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Clean and decorate the home

Homes are often cleaned and decorated before New Year's Eve. Children are in charge of sweeping and scrubbing the floor. The kitchen needs to be cleaned before the 23rd night of the last month. Usually, the head of the household cleans the dust and ashes (from incense) from the ancestral altars. It is a common belief that cleaning the house will get rid of the bad fortunes associated with the old year. Some people would paint their house and decorate with festive items.

Literally means "getting new clothes"

This is often the most exciting part of the Vietnamese New Year among children. Parents usually purchase new clothes and shoes for their children a month prior to the New Year. However, children cannot wear their new clothes until the first day of the New Year and onward. The best outfit is always worn on the first day of the year.

Farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods (Ong Tao)

Seven days (the 23rd night of the last lunar month) prior to Tet, each Vietnamese family offers a farewell ceremony for Ong Tao to go up to Heaven Palace. His task is to make an annual report to the Jade Emperor of the family's affairs throughout the year.

New Year's Eve

However, in a literal translation, it means "Passage from the Old to the New Year". It is a common belief among Vietnamese people that there are 12 Sacred Animals from the Zodiac taking turn monitoring and controlling the affairs of the earth. Thus, Giao Thua (New Year's Eve)is the moment of seeing the old chief (Dragon for 2000) end his ruling term and pass his power to the new chief (Snake for 2001). Giao Thua is also the time for Ong Tao (Kitchen God) to return to earth after making the report to the Jade Emperor. Every single family should offer an open-air ceremony to welcome him back to their kitchen.

The Aura of the Earth

Giao Thua is the most sacred time of the year. Therefore, the first houseguest to offer the first greeting is very important. If that particular guest has a good aura (well respected, well educated, successful, famous, etc.), then the family believes that they will receive luck and good fortune throughout the year. The belief of xong dat still remains nowadays, especially among families with businesses.

Apricot flowers and peach flowers

Flower buds and blossoms are the symbols for new beginning. These two distinctive flowers are widely sold and purchased during Tet. Hoa Mai are the yellow apricot flowers often seen in Southern Viet Nam. Hoa Mai are more adaptable to the hot weather of southern regions, thus, it is known as the primary flower in every home. Hoa Dao are the warm pink of the peach blossoms that match well with the dry, cold weather from the North. Tet is not Tet if there is no sight of Hoa Mai (south) or Hoa Dao (north) in every home.

Giving away red envelopes (filled with lucky money)

This is a cultural practice that has been maintained for generations. The red envelopes symbolize luck and wealth. It is very common to see older people giving away sealed red envelopes to younger people. Before the younger ones could receive the envelopes, they have to perform a certain greeting. Here is a sample of a greeting I might have to say to the Professor:

Thua thay, nam moi, con xin kinh chuc thay duoc doi giau suc khoe va gia dinh an khang thinh vuong! (Dear teacher, this New Year, I am respectfully wishing for you to have an abundance of strength and physical wellness, and your family to live in peace and prosperity).

Reciprocally, the older ones would return good advice and words of wisdom, encouraging the younger ones to keep up with the schoolwork, live harmoniously with others, and obey their parents.

This greeting ritual and Li Xi is also known as Mung Tuoi, honoring the achievement of another year to one's life.

Making offers for the Ancestors

This ceremony is held on the first day of the New Year before noontime. The head of the household should perform the proper ritual (offering food, wine, cakes, fruits, and burn incense) to invite the souls of the ancestors to join the celebration with the family. This is the time families honor the souls of their ancestors and present the welfare of the family.

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It is a short version of Tet Nguyen Dan, or literally, the first morning of the first day of a first lunar cycle. Vietnamese New Year is the most celebrated holiday in Vietnam and the preparations are meticulous and require a lot of time in advance.

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Rule number 1: Don't show up at somebody's house on the 1st day of the new year unless you have been invited by the house owner first, and especially if you are not lucky enough to possess a name associated with wealth, happiness, prosperity or longevity.
Well, still plenty of time to get your name changed! And be careful not to visit anyone's house for the first three days if you have funerals in your immediate family in the last 3 years.

Rule number 2: No black and white, or dark clothes- they are for funerals, not New Year holidays. Wear red -hopefully bulls will pardon you during these days.

