VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR (TET NGUYEN DAN), TET FIESTA
Tet is a special time and also the biggest celebration in a year of Vietnamese people.
Offroad Vietnam Motorcycle Travel tours all year round in Vietnam. Please click Late Availabilities for more details. We invite all riders to join motorcycle and motorbike tours during Tet. This period is quite busy, early bookings are recommended. It will be a trip that you remember for a long time. Come and celebrate it with local people and see a REAL VIETNAM!
Note
Tet is the best celebration of the year in Vietnam. However, we try to not organize motorbike rides during this period (5 days on either side of the Tet) due to the following reasons.
– We feel to be ripped off because services cost more while the quality is lower. Everyone wants holidays and relaxes so this is easy to be justified.
– Food can be frozen, not fresh. Accommodation can be quite basic. The best places are homestays.
– Many drunk people on the road and on average 30+ die every day (normally around 26/day). This is the scariest time to ride in Vietnam!
Tet Dates
– 2031: Thursday, January 23rd (Pig). End of a 12-year cycle
– 2030: Saturday, February 2nd (Dog)
– 2029: Tuesday, February 13th (Rooster)
– 2028: Wednesday, January 26th (Monkey)
– 2027: Saturday, February 6th (Goat)
– 2026: Tuesday, February 17th (Horse)
– 2025: Wednesday, January 29th (Snake)
– 2024: Saturday, February 10th (Dragon)
– 2023: Sunday, January 22nd (Cat/Rabbit)
– 2022: Tuesday, February 1st (Tiger)
– 2021: Friday, February 12th (Buffalo)
– 2020: Saturday, January 25th (Rat). Start of a 12-year cycle
– 2019: Tuesday, February 5th (Pig). End of a new 12-year cycle
– 2018: Friday, February 16th (Dog)
– 2017: Saturday, January 28th (Rooster)
– 2016: Monday, February 8th (Monkey)
– 2015: Thursday, February 19th (Goat)
– 2014: Friday, January 31st (Horse)
– 2013: Sunday, February 10th (Snake)
– 2012: Monday, January 23rd (Dragon)
– 2011: Thursday, February 3rd (Cat/Rabbit)
– 2010: Sunday, February 14th (Tiger)
– 2009: Monday, January 26th (Buffalo)
– 2008: Thursday, February 7th (Rat). Start of a 12-year cycle
– 2007: Saturday, February 17th (Pig). When we started our business
Booking code: OV38
Time
The last day (29th or 30th) of the twelfth lunar month of the previous year to the 3rd day of the first lunar month of the New Year.
Place
Nationwide.
Objects of worship
Grandparents and ancestors, gods and saints.
Participator
The biggest national festival that Vietnamese people throughout the country celebrate.
Characteristics
– Nice clothes, or traditional costumes.
– Ritual of ancestral worshipping and a rite to see Tao Quan (Kitchen God) off.
– Best wishes for a prosperous New Year and family gathering.
Tet vs Chinese New Year
Vietnam is a country in the Eastern Hemisphere that was influenced by China for many years. Therefore, the Chinese New Year and Tet, the Vietnamese New Year have many similarities. Tet is the abbreviation of Tet Nguyen Dan which means the first morning of the first day of the new period. Tet marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar and the beginning of Spring. Vietnamese are constantly aware of the phases of the moon. All events are planned by the lunar calendar. The New Year begins on the first night of the first moon after the sun enters Aquarius. This is sometime between January 21st and February 19th on the solar calendar.
Duration
On the 23rd day of the twelfth month by the lunar calendar, there is a rite to see Tao Quan (Kitchen God) off. The rite to say goodbye to the old year is held on the 30th or 29th day (if that month has only 29 days) of the twelfth month by the lunar calendar. And the rite to welcome the New Year is held at midnight that day. Finally, the rite to see off ancestral souls to return to the other world is often held on the 3rd day of the first month by lunar calendar when the Tet holidays finish and everybody goes back to work.
Tet is a huge celebration lasting three days. Families save money, store food, and plan far in advance for Tet, a major holiday in Vietnam. The Vietnamese take extreme care to start the New Year outright. They buy new clothes, paint and clean their homes, cook three days worth of food, pay off all debts and make amends to rid themselves of all bad feelings. Cleaning is frowned on during Tet because one would not want to sweep out any good luck. Digging and drawing water is also not allowed so the ground and water can enjoy the holiday.
