The biggest holiday in Viet Nam: Tet

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

Tết lasts around ten days. For four days of them, all the shops will be closed in the main cities and hotspots such as Hoi An will be very busy. The usual bustling cities are replaced with an eerie peacefulness which in itself is a unique experience.

During Tết, Vietnamese visit their relatives and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Due to the high regard in which people hold it, Tết, as often as not, is consumed with unique, distinctive colors and flavors. Let’s take a look at some traditions and customs typical of this special holiday in Vietnam.

Even though many Vietnamese traditions are based on old cultural beliefs that may strike some as a little superstitious, families believe that their activities during Tết must involve happiness, joy, and good luck. They are some of the popular, long-standing Tết traditional customs that have stood the test of time from generations to generations. So family members will go around together, best wishes for each other, children will receive lucky money when sending wishes to grandparents, parents.

In addition, the Vietnamese will decorate their homes with the characteristic flowers: peach blossoms and apricots. They believe that these flowers will bring them luck and success in the coming year.