Rule number 3: Don't swear, curse or argue. Avoid negative topics such as accidents, deaths, or funerals. Put on a smile for at least the first 3 days of the year, even if somebody slaps you in the face, and on the safe side, do as the Brits do - talk about the weather! Oops, but maybe not the black holes or floods!

Rule number 4: For those who enjoy giving presents, make sure you avoid the followings: clock or watch (the recipient's time is going to pass), cats (mèo in Vietnamese language pronounced like nghèo, poverty - even though this year is the year of the cat), medicine (the receiver will get ill), writing ink (ink is black, an unlucky color), scissors or knives (they bring incompatibility).

So if you are thinking of giving your girlfriend a Rolex, it is high time you changed your mind!

Rule number 5: Don't sweep the house or empty out the rubbish to avoid luck and benefits going with it, especially on the first day of the New Year. So be prepared to live with dust and dirt!

Rule number 6: Don't ask someone to repay you a debt or loan (but wait until the next 2-3 weeks!) People believe that if they have to repay or borrow money at the beginning of the year, they will have to borrow and repay money for the rest of the year. Best time of the year to dodge your debts, eh?

Rule number 7: If you have been proud of your ability to devour any kind of food, stop yourself from eating squids (its ink is black, not the favorite color, remember?), duck meat (duck is stupid), or shrimps (you will move backwards like them!).

So if you are seeking promotion, probably best not to eat shrimps for the whole year - not so sure about lobsters though!

Rule number 8: Don't take things that are related to water or fire out of somebody's house: Fire is considered to be the source of the warmth of the family, whereas water appears in the popular wish "Tien vo nhu nuoc" ("Money rushes in like water).

So, taking water out of somebody's house is equivalent to taking away their wealth. A relaxing time for firefighters!

Rule number 9: the fifth day of the New Year is considered to be anniversary of the death, not good for departures. A good excuse for not having to start work that early, and if your boss is a western, he needs education!

Rule number 10: And last but not least, don't kill, or hurt! If you feel like eating chicken, buy it ready prepared - the guilt is with the slaughter house owners and we remain always innocent and pure!

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Top 10 taboos during Vietnamese Tet - News VietNamNet

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Rule number 1: Don't show up at somebody's house on the 1st day of the new year unless you have been invited by the house owner first, and especially if you are not lucky enough to possess a name associated with wealth, happiness, prosperity or longevity.Well, still plenty of time to get your name changed!

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In Vietnam, there could be no other occasions more special than Tet for all members in a family to unite and enjoy a wide range of hilarious activities during the holiday. Below are the top five most preferable Tet's activities Vietnamese people often do with family.

1. Watching firework on the New Year's Eve moment

Firework shooting to announce the arriving of a New Year is a yearly event expected by any Vietnamese on the night. The show of light is organized in big cities of Vietnam like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue or Da Nang, on the sky of the the best tourist attractions of the cities in order to provide best view and serve the largest number of viewers.

The sparkling art show on the sky in combination with the booming echoes of every shots seem to make people's hearts pumping faster and becoming more exciting to welcome the New Year. What would be cozier than members in a family hand in hand enjoying the night under the hilarious atmosphere?

2. Family parties

Parties with full of delicious traditional dishes is the main theme for the whole holiday of Tet. From the last day of the year, family's members all unite to enjoy "Tất Niên" Meal (the last meal of a Lunar New Year) to share all the sadness and happiness and experiences gained through the year. Not only that, the parties are also time to review family's tradition, show respect to elders and strengthen relationships between members.

During Tet, family parties can start from nowhere and there is not any exact time table for them besides the three main meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. A party may begin when some relatives or friends come to visit the host's home at any time since foods and drink are stored at their fullest level during Tet.

3. New Year's greetings

From the first day of the year, people start going around and greet their relatives and friends with the best wishes. This custom seems to be more common in villages than in big city because villagers live much more close than people in cities; also, they are often relatives of each other living in the same village. The order of people to be greeted is usually relatives first and then friends and colleague.

Elders' house would be the first destinations in which parents' house is the very first one. This custom is not simple exchanging wishes between guests and hosts, it is the chance for brothers and sisters and friends to meet each other after a long separated year.

4. Lucky money for children and elders

This tradition is undoubtedly the most awaited Tet's activity of all Vietnamese children. The custom is not a meaningless one since it does not only make children feel happier on Tet, it also educates them the value of money and how to save money for good purpose. Like its very definition, lucky money bring luck to children such as healthiness, intelligence and obedient and luck to the givers as well.