Before Tet
The marketplace is very busy the week before Tet, as people buy food, trinkets, firecrackers (now banned by the government), flowers, and other items in anticipation of the holiday. At four o’clock in the afternoon on Tet Eve, all the markets close down so the people can go home and prepare for midnight when Tet begins. Before 1995 firecrackers would explode scaring off all evil spirits and welcome the New Year. In 1995, because of the huge waste of money and the injury rate, (71 people killed in 1994), the government banned the use of firecrackers resulting in a very quiet Tet.
Tet Celebration
The atmosphere is very festive. Incense is burned in the homes. The colour Red, symbolizing good luck and happiness is seen everywhere. Games of gambling are in the streets, homes and in cars. If a gambler wins then he is said to have good luck gambling in the new year. If a gambler loses, he is said to have good luck in other affairs (love). There are dragon dances at night. Food is plentiful, homes are decorated, parks are full of crowds of people dressed in their best new clothes, and for three days the people have an ultimate celebration.
Reunion during Tet
Tet is a time for visits from family and friends. The first visitor to a home is very important. If the first visitor is rich, prestigious, or happy then the family will have the good fortune that year. Usually, this visitor is a relative, but sometimes the family will invite a special guest that they feel will bring them good luck.
First of lunar January
The first day of Tet is reserved for visiting family and relatives. The second day is set aside for special guests and close friends to visit, and the third day is for teachers and business associates to make a visit. Negative talk and arguments are taboo. Visitors end their visit with a farewell wish for the family such as, “I wish that money will flow into your house like water, and out like a turtle.” or “I wish that money will flow into your house like the water of the Red River, and out like coffee drops.”
Worshipping
The Vietnamese believe that their deceased ancestors will visit the family for the holiday. Altars are decorated in the homes with incense, flowers, and photographs of deceased relatives. A tray full of fruit, coins, and a tall vase of blossoms is placed in front of the altar symbolizing good luck and prosperity. The third day is also a day to visit the graves of deceased relatives. The graves are decorated with incense, flowers, and candles. Many Buddhists go to their favourite Pagoda to pray for a good year. The Catholics go to a pre-midnight mass.
Lucky money
Not only is Tet the beginning of a New Year, but it is also everyone’s birthday. The Vietnamese do not know or acknowledge the exact day they were born. A baby turns one on Tet no matter when he/she was born that year. Children say they were born in the year of the symbol of the lunar calendar for that year. On the first morning of Tet, adults congratulate children on becoming a year older by presenting them with red envelopes that contain “Lucky Money,” or li xi. These envelopes are given to the children by parents, siblings, relatives, close friends and visitors.
Fruits and flower
Families choose a Tet tree, or tac, which is a cone-shaped fruit tree with miniature oranges just ripening. The more fruit on the tree, the luckier the family. Greeting cards and good luck symbols are hung from the Tet trees. Each family also has a branch of the Mai or peach tree in their homes, a symbol of spring, which bears lucky little yellow or red flowers.
Food
Food plays a major role in the Tet celebration. Tet is a time of excess, one does not enjoy Tet, one “eats” Tet. On the first day, a feast of boiled male virgin chicken, sticky rice, a special soup made with clear vermicelli and bamboo shoots, boiled pork, and 3 or 5 duck eggs is offered to ancestors who have returned to their homes. Sticky rice and salt are also offered in the streets to any hungry ghosts who might be wandering in the neighbourhood. Traditional food is Earth cake, a square cake made with rice beans and pork. When a watermelon is cut they believe that the redder the watermelon the more luck for the family. Several different desserts and dishes are made with coconut. On the third day, another feast of virgin chicken is served to say farewell to ancestors returning to their ethereal abodes.
Do you want to take part in this biggest celebration of the year? Just contact us at [email protected] in case you want more details and options for a motorbike tour during Tet Nguyen Dan, Tet Ta, Tet Am Lich.
More Special Event Tours
– Khau Vai love market
– Hung king temple festival
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