Tet Nguyen Dan, more commonly known by its shortened name Tet, is the most important holday in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year which is based on the Chinese calendar, a lunisolar. Tet is the most popular festival in Vietnam. It originated from China and it has been celebrated since the 500 B.C.
Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year though exceptions arise due to the 1 hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing. Tet share many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. It is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Many Vietnamese visit their families and temples, forget about the troubles of the past year and hope for a better upcoming year. Tet traditionally marks the coming of Spring, so Spring is sometimes used interchangeably with Tet in Vietnamese. Nowadays, the term “Tet” in English otn refers to the bloody Tet Offensive, which occurred during Tet in 1968.
Customs
Vietnamese people usually return to their families during Tet. Some return to worship at the family altar or visit the graves of their ancestors. Others return to where they grew up. Although Tet is a universal holiday among all Vietnamese, each region and religion has its own customs.
Tet in the three Vietnamese regions can divided into three periods, known as Tat Nien, Giao Thua and Tan Nien, representing the preparation before Tet, the eve of Tet, and the days of and following Tet, respectively.
Tat Nien
Preparations for Tet start months before the actual celebrations. People try to pay off their debts in advance so that they can be debt-free on Tet. Parents buy new clothes for their children so that the children can wear them when Tet arrives. Because a lot of commercial activity will cease during the celebrations, people try to stock up on supplies as much as possible.
In the days leading up to Tet, the streets and markets are full of people. Everyone is busy buying food, clothes, and decorations for their house. If someone lives far away from home, they will try to go home to celebrate it with family.
Ceremonies
Vietnamese families usually have a family altar, to pay respect to their ancestors. During Tet the altar is thoroughly cleaned and new offerings are placed there.
Traditionally, the three kitchen guardians for each house (Ong Tao), return to heaven on the 23rd day of the last month of the Chinese calendar. They were to report to the Jade Emperor about the events in that house over the past year. Their departure is marked by a modest ceremony where the family offers sacrifices for them to use on their journey. Often, Vietnamese families smear honey over the mouth of the image of Ong Tao, to allow him to say only sweet things of the family
In the days leading up to Tet, each family traditionally cooks special holiday foods such as banh chung, banh day. Preparations for thee foods are quite extensive, and cooking them can take several days. Family members often take turns to keep watch on the fire over night, telling each other stories about Tet of past years.
Giao Thua (New Year’s Eve)
Each home is thoroughly swept and decorated with flowers and offerings for ancestors by the night before Tet. At midnight, many families traditionally light firecrackers to welcome the New Year, though this practice was banned since January 1, 1995 due to safety reasons. In the morning, actual Tet celebrations begin.
Tan Nien
The first day of Tet is reserved for the nuclear family. In big cities, the streets are usually empty as most people stay at home or leave the city to visit their close relatives in the countryside. Children receive “lucky money” (li xi) from their elders. Usually, children don their new clthes and give their elders the traditional Tet greetings before receiving the money. Since the Vietnamese believe that the first visitor a family receives in the year sets their fortunes for the entire year, people never enter any house on the first day without being invited first. The act of being the first person to enter a house on Tet is called “xong dat” or “dap dat”. Usually, people with happy demeanor or who had experienced luck during the previous year is invited first into the house. In some instances, any person with names such as, Phuc (Happy), Tai (Wealth), Loc (Luck), will be invited to perform this act of xong dat. However, just to be safe, the ownerof the house will leave the house a few minutes before midnight and come back just as the clock strikes midnight just to prevent anyone else who will potentially bring any unfortunate events in the new year for the household.
Sweeping during Tet is taboo or xui (unlucky), since it symbolizes sweeping the luck away. It is also a taboo for anyone who experiences a recent loss of a family member to refrain from visiting anyone else during Tet.
Decorations
Each family displays a New Year Tree called cay neu, consisting of a bamboo stick 5 to 6m long. The top end is usually decorated with many objects, depending on the locality, including good luck charms origami fish, cactus branches, etc.
A kumquat tree is a popular decoration for the living room during Tet. Its many fruits symbolize the fertility and fruitfulness that the family hopes will come in the coming year.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Vietnamese Lunar New Year
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