Read more about Lucky Money for Tet

5. Visiting pagoda

The lofty tradition reflexes religious belief of Vietnamese people has been preserved and developed for thousands years. People coming to pagodas and temple to pray for a happy new year with full of wishes may come true and showing respect and appreciation to Buddha and Gods who have been protecting and granting their wishes. Visiting pagodas could also a good way to enjoy Tet's atmosphere and forget about all the stress and worry of the previous year in the sacred space there. Vietnamese families usually visit pagodas and temples with all of their members as well as going in grand family as a way to show sincerity.

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5 most common family activities during Vietnamese Tet

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In Vietnam, there could be no other occasions more special than Tet for all members in a family to unite and enjoy a wide range of hilarious activities during the holiday. Below are the top five most preferable Tet's activities Vietnamese people often do with family.

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Vietnamese people have a very good habit of saving, which are reflected by the regular meals - rice with a main dishes (meat or fish/shrimp), a vegetable food and a bowl of soup.

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Tet is all about starting out the new year correctly. That means cleaning and decorating your house, paying off your debts, paying respects to your family and friends and most importantly - eating well. In Vietnamese, you can say "an Tet" to literally denote eating Tet. Tet Nguyen Dan (translated as the "festival (or feast) of the first day") is the central holiday in Viet traditions. It's the only time during the year when the entire country is relaxing and resting. While many ideas are borrowed from the Chinese (e.g., firecrackers, lion dances, red money envelopes), the food part is pure Viet!

What's eaten differs from region to region in Vietnam because of differences in weather (thus limiting the ingredients on hand) and taste preferences. My parents are northerners but us kids were all born in the south so what we have enjoyed food-wise during Tet spans the entire country! Note that these are foods that will keep well for days. They're meant to be so because during Tet, you're suppose to be out having fun not slaving away in the kitchen!

If I had to limit myself to just a few items for Tet, I'd get my hands on the following:

Banh Chung - A square shaped rice package of sticky rice, mung bean puree and seasoned pork. It's wrapped in banana leaf and when you buy it at Vietnamese markets, it should also be wrapped in plastic and perhaps, tied with a little red ribbon for good luck. Banh chung looks like a small adobe brick. My mother makes hers but the 6-8 hour boiling process that cooks the packages is enough to deter many Vietnamese people to conveniently buy it. When you get your hands on one, you can eat it just as is if it's somewhat soft still - an indication that it's fresh. Poke at it with your finger to get a sense of freshness. Then peel back the layers (the rice should be tinged green from the banana and bamboo leaves) and cut it into wedges. You can use dental floss to cut it nicely if you want. The wedges ensure that each piece gets an equal portion of mung bean and pork. This may sound odd but I like to dip banh chung in a little sugar. The photo below is of a banh chung from Vietnam. Look at the detailed wrapping!

If your banh chung is hard and old or you have leftovers, you can fry it to a delicious crispiness. Cut it into chunks and fry it up into a crispy pancake and again, enjoy it with a little sugar. Use a nonstick frying pan, a little oil and moderate heat to make things easy on yourself. During the frying process, the banh chung will soften, giving you the opportune moment to use a wooden spatula to flatten it out and mesh it with the other chunks into a unified pancake. Flipping the banh chung pancake is a little tricky so use a plate to invert it out or if you're daring, flip it in the pan with a flick of the wrist. Sticky rice is pretty forgiving. For more details, peruse this page on banh chung and banh tet.

A caramel sauce dish - These dishes, called kho in Vietnamese, are terrific must haves for Tet. In the south, it's fatty pork leg, eggs and coconut water. Stewed pork riblets are excellent and so is a kho made with beef drop flank and ginger. These dishes can be prepared days ahead, which explains why kho (salty simmered/stewed meat dish) dishes are present at traditional Tet celebrations. If meat isn't your thing, then cook shrimp or fish in caramel sauce.

Viet cold cuts- Here's another convenient food for the holiday. These cold cuts can be purchased at Vietnamese markets or delis. If available, get some gio thu (headcheese), gio bo (silky beef and dill sausage) and cha mo (steamed pate of pork and lardons that's fried to a crisp in the end). Gio lua (basic silky sausage) is also good and to eat, you can buy some banh day, steamed sticky rice flour discs on banana leaves; banh day look like hockey pucks and are sold in Viet markets and delis too. Put a thickish slice of gio lua or cha mo in between the two banh day and dip it into a little fish sauce (thin it out if it's too salt for you).

