Almost every home and
business will be decorated with
flowers – especially the soft rose-colored dao peach flowers and often miniature kumquat
bushes. These bushes have
been
precisely pruned to display ripe deep orange fruits with
smooth clear thin skin shining like little suns or
gold coins on the first day. - this represents our wish that wealth will come to us (and our family and friends) now
and in the future.
On
the evening before Tet (our New Year’s Eve) the head of the household
lights some incense and leads the prayers to the family ancestors. Then
at exactly midnight there will be lots of noise to bring in the New Year
– bells ringing in temples, firework displays in public places and
people banging on pots or cans.
 |
| Traditional foods in Tet Holidays |
During the Tet holidays we eat some traditional foods: Banh
Chung
(steamed rice cakes filled with fatty pork surrounded
by a
mixture of mashed ground
green
beans and then
wrapped in leaves); Thit Ga (Boiled chicken), Xoi Gac (Sticky
rice coloured red with Gac fruit), Nem Chua (fermented pork
sausage), Banh Day (sticky rice cake),Goi Lua/Gio Bo (boiled pork or beef sausage), Mut (candied fruits) and Hanh
Muoi (pickles). All washed down with lots of Jasmine tea, rice
whiskey and beer.
 |
| Kumquat trees |
The
first day of the New Year is reserved for visiting close family.
People dress in their best clothes on this day. Children and
younger people pay their respects to their elders – often children
are given little red envelopes containing some Li Xi (lucky money). On
the second and third days the visitors to our home will include our
wider circle of friends, colleagues and relatives. Also people will be
out and about in the restaurants and cafes, showing off their new
clothes, eating and drinking coffee with their friends.
Tet
is a very special time for us and it is a time when people really want
to be at home and close to their family and friends. Thousands of
Vietnamese people travel to their hometowns- sometimes from all over the
world. For this reason, if you want to travel in Vietnam during the Tet
period, you should let us know as early as possible – that way we can
secure your bookings and travel arrangements
 |
| Happy New Year |
For
many foreigners... they often feel that it will not be so comfortable
to travel in Vietnam during Tet… usually they have been told so many
times that everything will be closed and that they will not be able to
even get even a simple meal in a restaurant. This is not true… while a
lot of businesses, banks and Government offices will be closed for the
holiday (usually for 3-5 days after the Lunar New Year), a number of
places will also still be open. Also, outside Hanoi and HCMC, many
resorts and hotels around the country now offer Tet packages for
overseas tourists and locals as well. MyVietnam Travel can help you
arrange an itinerary during the Tet holidays that meets your needs. We
can help you find transport, hotels, the restaurants that are open, the
events and venues that are still operating daily, and those places that
specifically cater to Tet visitors and help you share some of the magic
and excitement of Tet in Vietnam.
2012
is the Year of the Dragon. In our culture, the Dragon is a forceful and
dynamic creature – full of energy and enthusiasm. People born in
the Year of the Dragon are usually very charismatic and successful. So
we hope that 2012 will be full of good energy and excitement for
you and your family and friends
