Discover the Magic: 13 Fascinating Fun Facts About Vietnamese New Year Celebrations

1. Hold My Bánh Chưng: Tet Dates

Just when you thought winter's gloom had absconded with your party spirit, Vietnam opens the door, throws confetti, and bellows, "hold my bánh chưng!": Tet, Vietnamese New Year, is observed on the first day of the first lunar month, generally between late January and mid-February, with the 2023 festivities kicking off on January 22nd and spanning a glorious 6-day extravaganza, lasting until January 26th.
Source => asiahighlights.com

2. Kumquat Trees of Fortune

If money doesn't grow on trees, good fortune might find its home in the branchy arms of a kumquat: In Vietnam, families decorate their homes with fruit-bearing kumquat trees during the Tet celebration as they believe the abundance of kumquat fruits ushers in unparalleled fruitfulness and luck for the coming year.
Source => en.vietnamplus.vn

Did you know that Buddha's Delight, a scrumptious vegetarian dish, is like an 18-party mixtape of flavors traditionally served during Chinese New Year? Discover the significance behind its 18 ingredients and the tasty components in this unique culinary celebration. 🥢🎉

=> Fun Facts about Chinese-New-Year

3. Lucky New Year's Guest Auditions

In Vietnam, finding the perfect New Year's party guest is essential and might involve an X-Factor-style audition process: It's customary for families to meticulously choose a morally upright, good-tempered individual to be the first person to enter their home on Tết, Vietnamese New Year, as this person is believed to bring good luck for the entire year. To prevent any unwelcomed, luck-bringing competition, the head of the household dashes out just before midnight and reenters promptly at the stroke of twelve. Don't even think about breaking anything, or trimming hair or nails – bad juju for the remainder of the year!
Source => visitphongnha.com

4. Bond's Vietnamese Delight: Banh Chung

Ever wondered what James Bond would eat to get a taste of Vietnam? It's none other than the soul-stealing, scene-stealing, sticky sensation that is Banh Chung: an indispensable dish in Vietnamese New Year celebrations, made of fragrant sticky rice filled with pork, green beans, dried onions, and pepper, skillfully crafted as a tribute to ancestors during the Tet festival.
Source => en.vietnamplus.vn

5. Red Envelope Wisdom: Age Before Beauty

You know what they say, age before beauty… and lai see: The Vietnamese tradition of elders giving red envelopes filled with lucky money to the younger generation during New Year festivities is meant to wish them good health, prosperity, and assist in starting the year off right.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Celestial Chef Farewell: Tet Tao Quan

Ready for take-off in the celestial kitchen: During Tet Tao Quan, Vietnamese families hold a farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods, three guardian spirits, two male and one female, who protect their kitchens and bless them with prosperity. They clean house altars, add fresh fruit and flowers, and provide three votive paper caps before sending these A-list divine chefs to the Heavenly Palace, not to spill the beans on the family's behavior, but to report their wellbeing to the Jade Emperor.
Source => vietnam.com

7. Tet's Green Thumb: Plant-based Party Dishes

Who knew that Tết had a green thumb too? Vietnam's biggest bash is not just a hootenanny for the herbivorous – it's eco-friendly to boot: Many traditional Vietnamese New Year dishes, like sweet Banh Tet and Mut, are vegetarian and vegan, meaning that plant-based party-goers can partake in the scrumptious spread too! Pickled scallions, a popular side dish usually served with dried shrimp, can be enjoyed by sea-free swashbucklers when the shrimp is sidelined.
Source => expatolife.com

8. Dragons = Vietnamese Party Animals

It's a funny thing about dragons; one moment they're the bane of Middle Earth, and the next, they're the life of the party in Vietnam: During Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, performers don colorful dragon and lion costumes and dance through the streets to a rollicking beat, a vibrant tradition passed down for generations that continues to entertain people nationwide.
Source => vietnamisawesome.com

9. Tooth Fairy Out, Lucky Bucks In!

Forget the tooth fairy's quarters, folks; in Vietnam, it's all about Grandma's lucky bucks: Elders give red envelopes filled with small amounts of money to children during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, hoping to bring good fortune and blessings for the year ahead.
Source => vietnam.travel

10. Moon-Controlling Monster Ra Hu

Move aside, Halloween monsters, there's a Vietnamese creature that's about to steal your thunder: Children in Vietnam wear masks and bang on drums during Tet Trung Thu to scare off Ra Hu, a mythological creature believed to control the moon's phases and eclipses. This festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival, symbolizes the moon's ascendancy over the sun in winter and involves traditional handcrafted lanterns, moon cakes, and evening visits to temples with offerings and prayers.
Source => worldhistorycommons.org

11. Kungfu Dragon and Lion Dance Groove

Once upon a kungfu-laden groove, it was said that lions and dragons danced to the beat of their own dojo drums before strutting their funky stuff at weddings and shindigs: The Vietnamese Lion and Dragon Dance – a martial art-infused performance originating from China – is showcased during Lunar New Year celebrations, major business openings, and special events, with costume heads crafted from paper and cardboard and a drum providing their soulful rhythm, guided by the master himself.
Source => itourvn.com

12. Balut: Crack and Munch for Luck

Heard of cracking a few eggs to make an omelette, how about munching on some to reverse your luck? Vietnamese-style, of course: Diving into an odd number of balut, fertilized duck egg embryos, during Tet is believed to transform one's fortunes, shedding bad luck and welcoming prosperity for the year ahead – a superstition deeply rooted in Vietnamese New Year celebrations.
Source => itourvn.com

13. Carpools and Kitchen Gods: Ong Cong-Ong Tao

Carpooling with Kitchen Gods on a one-way fishing trip to Atlantis: Vietnamese families release live carps into rivers and lakes during Tết, on the 23rd day of the last lunar month, as a benevolent gesture to invite good fortune and honor the gods, while also participating in the “Ong Cong - Ong Tao” ritual, offering delicacies, decorating altars, and showing love for the environment by responsibly disposing of plastic containers.
Source => en.vietnamplus.vn