The festival which best epitomises Vietnam's cultural identity is theLunar New Year or Tet, with a lot of meaningful customs and traditionalspecial foods. Report by The Hanoitimes.
“Tet” is the phoneticdeformation of "Tiet", a Sino-Vietnamese term which means "Joint of abamboo stern" and in a wider sense, the "beginning of a period of theyear". The passage from one period to the next may cause ameteorological disturbance (heat, rain, mist) that must be exercised byritual sacrifices and festivities. There are many Tets throughout theyear (Mid-Autumn Vietnamese New Year, Cold Food Vietnamese New Year,etc.). But the most significant of all is "Vietnamese New Year", whichmarks the Lunar New Year.
For the Vietnamese people, the LunarNew Year is like a combination of Western Saint Sylvester, New Year'sDay, Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. It is the festival of purityand renewal.
1. Cleaning and decorating the home
Homes are often cleaned and decorated before New Year's Eve. Childrenare in charge of sweeping and scrubbing the floor. The kitchen needs tobe cleaned before the 23rd night of the last month. Usually, the head ofthe household cleans the dust and ashes (from incense) from theancestral altars. It is a common belief that cleaning the house will getrid of the bad fortunes associated with the old year. Some people wouldpaint their house and decorate with festive items.
2. Getting new clothes
This is often the most exciting part of the Lunar New Year amongchildren. Parents usually purchase new clothes and shoes for theirchildren a month prior to the festival. However, children cannot weartheir new clothes until the first day of the Tet and onward. The bestoutfit is always worn on the first day of the year.
3. Farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods (Ong Tao)
Seven days (the 23rd night of the last lunar month) prior to Tet, eachVietnamese family offers a farewell ceremony for Ong Tao to go up toHeaven Palace. His task is to make an annual report to the Jade Emperoron the family's affairs throughout the year.
4. Giao Thua (Lunar New Year's Eve)
However, in a literal translation, it means "Passage from the Old tothe New Year". It is a common belief among Vietnamese people that thereare 12 sacred animals from the zodiac taking turn monitoring andcontrolling the affairs of the earth. Thus, Giao Thua (New Year's Eve)is the moment of seeing the old chief end his ruling term and pass hispower to the new chief. Giao Thua is also the time for Ong Tao (KitchenGod) to return to the earth after making the report to the Jade Emperor.Every single family should offer an open-air ceremony to welcome himback to their kitchen.
5. Xong Dat (Aura of the Earth)
“Giao Thua” is the most sacred time of the year. Therefore, the firsthouseguest to offer the first greetings is very important. If thatparticular guest has a good aura (well respected, well educated,successful, famous, etc.), then the family believes that they willreceive luck and good fortune throughout the year. The belief of “XongDat” still remains nowadays, especially among families with businesses.
6. Hoa Mai and Hoa Dao (apricot and peach flowers)
Flower buds and blossoms are the symbols for new beginning. These twodistinctive flowers are widely sold and purchased during Tet. Hoa Maiare the yellow apricot flowers often seen in the southern. Hoa Mai aremore adaptable to the hot weather of southern regions, thus, it is knownas the primary flower in every home. Hoa Dao are the warm pink of thepeach blossoms that match well with the dry, cold weather in the north.Tet is not Tet if there is no sight of Hoa Mai (south) or Hoa Dao(north) in every home.
7. Giving away lucky money in red envilopes
This is a cultural practice that has been maintained for generations.The red envelopes symbolise luck and wealth. It is very common to seeolder people giving away red envelopes with lucky money inside toyounger people. The older ones would return good advice and words ofwisdom, encouraging the younger ones to keep up with the schoolwork,live harmoniously with others, and obey their parents. This greetingritual is known as “Mung Tuoi”, honoring the achievement of another yearto one's life.
8. Making offerings for the ancestors
This ceremony is held on the first day of the New Year beforenoontime. The head of the household should perform the proper ritual(offering food, wine, cakes, fruits, and burn incense) to invite thesouls of the ancestors to join the celebration with the family. This isthe time families honor the souls of their ancestors and present thewelfare of the family.
