All About Celebrating New Years in Vietnam

Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country visited by millions of tourists every year. It attracts travelers not only with its warm climate and stunningly beautiful nature, but also with its distinctive Asian flavor. It manifests itself most vividly during the New Year's Eve. This is a very colorful and spectacular holiday, which is accompanied by a large number of national traditions and rituals. From the article you will find out when and how it is celebrated, what dishes can be seen on the Vietnamese New Year's table, what they give each other and what rituals they perform.

New Year in Vietnam is called Tet nguyen dan (abbreviated as Tet), which translates as "First morning feast". It is the most important and favorite holiday in the country and lasts from 3 to 5 days (in some areas - up to a week). For this period, all government agencies and banks are closed, shops, cafes and restaurants also stop working, so the necessary food and things are bought in advance.

Tet has no specific date, since they begin to celebrate it on the first day of the lunar calendar, which falls on a different date every year... Moreover, the run-up is quite wide - from the end of January to the last decade of February. Last year, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year came on February 5th. In 2020 will be celebrated from January 25th.

Tet is also called the "holiday of spring" (hoi xuan), because the new lunar year opens with this particular season. Hence the tradition of decorating streets, buildings and private houses with bright flowering plants.

If you would like to visit Vietnam during the New Years, then you must buy air tickets and book hotels at least 3 months before the event... Otherwise, you will face a huge overpayment (up to 50%) or no tickets or hotel rooms at all. It is best to arrive a week before Tet itself in order to have time to visit exhibitions and museums (before they close), as well as to get to the pre-holiday sales.

Vietnamese Tet, like the Russian New Year Is, first of all, a family holiday... They try to spend it in the circle of the closest people, and if relatives are far away, they go to them to celebrate the arrival of spring together. It is also the time when they remember their ancestors and give them special honors.

Vietnamese New Year has 3 stages: preparation for the holiday (Tatnyen), New Year's Eve (Ziaothya) and the holiday itself (Tannyen).

This stage begins half a month before the New Year and includes several mandatory actions.

• Cleaning... On the eve of the holiday, the Vietnamese arrange a big general cleaning: they bring cleanliness and order in the house and in the yard, get rid of old unnecessary things, sometimes even make repairs. Its symbolic meaning is to make room for the arrival of a new one.

• They clean and wash the ancestral altar, which is in every home to prepare it for New Year's offerings. Then the altar is decorated with flowers. This honorable mission is performed only by the owner of the house.

• Distribution of debts and forgiveness of grievances... It is necessary to enter the New Lunar Year with a clear conscience and a pure heart.

• Visiting the graves of ancestors is also a traditional pre-holiday ritual. Vietnamese go to cemeteries and clean up the burial places of their deceased relatives.

• Buying clothes... Vietnamese people celebrate Tet in new clothes, dressing up after seeing off the old year. This is especially important for children. They must meet the coming lunar year in "new clothes" so that it becomes happy, successful and favorable for them, and brings positive changes. Therefore, during Tatnyen, parents acquire beautiful outfits for their children.

• Buying gifts and food for the New Year's table... It is necessary to stock up on food for the entire holiday period, as shops will be closed throughout Theta. Gifts for family members, relatives and friends are also bought.

Before the New Year, the streets of Vietnam are transformed. Everywhere there is an active trade in flowering plants and fruits. To decorate their homes for the holiday, locals buy chrysanthemums, succulents, marigolds, orchids, daffodils and other flowers. They also decorate buildings and pillars, create various compositions from them that amaze the imagination.

On the walls of shops, restaurants, businesses and other buildings, bright inscriptions with New Year's greetings and wishes appear, the festive atmosphere is enhanced by multi-colored garlands and Chinese luminous lanterns. In the New Year, the red-yellow range dominates.

Mandarin trees, peach and apricot branches are the main attributes of Theta. They are symbols of wealth, prosperity and good luck in the coming lunar year. In front of their house, residents put a tangerine tree in a pot, always with ripe fruits, and flowering peach and apricot branches take the place in the vases. In the north, the first fruit is more common, and in the homes of southerners, the second plant is most often found.

The analogue of our Christmas tree in Vietnam is bamboo. He "lives" in almost every courtyard.Bamboo for the holiday is carefully decorated with amulets, red ribbons and origami. Also, bells are hung on it to protect against evil spirits, and a lamp is crowned with a bamboo trunk so that it illuminates the path for the souls of ancestors.

Local residents are very popular on New Year's Eve watermelons, the bright red flesh of which symbolizes success. Various congratulations are cut or pasted on them. Often the watermelon is placed on the ancestral altar.

