Tet, also known as Lunar new year festival, is the biggest traditional festival in Viet Nam. Tet is usually from the end of January to early February. Before Tet, Vietnamese prepare many things for the three main days. They clean their house and decorate with flowers such as kumquat tree or peach blossom. A huge amount of food will be bought before Tet for making traditional dishes. Banh Chung, Banh Tet, Gio cha, Xoi and Mut, and candies are the foods that must have on Tet holidays. During Tet, people visit their relatives’ homes and give wishes. However, the Vietnamese believe that the first visitor a family receives in the year determines their fortune for the entire year, people never enter any house on the first day without being invited first. Another custom is giving lucky money, which is put into a red envelope as a symbol of luck and wish for a new age. Traditionally, elders will give lucky money to children and the oldest people in the family. However, nowadays, people can give it to anyone including friends, parents, neighbors. Besides, Vietnamese usually go to pagodas or temples to pray for health, wealth, success. To Vietnamese, Tet is the happiest time of all year around, members in a family can gather together, which is a meaningful messages of Lunar New year festival. All in all, Tet is all about back to origins, be good to others, enjoy the precious moment, and wish for the best to come.
