9 traditional activities on Tet holiday
he Lunar New Year is the most important traditional festival hosted annually by Asians, including Vietnamese. These days, they do many activities that have many meanings to welcome a coming new year filled with luck and prosperity. Let’s read this article, explore nine traditional activities, and try them out during the Lunar New Year time while having teaching jobs in Ho Chi Minh City or any job positions in this dynamic city.
1. Spring cleaning
This is the perfect time to clean every corner of your house. The Vietnamese have called some days until the last day of the old year “national cleaning days” since the Vietnamese believe that total cleaning will remove unlucky things and welcome good fortune.
2. Decorating house
Of course, the Lunar New Year is also seen as a chance for changes and refreshments. After cleaning and arranging all things neatly, they will embellish their homes with various kinds of flowers, such as peach blossom trees or ochna trees. This plays an indispensable role when the New Year approaches.
In addition, the Vietnamese also buy various new items and furniture for the coming New Year. They believe that the fuller a house is, the more prosperous the house owners would be in the future.
3. Preparing traditional cuisine
The Vietnamese have special dishes for almost all traditional events. Certainly, they will also prepare many delicious meals during the Tet holiday.
They have been preparing some cooking ingredients for a half month until the beginning, and some dishes that can be stored in the refrigerator even at normal temperatures during the Tet holiday will be used gradually.
One of the most meaningful activities on the must-do list is that all members will gather to make Banh Chung (in North Vietnam) or Banh Tet (in South Vietnam) from the 28th to the 30th of the last month of the lunar calendar.
Vietnamese will make this step outside instead of inside their house so that they can get together around a big pot with plenty of Banh Chung or Banh Tet inside. At that time, all members of the family will be watching the pot while chit-chatting. It is supposed to be a nice memory, a worthy reunion after a hard-working year.
Don’t worry if you don’t have family nearby. Visit your friends who also get teaching jobs in Ho Chi Minh City and participate in an end-of-year feast with them or help them prepare delicious meals. That will significantly relieve your homesickness.
4. Worshiping the ancestors
The Vietnamese have a strong belief that their ancestors will visit their homes on the Tet holiday, so they have to sweep the altar before the 30th (according to the lunar calendar).
To show their appreciation, they will buy some items to prepare for a year-end banquet and invite their ancestors to join them in celebrating Tet.
By doing this, meals during the Lunar New Year become an essential part of connecting many generations of a family and are seen as an important occasion to reunite.
5. Watching fireworks
People often light fireworks to mark the beginning of a new year. Many Vietnamese people appreciate gathering and watching fireworks performances at particular places. When you have teaching jobs in Ho Chi Minh City, you can consider some bustling places to look at fireworks, such as Nguyen Hue Street, Le Duan Street, and Thu Thiem 2 Bridge,… If you cannot view these shows directly, watch them on TV with your family. This will help you save a great memory at this beautiful time.
6. Receiving lucky money
This is a traditional activity on the first days of the new year. As the name implies, “lucky money” is a small gift sent to you from someone else to wish you a happy and prosperous year. Additionally, you can give a red envelope to those you love, symbolizing that a new beginning will come and bring them many blessings.
7. Visiting pagodas and temples
Vietnamese prefer to visit pagodas and temples. Do you know why? Going to sacred places in the new year may help you balance your emotions and send your wishes for the entire year to Buddha.
Meet your friends, who are working in teaching jobs in Ho Chi Minh City, at one of the popular pagodas in this city. You will have chances to dismiss the anxieties and worries of the old year and pray for the new year.
8. Receiving calligraphy
Walking along these streets in Ho Chi Minh City, you can easily ask for a parallel sentence or a single word from a Master. Vietnamese people frequently pay a small fee to have words written on various materials such as paper, cloth, wood, stone, pearl, and pottery. They worship couplets and calligraphic pictures in the front of the house or in the middle of the living room, hoping that their children and families will have a new year in which everything will be the same as the words created on the calligraphic pictures.
9. Playing cards and bingo
Do you want to have an amusing Tet holiday? Playing cards and bingo with your friends is the best option to arouse the atmosphere and avoid bored feelings when Tet comes. Not only that but these games are also considered opportunities for you and your friends to tightly knit together.
The Lunar New Year is expected to connect all members of a family or all people together to enjoy the most important festival of the year. Along with these nine activities above, you can do more interesting activities to deeply understand the Tet holiday.
More information:
- 4 unique streets in Ho Chi Minh City
- 4 popular antique destinations in Saigon
- 4 public holidays in Vietnam you should attend for the first time
| EMG Education is one of the largest private education organizations in Vietnam. Its mission is to provide Vietnam learners across all ages an opportunity and the right preparation to succeed on the global stage. Founded in 2005, EMG Education has always been an innovative trailblazer in Vietnam’s education scene, constantly finding new ways to empower Vietnamese learners by expanding their access to world-class curricular and learning materials, and globally-recognized qualifications. You looking for Vietnam teaching jobs? Apply now at: https://teach.emg.vn/primary-lower-secondary-and-high-school-teachers/ |