Pickles - Those cold cuts need and accompaniment like a pickled shallot or leek - both are often sold in plastic bins in the produce section of a Viet market. Small white pickled leeks are also sold in small cans at Chinese markets. These members of the onion family are meant to help facilitate digestion of all the rich meats eaten during Tet.

Nuts and candied fruits - At the markets you'll find a wild assortment of brightly colored candied treats such as coconut, melon rind, and lotus seed. Also, watermelon seeds are also eaten during this holiday. Pick up one of these assortments for a fun nibble. They're typically a bit insipid I have to admit. But price dictates quality with regard to Asian food products, so spend a little and you'll be well rewarded!
Related information:

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Special Foods for Tet Celebrations - Viet World Kitchen

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Tet is all about starting out the new year correctly. That means cleaning and decorating your house, paying off your debts, paying respects to your family and friends and most importantly - eating well. In Vietnamese, you can say "an Tet" to literally denote eating Tet.

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A free resource of English learning and teaching materials

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New year wishes

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What people often wish each other during Tet.

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Zodiac

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Everything you need to know about Vietnamese Zodiac

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Customs and taboos

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Many Vietnamese believe that the first few days will set the tone for the whole year.

So they try to do everything that can bring them good luck and avoid all bad omens.

" Sức khỏe dồi dào" (Extremely good health) and " Tiền vô như nước " (Money coming in like water) are two of the most popular wishes shared among relatives and friends during the holiday.

Practice the wishes and say them to everyone you meet with a big smile, in order to bring them good luck.

To elders, there's another wish, " Sống lâu trăm tuổi " (Live long until 100 years old). Just make sure that the wish recipient is not 99 years old already.

If those are too hard, at least say the most basic greeting: " Chúc mừng năm mới" (Happy new year).

During Tet, children are given some lucky money. Therefore, prepare some red envelopes, of course with money inside, when you are invited to visit a Vietnamese family.

More on this custom, please check out this particular to avoid any embarrassing moments.

Tip: US$2 dollar bills are trendy in recent years, because of the scarcity of the note.

Buying a small bag of salt is highly recommended in the New Year's Day, based on the belief that you will have a "tasty" energetic year. Otherwise, you may face an insipid, boring year.

Tip: Don't buy too much because you may want to avoid a year that is "too salty". So a small bag as a symbol will be enough. And, never bargain with salt sellers during the festival.

Certain fruits including custard apple, coconut, papaya and mango are recommended for Tet.

Their names, when put together, sound very similar to a prayer for a fruitful year: " Cầu vừa đủ xài " (Wish for just enough to spend).

Because only the most reasonable prayers, which ask for "just enough", are answered by the gods.

Sweeping your house is a taboo on the first three days of the new year because all your money and success will be swept out too.

So don't touch the broom during those days.

Tips: If you really need to clean up, just sweep your house from the front door into the kitchen, to bring money back inside.

Otherwise, just use a vacuum cleaner. Modern life saves the day.

Refrain from swearing and using unlucky words.

Bad words will haunt you for the whole year. Among the words in the blacklist are "die" and "sad".

Basically it's just common sense.

" Xông nhà", or being the first guest visiting a family, is an important custom during Tet.

Vietnamese believe that if a successful, charming guest enters their house, he or she will bring them good luck.

Tip: Only going to public places is a safe choice. Nobody wants to be blamed for bringing bad luck.

Unless you want to have a "broken" year, be careful with your dining ware.

Tip: You may serve children with plastic plates and cups, to make sure everything is intact.
5. Don't wear black and/or white
Since black and white clothes are often worn at funerals in Vietnam, people are supposed to avoid wearing these two colors on the first days of the year.

Tip: If you really want to wear that white shirt you really like, just add some colorful accessories, such as a pair of red shoes or a yellow hand bag.

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9 dos and don'ts of Tet: This cheat sheet will help you survive Vietnam's Lunar New Year

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Many Vietnamese believe that the first few days will set the tone for the whole year. So they try to do everything that can bring them good luck and avoid all bad omens.