One of the most important holidays in Vietnam is Tet holiday which is usually called the Lunar New Year. Tet is a festival which is celebrated  in late January or early February. Tet Holiday is considered the best occassion for family members to return home and get together.

OnTet, everyone is busy buying some necessary items such as clothes, food, shoes, etc. At spring flower market, people go to visit and choose the most statisfied pots of flowers. Peach blossom, kumquat, yellow daisy, apricot blossom, etc are flowers which are used for decoration in the traditional festival. Moreover, food is gotten ready, and traditional dishes get ready: square glutinous rice cake, pickled welsh onion, pie, chicken, spring roll and these confectioneries such as ginger jam, suger-preserved lotus seeds, sweet, cake, etc. 

Everybody often cleans and decorates their house, and their ancestoraltar is tidied up. Vietnamese families have a tray of five fruits on their altar called five – fruits tray, each of which conveys a different meaning and is a symbolic of happiness, luckiness and wealth.

People often stay at home to welcome guests to their house or go to their relatives’ and neighbors’ houses. The elderly receive wishes for health, adults receive the fortune and success while the young and children will receive lucky money. Laughters and talks are heard everywhere on Tet holiday those days. Besides, Vietnamese people often go to pagodas."Tet" is the word that is very familiar to Vietnamese people whenever we think about our country. This is the time for family reunion, for festivals, and for people to give love to their beloved loved one. For us, I enjoy the warm and cozy Tet's atmosphere when all members of my family gather and talk together excitedly.

Thao Quyen – Uyen Nhi – Thuy Duong

School of Foreign Languages - DA18NNAA