Tet Festival

The Tet festival is the most important festival of the Vietnamese calendar and it marks the beginning of the lunar new year. The celebration can last over the course of a few days and the preparation for the festivities usually begin a week before the new year. When it comes to celebrating the holiday, there are a few differences between the city and at home.

Within major cities, the Vietnamese celebrate very similarly to how Westerners do. People would attend dance clubs and bars, also plenty of eating and drinking throughout the night. But one thing about the fireworks is that they're supposed to be used to scare away evil spirits.

In a traditional home, there are a few things that families do in order to make sure that they'll ring in a lucky new year. One thing that they would do is to conduct a ritual called Le Tru Tich at midnight on New Year's Eve. The ritual involves gongs, firecrackers, and other noisy items to chase off the old year. Food and gifts are also exchanged between family and friends. Some other things like cleaning and decorating the house with red banners gives hope to families that they will be happy and prosperous.

Since the lunar new year is an important time to spend with familes, traveling to Vietnam during that time is just as hectic as Christmas. They also believe that whatever a person does on New Year's Day dictates the course of that person's life for the rest of the year. But wherever you are, Tet Festival is a celebration to bring joy to a brand new year.

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