The main dish of Vietnamese Tet is called bantyung (banchung) or banhtet (banh chung). It is considered the main decoration of the New Year's table. This is a steamed pie, the essential ingredients of which are glutinous rice, pork (among the Muslim peoples - chicken) and mung beans. Some housewives also add green peas and pickled onions. All components are "wrapped" in banana or corn leaves, which are then tied with bamboo threads.

The cake looks like a package or a gift. Bantüng should have a square or rectangular shape, as it symbolizes gratitude to the earth for the harvest that it gives all 4 seasons - summer, winter, spring and autumn. The second most important New Year's dish is bitter melon stuffed with meat. The Vietnamese highly value its beneficial and medicinal properties.

The taste preferences of northerners and southerners are somewhat different. In the north, pork legs, jellied meat and fish are usually cooked. And the festive menu of the inhabitants of the south includes baked pork in coconut milk and a lot of vegetables. Also on the New Year's table there is an abundance of fruits, tortillas and various rice treats.

Vietnamese give each other gifts for the New Year. They are exchanged by family members, relatives, friends and even unfamiliar people. It is not the cost of the thing that is important, but its symbolic implication. Edible gifts are very popular. For example, rice dishes mean a wish for a well-fed and rich life, watermelon, especially with congratulations pasted or carved on it, brings joy, happiness and prosperity to the house, like other red fruits.

But the most popular gift is money. The amount is usually small, in local currency, however, the bills must be new. They are placed in a red envelope or bag - this color symbolizes prosperity. Even in temples, monks donate coins to their parishioners.

It is customary to give money gifts to children in order to program their children for a future successful and rich life. They are called li xi (lucky money). And children wish their parents, grandparents good health and longevity.

There is also a list of "unlucky" gifts. These include clocks (they mean passing time), medications (leading to disease) and even cats (their meows are similar to the word "poverty"). It is also better not to give sharp objects (for example, knives) - it is believed that they lead to conflicts and quarrels.

The Vietnamese New Year is rich in national customs and traditions that have important symbolic meanings. Tet opens with vibrant carnival processions and colorful festivals. Various festive events take place on the streets: fairs, dance shows, concerts, puppet shows, cock fights, beautiful fire performances, contests and games in which anyone can take part. An atmosphere of unbridled fun and joy reigns everywhere.

One of the most spectacular and unforgettable shows is the Lion Dance... The dancers wear large, yellow and red costumes of creatures representing a symbiosis of a lion and a dragon. This mystical animal from Asian mythology personifies strength and power. It is designed to ward off evil spirits from the homes of the Vietnamese. People help him in this mission, making as much noise as possible: they beat gongs, bells and drums, set off firecrackers and fireworks and just shout loudly. And in the evenings, when it gets dark, the Vietnamese gather in front of bonfires in courtyards and parks.

National comedy and music programs are shown on TV; at midnight, Vietnamese people listen to the President's congratulations. The main New Year's song is considered to be the legendary composition of the ABBA group "Happy New Year".

It is especially honorable to meet Tet in the company of an elderly person. On the first morning of the New Year, the awakening should be early. Waking up, the Vietnamese go to the temples, where they make donations and rituals to attract good luck. Then they return home and continue to celebrate the New Year at the festive table.

VThe second day is devoted to visiting guests - they visit neighbors, relatives and friends, congratulate them and give small gifts. But this should be sure to precede the invitation - It is not accepted to go to someone else's house without him. Great importance is attached to the one who became the first guest in the new year. The choice of a candidate is approached responsibly. Preference is given to a successful person so that his energy attracts well-being and prosperity to the house.

On New Year's Day, the Vietnamese honor the memory of departed relatives and place abundant offerings on the altar of their ancestors. A tray with 5 different fruits and other treats is placed on it. Each fruit represents one of the elements: fire, sky, earth, metal and wood. In the north, the "sacrificial" set often includes mandarin, persimmon, annona, citron, banana.

In the south, they prefer to bestow the souls of their ancestors with coconut, mango, grapes, pineapple, papaya. But there is no obligatory list - any fruit can be included in it, except for the pomegranate (associated with war), pear (similar in sound to the word "drag"), orange (it is a harbinger of misfortune) and dope. With this ritual, they not only demonstrate a respectful and reverent attitude towards the dead, but also ask them for a rich harvest and prosperity in the coming year.

No other holiday in Vietnam contains as much religious and cultural tradition as Tet. Seeing it with your own eyes, you will not only understand the national identity of the Vietnamese people, but also get unforgettable emotions and impressions!

How to celebrate the New Year in Vietnam, see the video.