Vietnamese New Year – Tet

New Year's flower market

In Russian, to describe the meeting of the new year and all that is associated with it, you will need not one phrase, but even a whole sentence, and for Vietnamese it is enough to say one word – Tet, and anyone who has ever been in Vietnam during Tet, immediately before your eyes there is an atmosphere of this traditional national holiday.

If you think that the Vietnamese Tet differs from the New Year in Russia only in that it passes on the 1st of the lunar, and not on the solar calendar, then you are very mistaken. Theta is a very multifaceted concept: it is preparation for the new and the old year, full of joyful bustle, shopping and preparations; it is traditional rituals and ceremonies, games and competitions, musical and costume performances held before and after the beginning of the new year according to the lunar calendar; it is a completely special state of people, when it seems that everything bad and sad remains in the old year, and the new will bring only good and good.

On Tet, everything is filled with joyful anticipation of a big holiday and is ritual in nature. Even the banal cleaning of the house before the New Year does not seem to be a burden and is accompanied by the ritual of sending God the hearth to heaven for a report to the Jade Emperor on the affairs of the family over the past year and the ritual of meeting him back to earth to mark the beginning of the year with his family in a clean, tidy house.

Depending on the phases of the moon, this holiday falls in late January - early February. Each year of the 12-year lunar cycle corresponds to a mythical creature, animal, reptile or bird, symbolizing the stages of the closed ring of life.

Vietnamese New Year – Tet – has centuries-old traditions. At exactly midnight, festive fireworks blast the skies of Hanoi and Haiphong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. In temples and pagodas, the beats of copper bells and the knocking of wooden chairs sound. Through the streets and squares, young people carry painted paper and cardboard dragons. The festive decoration is dominated by red and yellow colors. Theta lasts four days.

What are the customs of Vietnamese people celebrating the arrival of spring? First, it is considered an honor to spend New Year’s Eve in the company of a gray man who is over 70 years old. In the morning, you should go in search of a flower with dew droplets on the petals, pick a branch of a peach tree, give gifts to children. With these rituals, evil will never enter your home. But the most important thing in the New Year is not to wish misfortune to another: compliance with good rules will give peace and happiness to you and your loved ones. Even in the most difficult years, cakes and pies are always exhibited on the festive table - bantyng and banzei, having the shape of a circle and a square. They mean heaven and earth, and together the world under a common shelter.

On the second day of Theta, on the territory of the oldest temple in Indochina, Van Mieu, the most cheerful and fierce cockfights break out. On the Lake of the Returned Sword in Hanoi, the puppet theater on the water gives performances - a unique folklore troupe, the only one in the world. In the historic center of Hanoi, on Hanglyok Street, elderly people kindly offer long bamboo poles. They should be "planted" before entering the house - they will close the way to evil spirits.

Thet is also a flower festival. Travel to flower markets by car is prohibited. And hardly anyone will come to mind to prevent this happy New Year fuss. The most festive flower is considered a match - a sun flower, or an oriental "astra". And these flowers, says the folk wisdom of the East, should be as many as there are people on Earth.

Tet has an ancient history, like Vietnam itself. In Tat, people go back to their origins, their ancestors. Everyone is trying to come home from thousands of miles away to be at home with their family.

There are many customs during the celebration of Theta, especially the first of January of the lunar year. As soon as the twelfth hour of the morning has come - this time is called "Ziao Thia" (means "meeting of times") - children, grandchildren congratulate their grandparents, parents on the New Year, wish longevity and good health and well-being. Then adults congratulate children and give money for happiness. How much money does not matter. Most importantly, the money must be new (new bills or new coins). They should be packed in new red bags (either made of paper or fabric) with a red bow. In the following holidays, adult relatives, friends, familiar families come to visit and can also give money for the well-being of children. The custom of giving money to children on New Year’s Eve is now a must, and no New Year’s Eve in Vietnam passes without observing this custom. Traditionally, the Vietnamese believe that giving children a little money is like the beginning of the “prasada” in the New Year, so that this beginning multiplied many times.

During the Teta in Buddhist temples, the monks give the parishioners money, which is also put in small red bags. It is like a gift of prosperity from Buddha, from God. It's a gift of luck. A Vietnamese aphorism says: “A little prosperity from the Buddha is equal to a whole large basket of earthly prosperity.”