Tết Nguyên Đán, literally the ‘Festival of the First Day’ is the Lunar New Year period in Vietnam. Lasting 4-5 days, the vast majority of people simply refer to it as ‘Tet’.
Steeped in myth, legend, ritual and tradition, Tet is a symbolic period of rebirth and renewal; of joy and merriment; a time for homecoming family reunions and fulfillment of filial piety duties. Houses are spring-cleaned and spruced up with a lick of paint or whitewash. Ancestral graves are cleaned and repaired. New clothes are purchased. Friends are visited with token gifts and warm wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous and successful new year. Debts are repaid and outstanding matters are finalized in preparation for a fresh, new beginning for the coming year.
Vietnamese people enjoy a very close spiritual relationship with their ancestors. On New Year’s Eve, the head of the family will make offerings to the ancestors and invite them to return and join the family for Tet.