9. Traditional special foods
One of the most traditional special foods for Tet is Banh Chung orsticky rice cake. Banh Chung is made of sticky rice, pork and greenbean, wrapper inside a special leaf called Dong and boiled for about 12hours. Making the Banh Chung requires care and precision in every step.The rice and green bean has to be soaked in water for a day to make itstickier. The pork is usually seasoned with pepper for several hours.Squaring off and tying the cakes with bamboo strings require skillfulhands to make it a perfect square. Banh Chung is a must among otherfoods to be placed on the ancestors’ altars during Tet holiday.-VNA
“Tet” is the phoneticdeformation of "Tiet", a Sino-Vietnamese term which means "Joint of abamboo stern" and in a wider sense, the "beginning of a period of theyear". The passage from one period to the next may cause ameteorological disturbance (heat, rain, mist) that must be exercised byritual sacrifices and festivities. There are many Tets throughout theyear (Mid-Autumn Vietnamese New Year, Cold Food Vietnamese New Year,etc.). But the most significant of all is "Vietnamese New Year", whichmarks the Lunar New Year.
For the Vietnamese people, the LunarNew Year is like a combination of Western Saint Sylvester, New Year'sDay, Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. It is the festival of purityand renewal.
1. Cleaning and decorating the home
Homes are often cleaned and decorated before New Year's Eve. Childrenare in charge of sweeping and scrubbing the floor. The kitchen needs tobe cleaned before the 23rd night of the last month. Usually, the head ofthe household cleans the dust and ashes (from incense) from theancestral altars. It is a common belief that cleaning the house will getrid of the bad fortunes associated with the old year. Some people wouldpaint their house and decorate with festive items.
2. Getting new clothes
This is often the most exciting part of the Lunar New Year amongchildren. Parents usually purchase new clothes and shoes for theirchildren a month prior to the festival. However, children cannot weartheir new clothes until the first day of the Tet and onward. The bestoutfit is always worn on the first day of the year.
3. Farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods (Ong Tao)
Seven days (the 23rd night of the last lunar month) prior to Tet, eachVietnamese family offers a farewell ceremony for Ong Tao to go up toHeaven Palace. His task is to make an annual report to the Jade Emperoron the family's affairs throughout the year.
4. Giao Thua (Lunar New Year's Eve)
However, in a literal translation, it means "Passage from the Old tothe New Year". It is a common belief among Vietnamese people that thereare 12 sacred animals from the zodiac taking turn monitoring andcontrolling the affairs of the earth. Thus, Giao Thua (New Year's Eve)is the moment of seeing the old chief end his ruling term and pass hispower to the new chief. Giao Thua is also the time for Ong Tao (KitchenGod) to return to the earth after making the report to the Jade Emperor.Every single family should offer an open-air ceremony to welcome himback to their kitchen.
5. Xong Dat (Aura of the Earth)
“Giao Thua” is the most sacred time of the year. Therefore, the firsthouseguest to offer the first greetings is very important. If thatparticular guest has a good aura (well respected, well educated,successful, famous, etc.), then the family believes that they willreceive luck and good fortune throughout the year. The belief of “XongDat” still remains nowadays, especially among families with businesses.
6. Hoa Mai and Hoa Dao (apricot and peach flowers)
Flower buds and blossoms are the symbols for new beginning. These twodistinctive flowers are widely sold and purchased during Tet. Hoa Maiare the yellow apricot flowers often seen in the southern. Hoa Mai aremore adaptable to the hot weather of southern regions, thus, it is knownas the primary flower in every home. Hoa Dao are the warm pink of thepeach blossoms that match well with the dry, cold weather in the north.Tet is not Tet if there is no sight of Hoa Mai (south) or Hoa Dao(north) in every home.
7. Giving away lucky money in red envilopes
This is a cultural practice that has been maintained for generations.The red envelopes symbolise luck and wealth. It is very common to seeolder people giving away red envelopes with lucky money inside toyounger people. The older ones would return good advice and words ofwisdom, encouraging the younger ones to keep up with the schoolwork,live harmoniously with others, and obey their parents. This greetingritual is known as “Mung Tuoi”, honoring the achievement of another yearto one's life.
8. Making offerings for the ancestors
This ceremony is held on the first day of the New Year beforenoontime. The head of the household should perform the proper ritual(offering food, wine, cakes, fruits, and burn incense) to invite thesouls of the ancestors to join the celebration with the family. This isthe time families honor the souls of their ancestors and present thewelfare of the family.
9. Traditional special foods
One of the most traditional special foods for Tet is Banh Chung orsticky rice cake. Banh Chung is made of sticky rice, pork and greenbean, wrapper inside a special leaf called Dong and boiled for about 12hours. Making the Banh Chung requires care and precision in every step.The rice and green bean has to be soaked in water for a day to make itstickier. The pork is usually seasoned with pepper for several hours.Squaring off and tying the cakes with bamboo strings require skillfulhands to make it a perfect square. Banh Chung is a must among otherfoods to be placed on the ancestors’ altars during Tet holiday.-VNA
