NEW YEAR’S DAY IN VIETNAM

In Vietnam, our New Year is not on 1st January. It takes place in late January or early February, it depends on the moon, and it lasts three days or more. We call this festival Tê´t. It is also our spring festival, and it is the top event of the year. We prepare for Tê´t weeks before and we do a lot of shopping because shops close during the celebrations. We also clean and decorate the house, buy new clothes for the children and cook special holiday food. On New Year’s Day, children wear their new clothes and wish their parents and grandparents a happy new year. Then they receive a red envelope with ‘lucky money’ in it. We believe red is a lucky colour, but we don’t use white or black decorations. Tê´t is also everybody’s birthday because in Vietnam you are one year old on the day when you celebrate your first Tê´t! After New Year’s Day, we visit friends and relatives. Many people go to temples, play games, or watch dragon dancers and other street performances. During Tê´t, we don’t say bad things and we don’t do bad things!