What is Tết? All you need to know about Vietnamese new year
We provide you with a comprehensive insight into the Vietnamese Tet festival.
Tết is the biggest and most important festival for Vietnamese people in the year. In this article, let’s delve into Vietnamese Tet and explore the fascinating aspects of this occasion.
What is Tết?
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Tết (Tet) or Tết Nguyên Đán (Tet Nguyen Dan) is Vietnam’s most important and cherished festival, celebrating the lunar new year. It’s a time for families to gather, reconnect with loved ones, and visit friends and neighbors. Traditional dishes are lovingly prepared and placed on ancestral altars as a gesture of gratitude to our ancestors. Vietnamese people also exchange heartfelt wishes for a peaceful and prosperous new year.
The Vietnamese Tet is celebrated on the first day of the lunar calendar. However, Vietnamese people believe that before the official Tet day, everything must be prepared early and new, hoping for a lucky and successful start to the new year. Therefore, Tet preparations typically begin a week in advance, starting from the Kitchen Gods’ Day on 23rd of December (Lunar calendar). This is considered the first event heralding another Tet season.
It’s noteworthy that the first day of the lunar new year, Tet, never occurs before January 21st or after February 19th in the solar calendar, typically falling between late January and mid-February.
The main stages of Tet
Make offerings for the Kitchen God
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According to Vietnamese beliefs, the Kitchen God is a deity who keeps track of all the good and bad actions performed by households throughout the year and reports them to the Jade Emperor. Every year, on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, Ong Tao returns to heaven to give his report to the Jade Emperor. According to legend, Ong Tao requires a golden carp as a mode of transportation to ascend to heaven.
Hence, on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, Vietnamese people buy golden carps and prepare traditional dishes to offer on the altar to bid farewell to Ong Tao as he returns to heaven.
After performing the Kitchen Gods’ ceremony, Vietnamese people release golden carp into rivers and lakes.
Year-end party (Tất niên)
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Tất niên signal the end of one year and the start of the new one. It’s a time when family members gather for a special dinner to bid farewell to the old year. Depending on local customs, these celebrations may also involve inviting friends and relatives to join in the festivities.
In the days leading up to the new year, Vietnamese people are bustling with year-end parties. They join in company gatherings, neighborhood festivities, and visit friends’ and neighbors’ houses to celebrate the end of the year together. Across Vietnam, the atmosphere is vibrant and cheerful.
New year’s eve (Giao thừa)
For Vietnamese people, New Year’s Eve is a significant occasion that symbolizes the elimination of evil spirits, ghosts, and all the negativity from the previous year. it’s the time to welcome prosperity and success for the upcoming year. It is considered a time of restfulness, a moment to cast away worries, a night of tranquility and sanctity.
On New Year’s Eve at exactly midnight, the head of the household will offer two trays of offerings, one placed on the ancestral altar, and the other placed on a small table in front of the house’s courtyard.
Afterward, family members stand solemnly before the ancestral altar to express gratitude and offer prayers for a new year filled with blessings.
What do Vietnamese people do in the first 3 days of the new year?
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The Vietnamese tradition is to visit the paternal side on the first day, the maternal side on the second day, and teachers on the third day.
On the first day
In the morning of the first day of the year, Vietnamese people visit the graves of their ancestors to express respect and honor their origins. Then, they spend this day visiting their paternal relatives.
On the second day
On this day, Vietnamese people typically visit relatives and extended family members from their mother’s side.
On the third day
According to custom, this day is when students visit their teachers to show appreciation for their guidance and teaching.
First footing (Xông đất)
The tradition of ‘xông đất’ has long been practiced in Vietnam. Vietnamese people believe that the first visitor to their home on the first day of the new year (xông đất) is very important because they may bring luck and prosperity to the household for that year. Therefore, in the days leading up to the new year, homeowners ask cheerful and successful friends or neighbors to be the first to step into their home on the first day of the new year.
Lucky money (Lì xì)
According to custom, after children offer Tet greetings to family members, grandparents or parents will give them red envelopes containing some money along with wishes for a healthy and prosperous new year. Vietnamese people call this “lì xì” (lucky money).
The things Vietnamese people avoid on Tet
Don’t sweep the house or take out the trash on the first day of the new year.
