Vietnamese New Year, or Tết (T-et, tone raising up), to Vietnamese, is very similar to Chinese New Year. There are little differences in the way Vietnamese people celebrate the lunar new year. According to Britannica, Vietnamese celebrate Lunar New Year along with other Asian countries, such as China (where it is called Chunjie), Korea (Solnal), Tibet (Losar), and more.
Vietnamese New Year falls on January 25th, 2020, lasting from one day to a week. This year, the Vietnamese people celebrate the year of the rat and also use the Lunar New Year as a time to welcome spring (Việt Nam is located near the equator, so they have dry and wet seasons and usually warm weather). La Fairy Sails states that this event follows the Lunar Calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon (as people in Western countries follow the Gregorian Calendar, following the cycles of the Sun). This exciting event usually takes place in around late January or early February, the first month of the lunar calendar. According to Tripsavvy, it is one of the busiest times of the year, because many return home to their families or celebrate with friends.
Before this exciting day, many go shopping to buy new clothes, food, gifts and decorations weeks before the new year. Usually, many shops close on Tết because everyone celebrates this time of year at home and away from work.
Many people clean their houses in preparation for the new year, for it is believed that all the bad luck from the previous year must be swept away, refreshing their homes. Many also celebrate with the color red and yellow, which are very lucky colors that people believe bring fortune. In Việt Nam, people eat watermelon because it is red. People also celebrate with red lanterns and following Chinese traditions, people give out red envelopes with money inside. Red and yellow are very common colors to be found during this time of year. Vietnamese also make altar sacrifices for their beloved ancestors, to pay respect.
On the day of Tết, children wear their new clothes and many go around saying, “Chúc mừng năm mới!” (Ch-uc, tone raising up; m-ung, tone going down; n-am, neutral tone; m-uh-ei, tone raising up) meaning “Happy New Year!”. Many others wish elders health, prosperity, fortune, and longer lives.
Here By Design states that Vietnamese families buy oranges or kumquat trees (cây quat; k-auh-y qu-at) for their homes for decoration. They also get flowers, such as hoa mai (h-wah m-ai) or yellow apricot blossoms, hoa dao (h-wah y-ow) or peach blossoms, marigolds, chrysanthemums, and more. These plants all represent some things, for example, hoa mai symbolizes spring, with its yellow petals representing each of the 5 blessings (longevity, wealth, peace, health, love of virtues), and the color yellow portraying happiness, prosperity, and luck.
Noisy firecrackers can also be heard out in the sky, along with gongs banging loudly. These loud noises are believed to scare out bad spirits that can cause trouble in the new year. There are also dragon parades, as it is believed that dragons can also scare the bad spirits.
Vietnam Online explains that Vietnamese people eat bánh chung/Tết, a square cake made from rice, mung beans, and pork, which are covered in banana leaves. Other traditional foods eaten during this holiday are Vietnamese sausage (gio cha), served with sticky rice (xoi), boiled chicken (thịt gà), and lots more delicious foods to relish on this day.
All in all, Tết is very similar to all the other Lunar New Year celebrated in Asia, and is one of the most exciting and unique events that Vietnamese people look forward to every year.
Article by Qwyen Le of Cabin John Middle School
Image courtesy of Creative Commons