most important festivals in Vietnam, marking the dawn of the new year in the traditional lunar calendar. 

Lunar New Year will last 7 days from 28th december to 5th january in the lunar calendar. A Vietnamese Tet Holiday in 2025  will start on January 29th and herald the Year of the Snake. 

Tet holiday is the largest tradition in Vietnam  since ancient times, reflecting the values and national culture of the country . 

Tet is a day of people reuniting, cleaning and decorating the home, spending time shopping and enjoying life after a hard working year. 

On the 23rd December lunar month is the day of the ritual of honoring Ong Tao, marking the Tet holiday approach. The crucial moment of lunar new year is at midnight when the clock strikes 00 o'clock, interfering between the old year and new year. 

People will set up ancestral altars for ancestors and another one for the heavens and the earth.

They will burn incense sticks and pray for goodness and blessings for a new year and say bye to the past year. 

After the Vietnamese New Year's Eve, we will formally step on a 3 day holiday of the first lunar month.

The members of families come together, exchange well wishes, offer lucky money to children and go to the pagoda. 

According to his father's beliefs, the first day of lunar new year visits paternal relatives, the second day spends time with maternal relatives and the third day comes to teachers. 

The meaning of Vietnamese Tet holiday

Tet holiday is an important festival in Vietnam. The origin of Tet holiday remains a discussion topic with various interpretations. 

According to historical records, the lunar new year starts from the time of the Hung Kings. Vietnamese people have been celebrating Tet through the legend of "Banh Chung Banh Giay". 

Besides, in the ancient Chinese texts had mention An Nam people 

(Vietnamese people) gathered to dance, sing and eat drinks on Tet holiday.

Tet offers significance to the Vietnamese people, creating strong emotional bonds and spirituality and becoming a unique culture. 

Tet is a time for people who go away from home to return, getting together.  In addition, Vietnamese New Year is a day that people are grateful for with  heaven, earth, and humanity and the divine. 

What to do to prepare for the Vietnamese Tet holiday? 

To welcome the Lunal New Year, people will prepare everything before 1-2 weeks. There are servarl activities for Tet holidays to bring the new year. 

Cleaning and decorating the houses

Firstly, most Vietnamese families will clean their home to eliminate the bad things of the past year leaving home to celebrate the new year with good luck. 

The house is thoroughly cleaned from inside to outside. The Tet song is played. You will see the Vietnamese houses have the national flag. 

Besides, the home is decorated with various things from flashlights, peach-tree, Apricot blossom, balloons, cay neu..., creating a joyful and warm atmosphere. 

Go shopping at Tet markets.

Shopping for new items will be one of the best things to do in Tet holiday.

Parents will drive children to Tet markets to buy new clothes. 

Besides, Vietnamese people will buy some decorations and prepare items such as flowers,  fruits, and Tet feasts. 

The gifts will be items to exchange with members and friends, expressing the best feelings. 

Prepare traditional rituals before the lunar new year

Before Tet, Vietnamese people will prepare some traditional rituals such as Kitchen God ( 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month), making "banh chung" and "banh tet", arranging the "5 fruits" tray, year-end ceremony and celebrating New Year's Eve. 

All of things are  customs and traditions associated with the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

Traditional food for Tet holiday

Sticky square cake -  Banh chung

Banh Chung is made from glutinous rice, mung bean, and pork with many other ingredients, popular in the northern region. This food was  from the Hung King dynasty, invented by prince Lang Lieu. 

Banh Chung has a square covered by green leaves, symbolizing the earth. 

 

Vietnamese sausage - Gio, cha

Vietnamese sausage is eaten with Xoi and Banh Chung and is one of the traditional foods on Tet holiday.

The ingredient of Gio is pork of finely grinding, fish sauce. Then, they will wrapp it in banana leaves for boiling. 

Braised Pork Belly with Duck Egg

Braised pork belly with duck egg is a Vietnamese named called "thit kho hot vit", which is the popular dish in the South. The food brings an irresistible aroma, flavor. 

Vietnamese people cooked this food with coconut juice and fish sauce. The piece of meat will be tender and absorb all flavors.  

Sticky rice - Xoi

Xoi is a traditional food during the Tet holiday. There are various types of sticky rice such as Xoi Lac, Xoi Dau Xanh,... However, Xoi Gac is the most popular and main food for Tet holiday. 

With its red color, these people think that eating Xoi Gac on Tet , you will have many luck in the new year. 

 

Sugar-coated fruit

Mut Tet is served to welcome guests on Tet. This is more like a snack and has many tastes such as carrot, coconut, pumpkin, ginger... 

Vietnamese food in the lunar new year will different between each region, enriching the Vietnamese cultural and culinary identity.

The northern food on Tet holiday is Banh Chung, Gio, Xoi gac, Dried bamboo shoot soup while the food in the Central is Banh tet, Vietnamese beef roll, Pickled vegetables.. and the southern food is Banh tet, Chinese sausage, Stuffed bitter melon soup...

Traditional customs in Vietnamese Tet holiday

Giving lucky money 

The first day of the lunar new calendar, the elders will offer a red envelope for children. This is one of traditional customs in Vietnam with the meaning of happy new age. 

The children will wear new clothes and give their grandparents traditional greetings. Then, they will be received "lì xì". 

Xông nhà

The first person to visit in the new year is very important. Because, these people will determine the fortune for the entire year of the family. 

So, if you were not invited first, you should not come to the house. The first people enter the home in the new year, Vietnamese people call names " Xong nha, Xong dat or Dap Dat".

The person with a good morality, temper, health and success will be chosen to come as a host family to Xong Nha. 

Traditional activities and festival during Tet holiday

Festivals

There are many festivals to organized all of the country. People gather these places to pray for themseft and families a new year with peace and happiness. 

Some famous festival in the country such as: 

• Dao People's New Year Dance Festival: on the 1st and 2nd days of the Lunar New Year in Sapa
• Perfume Pagoda Festival in My Duc, Hanoi: On the 6th day of the first lunar month
• Dong Ky Village Firecracker Parade: From the 4th to the 7th day of the Tet holiday
• Tich Dien Doi Son Festival: From the 5th to the 7th day of the 1st Lunar Month
• Dong Da Festival: On the 5th day of the 1st Lunar Month

Vietnamese Lion dance and Dragon

Lion Dance and Dragon is a distinctive feature in Tet festival in Vietnam and a part of Vietnamese culture. 

You will see these dances at temples and pagodas during the Tet holiday with a desire for a new year for luck, success, and good things. 

Go pagodas and temples

Visiting pagodas and temples is the most popular activity for Vietnamese families to pray for health, happiness. Many people will go to nearby pagodas when the clock strikes midnight on New year's eve. Vietnamese people believed all wishes made on New Year's Eve will come true.

Above is all information about Tet holidays that Vietnam Trust Car Rental want to send to you. 

If you need to any information about Tet festival or traveling in Vietnam, let's free contact us through whatsapp: +84.934.189.301.