Happy Vietnamese New Year!

Vietnamese people all over the world welcome in the New Year with the Tet Festival, which is the biggest and most important traditional holiday in Vietnam.

It is celebrated at the turn of the lunar calendar, typically in late January or early February. In 2023, it starts on 22 January and is the Year of the Cat. It officially lasts three days, but festivities often begin a week beforehand and continue for up to two weeks afterwards

Tet is a time for family reunions, visiting friends and neighbors, and offering prayers and good wishes for the upcoming year. Gifts of food are made to friends, neighbours and relatives in the days before Tet. During the holiday, people decorate their homes, prepare traditional foods, and participate in various cultural activities, such as dragon and lion dances, and ancestor worship ceremonies, especially to grandparents. Tet is a time to reflect on the past year, to give thanks for blessings, and to look forward to a bright future.

Although the festival is celebrated on the same day as the Chinese New Year, the Vietnamese zodiac is slightly different from the Chinese one, where the Year of the Rabbit will be welcomed in.