In my speech today, I will inform all of you how the Vietnamese New Year came into being, the tradition rituals, and how we celebrate the New Year.
Vietnam is a country in the Eastern Hemisphere that was influenced by China for over decades. Therefore, the Chinese New Year and the Vietnamese New Year, which we call Tet, have many similarities. It was told that thousand of years ago in a small village of China, there was a monster who came one winter's eve and destroyed the village. The following year, the monster returned and again destroyed the village. Before it could happened a third time, the villagers worked out a plan to scare the monster away. Throughout the whole village, red banners were hung; the color red had long been believed to protect against evil. Firecrackers, drums and gongs were used to celebrate loud noises to scare the monster away. The plan worked and the celebration lasted several days during which people visited with each other, exchanged gifts, danced, and ate tasty food. That was how the New Year got started.
The New Year begins on the first night of the first moon. This is sometime between January 21 and February 19 on the solar calendar. The day of the New Year varied depends on the phases of the moon. Traditionally, Tet takes weeks of preparation. All homes are clean to get rid of bad fortune associated with the old year. Every member in the family participates in the preparation and cleaning process. The house must be