Tết: Celebrating the New Year

Tết takes place sometime between the end of January and the middle of February and usually lasts for half the month. It is the most important holiday of the year and a time for all Vietnamese people to return to their home villages to share peace and love with one another.

Tết preparations begin weeks before the holiday arrives. Houses are cleaned and painted, new clothes are purchased, debts are paid, disputes are settled, and food is prepared. Shoppers crowd the streets and purchase food, merchandise, flowers, and small fruit trees. Flowers are believed to make homes more welcoming to good spirits, and fruit trees symbolize fruitfulness in the coming year.

The Vietnamese people are superstitious and are concerned about keeping evil spirits away during Tết. They believe that the three Kitchen Gods, the good spirits that protect their households from evil, return to heaven several days before Tết to report to the Jade Emperor on the family’s activities from the prior year. Ceremonies are held on the 23rd day of the 12th month to say goodbye to the gods. They will return again at Tết.

Cay Neu poles are placed in front of homes to provide protection from evil spirits while the Kitchen Gods are away. These bamboo poles have been stripped of most of their leaves, and their tops are wrapped with red paper — red symbolizes good luck and happiness, and is believed to scare away evil spirits. Poles are decorated with objects that are intended to attract good spirits, and the poles are removed when Tết is over.

On the day before Tết, stores are closed, streets are empty, and families are gathered in their homes. At midnight, firecrackers are set off and drums and gongs are sounded at local temples to mark the beginning of the holiday and to welcome back the Kitchen Gods.

Food is an important part of the holiday, and families celebrate with special meals that include banh chung — rice cooked in sweet coconut milk, filled with pork and beans, and boiled in a banana leaf. Legend says that banh chung was created thousands of years ago by the daughter of King Hung. Because she could not afford a gift to honor her father during the New Year celebration, she created the special food for him instead. Today, eating banh chung is a way for the Vietnamese people to express gratitude to their ancestors. Other holiday foods include dried fruit and vegetable candies, sweetened lotus seeds, and pickled pork snacks.

During Tết, children receive “lucky money” in red envelopes in hopes of bringing them good fortune. Some Vietnamese people do not acknowledge individual birthdays and consider everyone to be a year older on the first morning of Tết.

It is believed that whatever happens during Tết affects the person’s luck for the entire year ahead. The first visitor to a home during the New Year can bring good or bad luck to a family.

There are many other superstitions associated with the holiday. For example, homes should not be cleaned during Tết because the good luck could be swept out. Bad luck can also be avoided by not working, fighting, arguing, talking negatively about people, lending anything, breaking anything, or digging in the ground.

Everyone is on his or her best behavior during Tết, and the brightly decorated streets are a place for celebration. There are many festive parades that include dragon dances — acrobatic dances performed by dragon-costumed dancers on the third day of the new year. In Vietnam, dragons symbolize blessings and prosperity, and the dragon dance is considered to be lucky.

At the end of Tết, the Vietnamese people hope that the New Year will bring them good luck. Thoughts of Tết will never be far from their minds, and they will anxiously await next year’s celebration.