Tet activities not only bring joy and warmth to families and communities but also preserve beautiful traditional cultural values. From cleaning and decorating homes, shopping, and exchanging Tet greetings, to going to pagodas, participating in festivals, or playing folk games, each activity carries profound spiritual value, connecting generations and ushering in a lucky and prosperous new year.
Some indispensable traditional Tet activities in Vietnamese customs: Cleaning and decorating homes, Tet shopping, displaying the five-fruit tray, making Banh Chung and Banh Tet, cooking traditional Tet dishes, worshipping the Kitchen Gods, New Year's Eve worship, first-footing, giving lucky money and Tet greetings, visiting relatives, friends, and teachers, going to pagodas for blessings, asking for calligraphy, visiting Tet markets, participating in traditional festivals, and playing Tet folk games.
1. Cleaning and decorating homes
Cleaning and decorating homes is one of the familiar Tet activities every spring. In the last days of the year, families often gather to tidy up and clean every corner of their house, refreshing their living space to prepare for a complete New Year.
Cleaning not only means keeping the house clean and neat but also cleansing away the old, tired things of the past year, ushering in a brighter and luckier start. After the house is thoroughly cleaned, people often decorate it with a few pots of apricot or peach blossoms or hang red couplets – vibrant touches that contribute to a warm, reunited, and spring-filled atmosphere in every corner of the house.
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2. Tet shopping
Tet shopping is one of the essential Tet activities as the New Year approaches. In the last days of the twelfth lunar month, the atmosphere at markets, supermarkets, and Tet fairs becomes more bustling than ever. People are busy choosing food, candies, fruits, and decorative items to prepare for prosperous and abundant New Year days.
In addition, buying new clothes is also a beautiful tradition preserved through many generations. New outfits not only express the joy of welcoming the New Year but also symbolize bringing good luck, prosperity, and a good start to the whole year.
3. Displaying the five-fruit tray
Displaying the five-fruit tray is an indispensable traditional beauty during every traditional Tet. This is a traditional Tet activity that expresses the reverence and gratitude of descendants towards their ancestors.
Each region has a different way of arranging the five-fruit tray, embodying unique wishes for the new year. Northern people often choose five types of fruits with five colors symbolizing the five elements, hoping for harmony and prosperity. Meanwhile, Southern people prefer a five-fruit tray including custard apple, fig, coconut, papaya, and mango – meaning "Cầu sung vừa đủ xài" (Pray for enough to spend), expressing wishes for a prosperous, abundant, and peaceful year.
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4. Making Banh Chung and Banh Tet
The activity of making Banh Chung and Banh Tet usually takes place on the 27th or 28th of the twelfth lunar month. It is one of the oldest Vietnamese Tet activities, becoming an indispensable cultural feature in every Vietnamese family during Tet.
The cakes, with their square or cylindrical shapes, made from glutinous rice, green beans, pork belly, and dong leaves, are not only traditional dishes but also carry profound meanings. Banh Chung symbolizes the earth, Banh Tet symbolizes the sky, and both express gratitude and appreciation to ancestors, as a way of sending wishes for a new year of peace, prosperity, and abundance.
5. Cooking traditional Tet dishes
Besides vibrant shopping, preparing traditional dishes also becomes an indispensable traditional Tet activity. Families are often busy in the kitchen, preparing characteristic dishes that have accompanied generations, preserving traditional flavors, and showing respect for ancestors.
The Tet feast often includes familiar dishes such as boiled chicken, pork sausage (chả lụa), caramelized pork and eggs (thịt kho tàu), bamboo shoot soup with pork hock, pickled shallots (dưa hành)... Each dish is not only delicious but also symbolizes reunion, abundance, prosperity, and good luck in the new year, making the Tet atmosphere even warmer and more complete.
6. Worshipping the Kitchen Gods
According to Vietnamese tradition, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, families often prepare a solemn feast to send off Ông Công and Ông Táo (Kitchen Gods) to heaven. Ông Công and Ông Táo are considered deities who oversee the kitchen and record all household activities throughout the year, then report them to the Jade Emperor.
