HAPPY VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR! | Chúc mừng năm mới
Today is the Giao Thừa (New Year’s Eve) of the most important festival of the Vietnamese people – the Tết Nguyên Đán or the Vietnamese New Year. It is also simply called Tết.
I guess not too many of us knew or even familiar with it -- Well, now you know. And mostly because it comes with the Chinese New Year (because they both use the Lunar Calendar), so we don't usually notice the Tết. But it is distinctly Vietnamese -- A nation with its own rich culture.
The actual date is different each year – there can be 12 months in the Vietnamese calendar and 13, the next. Celebration starts on the last day of the year – which is today -- would continue for the next 3 days, sometimes 10! Whoa!
Tết is a family celebration, first and foremost. This is the time for reunions and get together. They pay respect to their ancestors and homage to the kitchen god. Every family member, where ever they are in the world, would find ways to come back home to their family.
Everybody’s in a rush to buy new clothes, get a haircut, visit friends, clean the house for tonight’s celebration. "Mam Ngu Qua" on the center table, traditional foods like bunh chưng, măng, mut, and xai gấc must be present -- all symbols of gratitude and prosperity. The peach (in the North) and the apricot blossoms (in the South) are symbols of the Vietnamese Tet.
Most businesses are closed on the coming days. It’s because every one’s busy partying -- Parties on the street, parties at home, parties everywhere! Everybody’s smiling extra generous!
I guess not too many of us knew or even familiar with it -- Well, now you know. And mostly because it comes with the Chinese New Year (because they both use the Lunar Calendar), so we don't usually notice the Tết. But it is distinctly Vietnamese -- A nation with its own rich culture.The actual date is different each year – there can be 12 months in the Vietnamese calendar and 13, the next. Celebration starts on the last day of the year – which is today -- would continue for the next 3 days, sometimes 10! Whoa!
Tết is a family celebration, first and foremost. This is the time for reunions and get together. They pay respect to their ancestors and homage to the kitchen god. Every family member, where ever they are in the world, would find ways to come back home to their family.Everybody’s in a rush to buy new clothes, get a haircut, visit friends, clean the house for tonight’s celebration. "Mam Ngu Qua" on the center table, traditional foods like bunh chưng, măng, mut, and xai gấc must be present -- all symbols of gratitude and prosperity. The peach (in the North) and the apricot blossoms (in the South) are symbols of the Vietnamese Tet.
Most businesses are closed on the coming days. It’s because every one’s busy partying -- Parties on the street, parties at home, parties everywhere! Everybody’s smiling extra generous!
And we wish Vietnam An khang thịnh vượng and its people Vạn sự như ý.
Prosperity for 10,000 years!
Chúc mừng năm mới!
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*Special greetings to our friend Morgan, Nam, Preya and their family =)
20 Comments:
Kung Hei Fat Choi! Amen to that! :)
Second year welcoming Tet in Bangkok away from family and friends! But it is a fact of life these days so...
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, may I wish you all a year of good health, prosperity and happy moments. May BISEAN continue to grow in strength and depth in your great work to foster understanding across the region.
Cung Chúc Tân Xuân!
Prosperity to al Vietnames and all of us, of course in the Year of the Rat.
Happy new year to all! Vietnam rocks!
happy new year to the chinese and vietnamese people. my people!
Wow! nice Tet header! So cute!
Happy Tet! BISEAN is so thoughtful. this is what I love about this blog. Thanks again for this. I learned something new.
kung hei fat choi! happy new year of d rat my bisean friends! :)
Happy New Year to all!!!! Heres a big cheers to success and happiness!!!!
Happy New Year to everyone!
By the way, fellow Oxens, it's a lucky year for us! Yahoo!!!
Really? My luck needs to change. Hehehe. Good to know that this might be the year at last. Cheers to all Oxens!
Happy New Year to all of you!!! Have a great time celebrating!
Happy Vietnamese New Year!!! Cheers!!!
Greetings to Morgan too!
hey thanks for the greetings, guys! i had a good time in Malaysia spending my Chinese New Year. Btw, I was in Bkk last weekend but I supposed you guys weren't in town!
Hi sis! You've been busy heh? =)
Yeah, we've been to Indonesia. Great place...as usual. Take care, Sanne.
Happy late new year to all of you and especially you-Nam !
Hi there, I just happened to walked across your blog and liked it.
I also really appreciate when you call our Tết as Vietnamese New Year. You know how people call it Chinese New Year all the time and I think it's unfair to the rest of countries which celebrate it too.
It would be lovely if everyone in this world can call it Lunar New Year. I wonder if they call Chinese New Year, why wouldn't they call English Christman or American Thanksgiving?
Thank you for doing such an informative blog.
Ps. I feel kinda weird commenting to such an old entry from 2008 but hope that's okay. At least this messege can reach to any one happend to go on this site like me. Then they'll know the Chinese New Year is not Chinese at all.
Hi Sami, thanks for dropping by. I have the same sentiments as yours. It's really not fair to call it Chinese New Year since there are dozens of nations celebrating the Lunar New Year.
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