Vietnamese New Year is called Tet: Do you know why?  

First things first. Vietnam doesn’t celebrate New Year on the 1st of January as the rest of the world does. Instead of the solar Gregorian Calendar which is widely accepted, the Vietnamese follow a lunisolar calendar while it comes to New Year. Lunisolar calendar? What is that now? Well, it calculates the motion of earth around the sun as well as that of the moon around the earth.  

In Vietnam, there is no specific date for New Year. Generally, it falls between the mid of January and early February. Well, the Vietnamese have a name for this special day. It is known as Tet, the abbreviated version of Tết Nguyên Đán-Festival, a Vietnamese coinage meaning First Morning of the First Day.   

The Vietnamese New Year marks the first day of spring in the country and is regarded as the most crucial national holiday. Read on to know how this day is celebrated and more.  

Tet traditions in Vietnam 
People in Vietnam strongly believe that whatever happens on the very first day of the new year actually sets the pace for the rest of the year. So, in order to make their new year as ideal as possible, the Vietnamese actually spend almost a month in planning, ahead of Tet. Furthermore, they also engage in a lot of activities such as cleaning the house to burning firecrackers to scare away bad spirits. Tet is also viewed as an opportunity for a fresh start. As a result, debts are settled and pent-up grievances are forgiven on this day. Here are some interesting Tet rituals that you probably didn’t know about.    

Cleaning the house: People from Vietnam consider the ritual of housecleaning as one of the most important tasks before the onset of Tet. Through this cultural tradition, they not only reorganise the old year but also clear the clutter to remove bad luck from their homes. Not only these, they also re-paint and decorate their homes with new furniture and symbolic flowers (peach blossoms in the North and ochna in the South) and trim down trees, in order to bring forth good fortunes. In fact, Vietnamese are known to associate neatness with luck.  

Baking traditional Vietnamese cakes: During Tet, the Vietnamese unite with their families and friends and bake themselves traditional glutenous cakes, made from rice. They are known as Banh Chung (square-shaped) and Banh Tet (oval-shaped). They also prepare other dishes such as stewed pork (with dried bamboo shoots) in the honour of their ancestors and offer them at their burial sites. Certain popular side dishes that they have to have during Tet are pickled onion, roasted watermelon seeds, and dried candied fruits. 

Tet eve custom: On their New Year’s Eve, everyone comes together to offer prayers and worship their gods. In fact, they prepare a special dish (in the middle of a temple courtyard) called the five-fruit tray consisting of custard apple, coconut, watermelon, papaya and mango and offer them at the altar.  

Getting hold of Li Xi, the lucky money: The Vietnamese believe in offering money as gifts during Tet, often regarded as lucky money or Li Xi. This money is offered in a red envelope which also indicates exchange of best wishes.