According to Vietnamese tradition, sweeping the house and throwing out the trash on the first day of the new year means getting rid of luck and wealth. So, Vietnamese people don’t sweep or throw out trash on this day.
Do not ask to borrow a lighter
Fire, according to Vietnamese belief, symbolizes luck. Giving fire at the beginning of the new year means giving away one’s own and family’s luck. Therefore, on the first day of the new year, Vietnamese people avoid asking to borrow a lighter.
Avoid breaking household items
Vietnamese people believe that breaking dishes, cups, or mirrors on New Year’s Day indicates division and bad relationships in the coming year.
The traditional foods of Vietnamese people during the Tet holiday.
Bánh chưng (Chung cake)
Chung cake is a time-honored traditional cake in Vietnam, crafted from ingredients like glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and dong leaves (or banana leaves). The cake is created by combining these ingredients, wrapping them in a square shape with dong leaves, and then boiling them for approximately half a day.
Boiled chicken
The chicken is one of the animals deeply connected with Vietnamese people throughout history. In rural Vietnam, nearly every household raises chickens. Traditionally, the crowing of roosters at dawn signaled the start of a new day and called people to work in the fields. Chickens also provide both meat and eggs for families.
During the Tet holiday, a boiled chicken is a must-have dish on the table, symbolizing a fresh start, good fortune, and hopes for a prosperous year ahead.
Nem rán (fried spring roll)
Nem rán (fried spring rolls), also known as chả giò in some regions, are an indispensable dish during Tet for Vietnamese people. This dish is made by wrapping the filling in rice paper wrappers, then frying them. The filling usually includes ground pork, vegetables, glass noodles, and mushrooms.
In Vietnam, it’s common to see women in the family gathering together to roll spring rolls on Tet days. Therefore, spring rolls also symbolize “harmony and love,” bringing family members closer.
Chả lụa
Chả lụa, also known as Vietnamese pork roll, is made from two basic ingredients: lean pork (the pork has to be pounded into a paste) mixed with fish sauce, wrapped in banana leaves, and then boiled.
In the past, chả lụa was considered a delicacy, symbolizing luxury, and was only offered to kings and nobles on significant occasions. Today, chả lụa is a Tet holiday dish symbolizing wishes for prosperity and peace.
Xôi gấc (red sticky rice)
In Vietnamese belief, red is the color of luck and happiness. That’s why during Tet, there must be a plate of red sticky rice. Red sticky rice is made from glutinous rice mixed with fresh Gac fruit and then steamed. Once cooked, the sticky rice turns a beautiful, enticing shade of red.
“Gac,” a fruit from Asia, is also called “baby jackfruit”, or “sweet gourd” in English. When it’s ripe, it turns deep orange, has a prickly outside, and contains bright red flesh and seeds inside. In Vietnam, it’s been used in food and medicine for a long time.
The five-fruit tray
On Tet, each Vietnamese family offers a five-fruit tray on the ancestral altar. The fruits may vary in different regions of Vietnam, but all trays must consist of types of Vietnamese fruits with harmonious colors, symbolizing wishes for a prosperous and peaceful new year.
Although it is called a five-fruit tray, it does not necessarily contain exactly 5 kinds of fruit.
The types of fruits in the five-fruit tray in Northern Vietnam
For those in the North, a stunning five-fruit tray should comprise various fruits: a hand of green bananas, a ripe pomelo (or Buddha’s hand), persimmons, a bunch of kumquats, and a pineapple. These fruits should exhibit vibrant yet harmonious colors, adhering to the Five Elements theory.
A hand of green bananas symbolizes unity and harmony. A ripe pomelo, with its golden color, represents wealth and luck. Alternatively, a Buddha’s hand can replace the pomelo.
A bunch of kumquats adorns the tray with their bright red and yellow hues, symbolizing luck and success. Pineapples, known for their fragrant aroma, signify wishes for a peaceful and prosperous new year.
The types of fruits in the five-fruit tray in Southern Vietnam
In the South, sugar-apples, coconuts, papayas, mangos, and figs are favored for the five-fruit tray, as they phonetically resemble the phrase “wishing for enough fortune” in Vietnamese.
Summary
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