Tet – The Vietnamese New Year Festival

The Tet Vietnamese New Year festival, or Tet Viet Nam, is the most significant celebration in Vietnam, marking the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese lunar calendar. It is a vibrant time for family reunions, cultural traditions, and nationwide festivities. To explore this unique event, let Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert guide you through the essentials of the Tet festival in Vietnam.

1. What is Tet, the Vietnamese New Year?

Tet, short for Tết Nguyên Đán, is the cherished festival of the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. Its name, Tet Nguyen Dan, translates to the “Festival of the first morning of the first day.” The holiday’s origins are linked to ancient wet rice cultivation in the Red River Delta, but what is Tet Vietnam today? It is a time deeply rooted in the cultural importance of a fresh start, a Vietnam new year celebration.

The Tet celebration Vietnam is a time for people to pause their daily lives to focus on family, ancestors, and hope for the coming year. It’s a period of renewal, where old troubles are set aside for good fortune. This ter festival is defined by several core aspects:

• Family Reunion: The Tet holiday is paramount for family gatherings, with many people returning to their Tet home.
• Ancestor Worship: A key part of the Vietnamese Tet celebration involves families paying respects to their ancestors at home altars.
• New Beginnings: The holiday emphasizes a fortunate and positive start, a core part of the tet meaning.

2. Key Traditions and Preparations for Tet

Preparations for Tet are extensive and start weeks before the holiday. These traditions are performed to ensure a lucky and prosperous new year.

2.1. House Cleaning and Decorations

Weeks before Tet, families conduct a thorough cleaning of their homes. This act symbolizes sweeping away any bad luck from the previous year to make room for good fortune. People also get haircuts and buy new clothes to welcome the new year with a fresh appearance.

Homes and offices are decorated with festive items:

• Trees and Flowers: Kumquat trees, with their bright orange fruit, and pink peach blossom boughs are displayed prominently. The bigger the tree, the more prosperity it is believed to bring.

• Signs and Garlands: You will see signs with the greeting Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (Happy New Year) everywhere, along with red and gold paper garlands.

• Zodiac Animals: Decorations often feature the animal that represents the new lunar year.

2.2. Family Reunions and Ancestor Worship

Tet is the primary occasion for family members to reunite, with many people traveling back to their hometowns. A central part of the celebration is honoring ancestors. Every home has an altar where families make offerings of fruit, food, and incense to pay their respects and invite their ancestors to celebrate with them. Family shrines are meticulously cleaned and polished, and new offerings are placed around them.

2.3. Lucky Money (Li Xi) and Greetings

A beloved tradition is the giving of “lucky money,” known as lì xì. On the first day of Tet, elders give children red envelopes containing money as a wish for good luck and a successful year ahead. Managers may also give lì xì to their employees. Receiving lucky money is a sign of youth, and it is a marker of maturity when a young person begins to give lì xì instead of receiving it.

3. When is Tet Celebrated?

When is Tet in Vietnam? The date changes each year as it follows the Vietnamese lunar calendar. The Vietnam calendar places the new year in Vietnam around late January or early February. The official Vietnam Tet holiday 2025 will last for several days, but preparations begin weeks in advance and the festive mood, known as Tet am, can last long after. The Tet duration is officially about a week.

Addtionally, Tet in Vietnamese can be divided into three periods, known as Before Tet ; Tất Niên (penultimate New Year’s Eve) and Giao Thừa (New Year’s Eve), and Tân Niên (the New Year), representing the preparation before Tet, the eve of Tet, and the days of and following Tet, respectively.

The most sacred moment is Giao Thua, or New Year’s Eve, when families come together for the Tat Nien meal to welcome the new year. The mung 1 Tet, or the first day, is the most important. The upcoming Tet 2025 is a major event, and understanding when is the Vietnamese New Year is key for any traveler planning a trip.

3.1. Before Tet

December 23rd of Lunar calendar is the day we see off Tao Quan – Kitchen Gods (the guardians of the family)

This period begins one or two weeks before the actual celebration. The general atmosphere leading up to Tết is in the bustle of shopping, decorating the home, cooking traditional Tết food and waiting for relatives to return home. People try to pay off their debts in advance so that they can be debt-free on Tết. Parents buy new clothes for their children so that the children can wear them when Tết arrives. In the days leading up to Tết, the streets and markets are full of people. As the shops will be closed during Tết, people try to stock up on supplies as much as possible.

According to traditional custom, December 23rd of Lunar calendar is the day we see off Tao Quan – Kitchen Gods (the guardians of the family) to go back to heaven and report about the past year to Jade Emperor. Every family prepares a see off banquet for the Kitchen gods which includes many complicated dishes. People also release carps as they believe Tao quan will ride them to heaven.

You can really feel the holiday spirit from this day to Tet. People return to their hometown, shop for new clothes, shop for food and try to pay all the debts as they believe that let debts from the previous year due on new year is a bad luck. People visit traditional flower markets, where they can buy peach blossoms trees in the north of Vietnam and buy apricot blossoms trees in the south; kumquat trees and orange trees are also famous choices as they are believed to bring wealth to your home.

Most families in Vietnam make Chung cake by themselves. It is a traditional savory cake made of sticky rice, pork and green beans and wrapped up by banana leaves. Boiling Chung cakes takes much time. People normally gather up around a big pot overnight to watch the flames. It feels like a campfire night with you family that only happen once a year.