The offering tray is usually fully prepared with fresh fruits, incense, votive papers, and the indispensable ritual of releasing carp – symbolizing the gods crossing the Vũ Môn to the Celestial Court. This is an occasion for the host to express gratitude and pray for a peaceful, prosperous, and lucky new year.
7. New Year's Eve worship
New Year's Eve worship is one of the important Tet activities, a sacred ritual marking the transition from the old year to the new year in Vietnamese culture. On New Year's Eve, families often prepare a lavish feast, offering it to their ancestors as a token of gratitude and a prayer for a peaceful and prosperous new year.
The feast is carefully and beautifully arranged, demonstrating solemnity and reverence. After the ritual, the whole family gathers together, welcoming the New Year with good wishes, creating a warm, cozy, and hopeful atmosphere for a new beginning.
8. First-footing on New Year's Day
First-footing is one of the ancient Tet activities, a distinctive custom on the first morning of Tet, believed to bring good luck and prosperity to the whole family in the new year. The first person to step into the house – called the "first-footer" – is usually chosen as someone cheerful, successful, and having a good relationship with the family.
They bring good wishes for peace, happiness, and prosperity, ushering in a smooth and favorable start for the whole year, while also creating an exciting and hopeful atmosphere in the first days of the new year.
9. Giving lucky money and Tet greetings
During Tet, the custom of giving lucky money is an indispensable cultural beauty, and the Tet activity that children look forward to the most. Adults often give red envelopes to children, carrying wishes for good luck, prosperity, and complete joy for the new year.
In addition, giving Tet greetings is also an occasion for everyone to send good wishes to each other – abundant health, complete happiness, and success in work and studies. These simple but meaningful gestures contribute to making the Tet atmosphere warmer, more reunited, and full of love.
10. Visiting relatives, friends, and teachers
Tet is a time to foster love and share feelings through visits to relatives, friends, and teachers.
In the first days of the year, people often take time to visit each other, exchange Tet greetings, enjoy traditional dishes, and chat happily, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere. These simple but meaningful activities not only preserve traditional beauty but also spread joy, happiness, and connection in the first days of the new year.
11. Going to pagodas for blessings and asking for calligraphy
One of the most popular Vietnamese Tet activities on the 1st day of Tet is going to pagodas. In the first days of the year, many people visit pagodas to worship Buddha, praying for health, peace, prosperity, and happiness for their families. The serene and solemn atmosphere at the pagoda helps people feel lighter, dispelling worries, and finding inner peace.
During Tet, many families also go to pick "lộc" (blessings) at the beginning of the year with the wish to bring good luck, prosperity, and success home. This activity not only means praying for peace but also creates joy and excitement for the New Year.
Asking for calligraphy at the beginning of the year is also a beautiful custom in Vietnamese culture. People often ask for calligraphy or couplets to hang in their homes, embodying wishes for good fortune, happiness, harmony, and prosperity. Each chosen character contains golden blessings, symbolizing good luck and a favorable start in the new year.
12. Visiting Tet markets
Visiting Tet markets is one of the Tet entertainment activities that many people look forward to when spring arrives. The Tet flower market is usually bustling from the last days of the twelfth lunar month until the 5th day of the first lunar month, attracting a large number of locals and tourists to visit and shop.
Here, people can choose fresh flowers and ornamental plants typical for Tet such as yellow apricot blossoms, pink peach blossoms, marigolds... Not just a place for shopping, the Tet market also brings a vibrant, joyful atmosphere, helping families experience and preserve warm, spring-filled moments together.
13. Participating in traditional festivals and playing Tet folk games
During Tet, people often participate in traditional festivals and folk games imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity. Festivals such as Hương Pagoda, Gò Đống Đa, boat racing festivals, craft village festivals, or buffalo fighting festivals not only carry spiritual meaning but are also occasions for the community to gather, spread joy, and preserve cultural values.
In addition, folk games such as tug-of-war, sack racing, swinging, or carousel rides are organized throughout villages and towns, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere. These activities not only bring laughter and joy to everyone but also strengthen emotional bonds between generations, helping to preserve traditions and create memorable moments during each Tet holiday.
Conclusion
Tet activities not only bring joy and warmth but also connect family members, preserve traditional values, and create unforgettable moments. We wish you a New Year full of health, happiness, prosperity, and good luck in everything you do.
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