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7 Days of Vietnamese New Year Traditions (Part 2)The summary all of the do and don't in Vietnamese New Year Traditions (both parts). Also, you can refer back to part 1 here.
Do
Don't
Tao Quan
New Year is approaching as each family is hurrying to get everything clean and getting food for the Tao Quan before he goes up to give their report to the Jade Emperor. Is your house ready for inspection? Do you know who the Tao Quan inspectors are? Yes, these are important questions. The Tao Quan is known by many names such as the kitchen god or the god of the hearth. It is a trinity of spirits that go around recording what events had happened in each household throughout the year and a week before New Year they would go up into heaven to report back to the Jade Emperor. To please (bride) the Tao Quan, families would make sure the house is spotless and have offerings like fruits, flowers, and food for the kitchen god before their long trip. So when does this spring cleaning cease? All cleaning come to an end at exactly noon the day before New Year. This also means it is time for everyone to head home to bring in the New Year as a family no matter how far a person may be, whether it is across town or the opposite end of the country. The afternoon before the first day of Tet is when the each family has a special ceremony to invite all the ancestors to return and celebrate the New Year with them. It is custom to burn incenses, paper money, and food for the deceased relatives.
New Year's EveIt is finally time to bring in the Lunar New Year! New Year's Eve is also known as Giao Thua. As midnight getting nearer, people would start to gather in the city center to sing and dance as they count to a new year. Crowds would form, blocking streets in order to watch the fireworks. The display of fireworks are now use in place of firecrackers which had been banned after 1995 due to several incidents of death. Before the prohibited of the firecrackers, the celebration continued throughout the day as people and children set it off to make things livelier and a whole lot smokier/cloudy. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Less air pollution and cleaning up since the drainage system isn't that great over there.
Day 1On the first day of Tet, everyone in the family rises early and wears his new clothes. The children then wish the parents and elders good things for the upcoming year. In return to the children's wishes, the adults give the kids lucky red envelopes (that are filled with money) and offers them blessing to the New Year. Once the children receive their money, it is up to them to go and spend it however they please, whether it is on a new toy or gambling games such as "bau cua ca cop." One thing I forgot to warn you earlier is that New Year is also the biggest time of the year to gamble. You will find it pretty much anywhere on the streets in Viet Nam. I did say these days are the time to have fun… (hehe) This day is usually reserve for family and relatives to visit each other houses. Friends do not go to one another's house unless they are invited. Vietnamese people still hold this custom closely as to who visit their house on the first day or at least the first visitor. Whoever is the first person to enter the house determines or influences the well being and happiness onto the family for the upcoming year. No pressure. It is crucial for picking who to be the first person entering the house that day. Some of the qualifications for such a person is someone who is in good health, nice temper, successful, and a good standing in society. In order to avoid the hassle and the chance of an unlucky person entering, few families just pick someone who is in their house that has good health and things seem to be going for them to walk around the neighborhood one time and then enter the home right after midnight or early that morning. For our family this is usually the case of picking someone to walk around and then come back inside (Dat or I) to wish the parents what we would hope this year be like for them. Some of the blessings are:
When it is time to eat, Vietnamese people will set up the table for the ancestors first and burn the incense to welcome the loved ones and offer them the meal first as a sign of respect. If you see that happen at anytime throughout Tet, please do not eat or touch anything on the table until the incenses have been completely burn. During the time the incenses are burning is when the ancestors gather to have their meal, joining the family in the festivities before going onto the next family.
Day 2 and 3The second day is reserved for visiting friends and in-laws, wishing them well on the upcoming year. On the third, it is set aside of distant relatives and teachers. These two days are for seeing people you know, setting time for them, and showing they are important to you as you want to offer New Years wishes.
Day 4The fourth day is when all the spirits are returning to heaven and businesses resume. Today (or next few days) will be the day that families will go to cemeteries and temples to clean up the ancestors' burials and replace them with fresh fruits and flowers, and burn paper more paper money and clothes for the deceased. It is also a chance for people to get their fortune read at the temples.
Day 5-7These next few days are a time to relax and hang out with your love ones. If you were busy preparing everything, now it is you time to enjoy yourself before you have to clean up. This year, we are grateful for your support. This website can not continue without your visit. From our family to your, have a wonderful New year and best wishes to your family.
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