3.2. Tat Nien and Giao Thua

On the last day of the Lunar year, after all family members are already home, people gather up, clean up the altar, place on it a banquet with a fruit tray include 5 types of fruits which represent a year of fruitfulness and diversity, this fruit tray will stay on the altar for the rest of Tet.

The last meal of the year is a very important ritual on this day. People cook a meal with at least five traditional dishes to place on the altar and then all family members stand in front of the altar tell their ancestors about the past year and pray for a happy upcoming year. They hope the incent smoke will bring their prays, their greets to heaven and deliver to their ancestors.

After that, they gather up around for a warm family dinner where people talk about the year has gone by, about the things they plan for next year. The true family moments keep go on with laughters, family love that brought us up and traditional dishes that grew up with us all along.

12 a.m – Giao Thua is the most important time, it marks the transition from one year to another. Each family has 2 banquets with sticky rice, Chung cake and rooster; the one inside the house for the ancestors and the one at the front yard to praise God and mother Earth.

3.3. Tan nien (Tet Vietnam New Year)

After Giao Thua, the celebration officially begins. From this moment people start to go to temples, pagodas to pray the gods, Buddha.. to bless them and their family with happiness, luck, health, wealth and so on.

Traditionally, the first day of the year is for family, as you may know, Vietnamese has family oriented culture. They visit the relatives or the neighbor, stay for a meal and say many New Year resolutions. Children receive lucky money inside red envelopes which bear the meaning that children will receive wisdom, luck from elderly. Usually, children wear their new clothes and give their elders the traditional Tết greetings before receiving the money.

Since the Vietnamese believe that the first visitor a family receives in the year determines their fortune for the entire year, people never enter any house on the first day without being invited first. The act of being the first person to enter a house on Tết is called Xong đat, which is one of the most important rituals during Tết.

According to Vietnamese beliefs, if good things come to the family on the first day of the lunar New Year, the entire following year will also be full of blessings. Usually, a person of good temper, morality and success will be the lucky sign for the host family and be invited first into the house.

>>Read more: Cultural Delights: Celebrating Ha Noi Traditional Festivals

4. Must-Try Foods During the Tet – Vietnamese New Year Festival

Food is a cornerstone of the Tet celebration, with many special dishes prepared exclusively for the holiday.

• Bánh Chưng: This is a savory sticky rice cake filled with mung beans and pork, wrapped in banana leaves. According to folklore, this dish, representing the earth, was presented to a king and won his son the throne. You can find a similar cylindrical version called bánh tét.

• Northern Dishes: A traditional Tet meal in northern Vietnam often includes nem (fried spring rolls) and whole boiled chicken.

• Southern Dishes: In the south, the meal might feature caramelized pork, bitter melon soup, and chicken salad. Many dishes symbolize the passing of hardship and hope for the new year.

5. What to See and Do During Tet – Vietnamese New Year Festival

During Tet, cities and villages come alive with festive activities and decorations.

• Flower Markets: A visit to a flower market, like Quảng Bá in Hanoi, is a memorable experience. Streets are filled with shoppers buying peach blossoms and kumquat trees. In Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyễn Huệ Street hosts the country’s largest annual flower show.
• Festive Atmosphere: The streets are filled with color from flowers and paper lanterns. You will hear the sounds of drums and bells and may see parades with lion dancers (múa lân) and dragon dancers, meant to scare away evil spirits.
• Fireworks: On Tet Eve, major cities across Vietnam light up the sky with spectacular firework displays at midnight to ring in the new year.

6. Tips for Traveling in Vietnam During Tet

Traveling in Vietnam during the Tet holiday can be a unique experience, but it requires careful planning. The most important tip is to avoid extensive travel during this period. Transport centers are often overflowing as many people return to their hometowns, and tickets for flights, trains, and buses can be sold out weeks in advance. If you are in one place, you will be able to enjoy the festive spirit as the country celebrates.

7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the most important part of the Tet celebration?
The most crucial aspect of Tet is family reunion. It is the one time of year when family members make every effort to gather in their hometowns to celebrate together and honor their ancestors, reinforcing strong family bonds.

2. What is the meaning of lì xì?
Lì xì is the tradition of giving “lucky money” in red envelopes. Elders give these envelopes to children as a blessing for health, success, and good fortune in the new year. The color red symbolizes luck and prosperity.

3. Why do people clean their houses before Tet?

House cleaning before Tet is a symbolic act of sweeping away the misfortunes and bad luck of the past year. This ritual prepares the home to receive good luck and prosperity for the year ahead, representing a fresh and positive start.

4. Is it a good idea to travel to Vietnam during Tet?

While you can witness unique cultural celebrations, traveling around Vietnam during Tet is challenging. Public transportation is extremely crowded and often fully booked. It is best to plan to stay in one location to enjoy the local festivities.

Motorbike tour of Vietnam during the Tet festival is undoubtedly an interesting experience, but be prepared for higher costs compared to regular times. Taking a Northern Vietnam motorbike tour with the local guide team from Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert during this festive period offers a unique insight into local culture and traditions. However, finding places to eat can be challenging since most countryside residents stop working and many local restaurants close. Contact us and join one of our Amazing Vietnam Motorbike Tours for an unforgettable adventure!

>>>Find out more: Heritage Alive: Ha Giang Traditional Festivals