Lunar New Year in Hanoi
Tet Nguyen Dan, often abbreviated to Tet, is
Vietnam’s Lunar New Year and an ideal time to visit Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.
The city is usually quieter than usual during this period as many migrant
workers return to their rural hometowns to celebrate the season with loved
ones. For many Vietnamese, much preparation is made prior to the big day,
including the cleaning of homes, paying off debts, and resolving conflicts.
Respectful behavior is also of particular importance, and avoiding alcohol and
tobacco is observed by many. New Year’s Day represents one big birthday for the
entire nation, as no matter what date a person is born, everybody in the
country becomes a year older when Tet occurs.
Everyone will begin their preparations well in
advance of the upcoming New Year. In an effort to get rid of the bad luck of
the old year, people will spend a few days cleaning their homes, polishing
every utensil, or even repaint and decorate the house with kumquat tree,
branches of peach blossom, and many other colorful flowers. The ancestral altar
is especially taken care of, with careful decoration of five kinds of fruits
and votive papers, along with many religious rituals. Everybody, especially
children, buy new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of New Year.
People also try to pay all their pending debts and resolve all the arguments
among colleagues, friends or members of family. Like other Asian countries,
Vietnamese believe that the color of red and yellow will bring good fortune,
which may explain why these colors can be seen everywhere in Lunar New Year.
People consider what they do on the dawn of Tet will determine their fate for
the whole year; hence, people always smile and behave as nice as they can in
the hope for a better year. Besides, gifts are exchanged between family members
and friends and relatives, while children receive lucky money kept in red
envelope. No matter where Tet is celebrated, it must be clarified from the
beginning that Tet is not a day, but several days of celebration.