Tet Holiday
TET NGUYEN DAN (LUNAR NEW YEAR)
According to Vietnamese zodiac, this year is the year of the Cock. Of course, there are certain meanings and beliefs associated with the cock character that most Asian people would believe. People born in the Cock year are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy, are devoted beyond their capabilities, and are deeply disappointed if they fail. Every country has big holidays and they are being celebrated differently from one country to another. In the United Stated, Christmas seems to be a biggest holiday where family gathers around homes and churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Whereas in Vietnam, Tet Nguyen-Dan, or the arrival of the Lunar New Year, is the most joyful and ceremonious of all Vietnamese Holidays. Tet, as it is generally called, is normally celebrated for three days, beginning on the first day of the first month of the lunar year. Most Vietnamese living in the United States will celebrate or take note of Tet in some way. Therefore, it is desirable to know what Tet means to the Vietnamese, and how it is celebrated in their homeland. The sequence of Tet is very complex and has many meanings, stages that one person should know so that he or she will do well on this holiday. I will talk specifically about the sequence of Tet, which is the preparation for Tet. Next, I will share the important meaning of the New Year’s Eve in Tet Nguyen Dan. Finally, I will tell you what Vietnamese people usually believe and do on those huge three days celebration.
Preparations for Tet are elaborate and take many days. Families save throughout the year to provide for the expenses of Tet. Houses are repainted, thoroughly cleaned and decorated with flowers and peach or plum branches. New Year’s wishes for happiness, prosperity, and long life are artistically written on red paper and displayed in prominent places. Some days before Tet, Ong Tao (on the 23rd of the twelfth moon), people start their preparations for
According to Vietnamese zodiac, this year is the year of the Cock. Of course, there are certain meanings and beliefs associated with the cock character that most Asian people would believe. People born in the Cock year are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy, are devoted beyond their capabilities, and are deeply disappointed if they fail. Every country has big holidays and they are being celebrated differently from one country to another. In the United Stated, Christmas seems to be a biggest holiday where family gathers around homes and churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Whereas in Vietnam, Tet Nguyen-Dan, or the arrival of the Lunar New Year, is the most joyful and ceremonious of all Vietnamese Holidays. Tet, as it is generally called, is normally celebrated for three days, beginning on the first day of the first month of the lunar year. Most Vietnamese living in the United States will celebrate or take note of Tet in some way. Therefore, it is desirable to know what Tet means to the Vietnamese, and how it is celebrated in their homeland. The sequence of Tet is very complex and has many meanings, stages that one person should know so that he or she will do well on this holiday. I will talk specifically about the sequence of Tet, which is the preparation for Tet. Next, I will share the important meaning of the New Year’s Eve in Tet Nguyen Dan. Finally, I will tell you what Vietnamese people usually believe and do on those huge three days celebration.
Preparations for Tet are elaborate and take many days. Families save throughout the year to provide for the expenses of Tet. Houses are repainted, thoroughly cleaned and decorated with flowers and peach or plum branches. New Year’s wishes for happiness, prosperity, and long life are artistically written on red paper and displayed in prominent places. Some days before Tet, Ong Tao (on the 23rd of the twelfth moon), people start their preparations for