In 2020, the Vietnamese New Year will once again be celebrated noisily and cheerfully. After all, this is one of the main holidays in the country. It has many interesting traditions and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. Tet (the so-called New Year in Vietnam) is not only a fun family holiday, but also a show of respect for the older generation, reverence for the dead.
Celebration date
Tourists who want to get acquainted with national traditions and see the holiday with their own eyes are interested when they will celebrate New Year 2020 in Vietnam. The fact is that Tet does not have a fixed date. It is calculated annually on the lunar calendar. The holiday symbolizes the arrival of spring and the rainy season. Almost always, it coincides with the Chinese New Year, although there are exceptions. In the period from 1975 to 2100 there will be only 4 mismatches.
Important! In 2020, in Vietnam, the New Year will be celebrated on January 25, although some ceremonies are performed on the eve. The holiday lasts 3 days, and in some regions festivities last up to 7 days.
Tourists should be aware that during the Theta celebration, not only government offices are closed, but most stores are closed. For this reason, products and other necessary goods should be bought in advance.
Preparation for the holiday
The Vietnamese are looking forward to the coming of the New Year, and therefore begin to prepare for it in advance. During preparation do the following:
- Conduct a general cleaning. Throw away garbage and old things, wash and clean everything. Children are required to participate in cleaning. They are tidied up not only in the house, but also in the yard in order to earn the favor of the gods.
- Remove the altar. This is usually done by the owner of the house.
- Buy new clothes for children. According to Vietnamese traditions, you need to meet the holiday in new clothes, so a trip to the store is included in the mandatory program.
- Decorate the house. To do this, use flowering apricot and peach branches, which symbolize happiness and good luck. Also in the houses they put small tangerine trees with fruits, hang red lights and garlands.
- Decorate a Christmas tree. Instead of a Christmas tree, Vietnamese decorate bamboo. It grows in almost every yard. The trunk of the bamboo must be wrapped in red cloth, which attracts good luck and prosperity. Bells are attached to the top, which scare away evil spirits. Be sure to hang on a bamboo and a small lamp so that it shows the way to the souls of deceased relatives.
7 days before Theta, they surely arrange the farewell of the Kitchen God. Each family performs the ritual, as it is believed that the Kitchen God goes to the Jade Emperor to tell him about the past year. For the rite, the Vietnamese buy special paper donations, and at the end of the ritual they release three carps into the river.
Main traditions
Knowing what date the Vietnamese New 2020 will be, locals will wear new clothes the day before. Before Aunt, it is customary to prepare gifts and go on a visit, but only by invitation. Usually give money. It is desirable that these were new coins or banknotes, but not of a large denomination. They are put in a red bag or envelope, since this color in Vietnam is a symbol of good luck and prosperity. Sometimes give items of clothing or other inexpensive gifts.
And although it is customary to spend New Year's Eve in Vietnam with family, they usually celebrate the holiday on the street.Fireworks and fireworks everywhere, fire shows, knocking on drums and bells. Making noise on the streets is not only for fun, but also to drive away evil spirits. After the New Year's Eve, the locals go home.
In the morning everyone gets up early and first goes to the temple. At noon, presentations (fruits, sweets and other treats) are placed on the altar so that the souls of deceased ancestors join in the celebration of the most important celebration of the year.
On the first day, Theta Vietnamese hold a festival. Large red or red-yellow dragons, made of paper, fabric or other materials, march through the streets of the city. They are accompanied by people who knock loudly on the drums. In the temples beat in the copper bells. If the festival is an opportunity for foreigners to have fun, for locals it has a symbolic meaning. Dragons and loud sounds protect the inhabitants of the city from evil spirits.
Festive table
New Year dishes in the north and south of the country are different. Northerners serve pork legs cooked with bamboo shoots, carp with salted sauce and meat jellied meat. Southerners cook pork in coconut milk. There is another unusual dish on the table - stuffed bitter melon. Meat dishes are complemented by sprouts of green peas, turnips, carrots.
At each festive table there are fruits:
- tangerines;
- kumquats;
- dragon fruit;
- bananas
- pomelo and others
The Vietnamese from both the northern and southern regions are preparing a traditional New Year's cake - banching. It consists of sticky rice, pork, onions and green peas. The filling is not wrapped in dough, but in bamboo leaves. The cake has a square shape, which symbolizes the gratitude to the earth, which feeds people four seasons of the year. They prepare the dish for almost a day using old technology.
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