Vietnamese New Year (Part 1: Preparation)
Note: Chinese New Year and Vietnamese New Year are quite similar. So you may find that some information is redundant between the articles. Because of this, there are some Vietnamese traditions that I will not go into in detail. If you would like to have more explanation about a certain thing, you may refer back to Chinese New Year articles. Thank you.
Everybody enjoys New Year...
Before we can begin the week-long celebration there are many things that have to be prepared prior to the New Year arrival. Tet or Lunar New Year usually takes place in late January or early February and is based on the lunar calendar, which consists of a twelve-year cycle named after animals (aka the zodiac). The zodiac consists of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. This year will be the celebration of the tiger.
Most people know the Lunar New Year as the Chinese New Year but this is incorrect since it is not only the Chinese that commemorate the special occasion. Vietnam along with Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and of course China are among the countries that celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The one thing you have to realize about the Vietnamese New Year is that most people will go all out for the holiday as it is probably the most important one of the year. Families will come together, no matter how far apart they are, to bring in the New Year. Each household will begin cleaning the house until it is spotless and then will decorate the home with flowers and candles. Oh and there will be fireworks in front of the house!!!
What do you mean I have to clean...?
One of the important tasks to do for the New Year is cleaning. The purpose of cleaning the house is to try to get rid of all the misfortunes of the previous year and begin the year on a clean slate.
Not only does the home have to be cleaned but also each individual person has to be debt free. A person cannot enter the year owing someone else as it is considered bad luck since the first few days of the year determine what might happen to him for the rest of year.
For example, if someone is in debt, the person will further be in debt for the next twelve months. This is why people have to start getting ready for the New Year as the first few days are crucial in determining their year. So, you are debt free and have a clean house. What's next? A clean slate, literally. When you enter the New Year you would want to start it off clean and so should other people, right?
Vietnamese New Year is commonly known as Tet. Tet is the time when not only you, yourself begin with a fresh start but you should also allow other people to do the same. Meaning? You should forgive those that did you wrong, all their faults and mistakes. No grudge, no hatred, and no hurtfulness. I think this would be the hardest task of all to accomplish.
If you are a woman you will probably like this next preparation for the New Year. Shopping! Yes, that's right. It is a tradition to start the brand new year with new clothes to bring in the good luck. This custom seems to be the same with any other country today, which is you want to glam up and show off the new you.
Since most families in Viet Nam are not that well off… each member of the household will get at least a new outfit. However, the one thing that people will not hold out on is loading up on food. The Lunar New Year brings everyone together and people will be having fun and eating a lot. By a lot I mean A LOT, it is seven days of pretty much partying!
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