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How to experience Vietnamese New Year like locals

23/12/2019 832 3.89/5 trong 9 rates

How to experience Vietnamese New Year like locals

The Vietnamese New Year, Tet Nguyen Dan, follows the same lunar calendar that governs Chinese New Year celebrations worldwide. So on the same day, the world celebrates Chinese New Year, the people of Vietnam celebrate Tet.

The Vietnamese consider Tet to be the most important one in their considerable festival lineup. Family members gather in their hometowns, traveling from across the country (or the world) to spend the Tet holidays in each other's company.

Tet Nguyen Dan translates literally to "the first morning of the first day of the new year". Long before Tet, Vietnamese try to get rid of any "bad fortune" by cleaning their homes, buying new clothes, resolving disputes, and paying their debts. Vietnamese spend Tet engrossed in the following activities.

Paying their respects
Like the Chinese, the Vietnamese believe that Tet marks the time when the Kitchen God reports on their family to the Jade Emperor. Family members attempt to propitiate the Kitchen God by burning gold leaf paper and offering carp (live, placed in a bucket of water upon the family altar) for him to ride.

Vietnamese also pay tribute to their ancestors throughout Tet. Each mid-day, for the duration of the New Year week, offerings are placed on the household altar and incense is burned in memory of the departed.
Visiting Buddhist pagodas
In Vietnamese traditions, the Tet holiday is a busy time for Buddhists. As a part of their spiritual life, many Vietnamese people believe that Lunar New Year is the most sacred time to pay respects to their ancestors and deities.

At the beginning of the holiday, many worshippers visit Buddhist pagodas to offer incense and pray for blessing, health, happiness, wellness, and fortune in the upcoming year.
Visiting family and friends
On Tet, families lay out a splendid feast to welcome visiting relatives and friends. Family members and friends also exchange gifts during the visit. After the guests have been feted, the family goes off to their respective places of worship (Christian or Buddhist) to pray for the year to come, or join in the many public parades celebrating the festival.

The first few days of Tet are meant to be spent visiting friends and relatives. The first day is spent calling upon close friends and one's parents. The next day, Vietnamese call on their in-laws and other friends. And on the third day, people call upon their distant relations.
Courting Lady Luck
On the stroke of midnight, as the old year turns into the new, Vietnamese usher out the old year and welcome the new Kitchen God, beating drums and lighting firecrackers. The Vietnamese believe that one's luck in the entire year can be determined by auspicious (and not-so-auspicious) events during Tet. Thus Vietnamese will try to even the odds.

Barking dogs inspire confidence in the New Year, so dogs are encouraged to bark. Hooting owls are regarded as an unlucky omen. The wealth of the first person through the door on New Year reflects the family's luck for the year to come, so the rich and popular are invited to one's home.
Travelling
Photo PhuQuocXinh.com

Tet is a great time to see Vietnam at its most colorful, especially in the cities of Hue, Ha Noi, and Ho Chi Minh City.

However, reservations are bound to be filled up long before the actual holiday, and transportation before and after Tet is bound to be sketchy at best (everybody wants to be home for Tet!). Also, many tourist spots are closed for several days between Tet. Do visit if you intend to stay in one place for the duration of Tet, and can commit to letting the Tet travel rush die down.

Source Internet

Travel Asia Vietnamese New Year Tet Vietnam

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QuynhNhu

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