If you are wondering about the big deal with the Vietnamese New Year, or Tet, it is the most important and biggest holiday and festival in Vietnam. You see, for us Asian, many of our culture and customs are based on the Lunar Calendar. And Tet, aka Lunar New Year, falls on the very first day of that calendar.

 

Popular customs before and during Tet:

• Buying of new clothes for the New Year.
• Cleaning up the house in preparation for visits by friends and relatives.
• Cooking up a storm for point #2 above. Also, this is when many restaurants will be closed so one will need to prepare some food in advance. For me, as a bachelor, I’ve got my instant noodles well stacked up already
• Giving of ‘lucky money’ that comes in the form of a red packet. There’s a slight variation for Vietnam here. In Singapore and China, you give ‘lucky money’ only if you are married. In Vietnam, you give as long as you are older than your peers. This is when I’m gonna be broke as 80% of my friends here in Vietnam are younger than me
• Visiting friends and relatives as Tet  is also known to be a time of reunion.

 

Do’s and Don’ts during the Vietnamese New Year:

• Say only nice things during this period, especially when you are visiting friends at their house. This is because whatever you do or say are implied to be carried forward to the rest of the year. So don’t mention about that horrible accident you witnessed on the road or about someone who had just passed away.
• Try wearing auspicious colors like red, pink or yellow as white and black are the colors of funerals in Vietnam.
• If you happened to drop something at a friend’s place, don’t sweep it away. Pick it up instead as the sweeping action means you are chasing fortune out of their house.

 

Places to catch Tet’s atmosphere in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon:

1) Park 23/9

2) The main streets along Saigon’s city central as there’ll be big crowds and decorations leading to Tet.

3) Nguyen Hue Street for the flower festival from 11th to 16th February.

4) Chinese temples like the Jade Emperor Pagoda and the Quan Am Pagoda as praying to gods and ancestors are part of the traditions of Tet.

 

As usual, if you find this post interesting, I’ll appreciate it LOTS if you can help me tell your friends about it by emailing, tweeting, passing this along in Facebook… Thank you in advance