Ven.

Nguyen Hoang Phuc

ID. 5501201046

Vietnamese New Year, more

commonly known by its shortened
name Tt or "Tt Nguyn n", is
the
most
important
and
popular
holiday
and
festival
in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New
Year marking the arrival of spring
based on the Chinese calendar,
a
lunisolar
calendar.
The
name Vietnamese New Year is SinoVietnamese for Feast of the First
Morning.

Tt takes place from the first day of the first month of

the Lunar calendar (around late January or early
February)
until
at
least
the
third
day.
Many Vietnamese prepare for Tt by cooking special
holiday foods and cleaning the house. There are a lot
of customs practiced during Tt, such as visiting a
person's house on the first day of the New Year,
ancestral worshipping, wishing New Year's greetings,
giving lucky money to children and elderly people.

Vietnamese people usually return to their families

during Tt. Some return to worship at the family altar
or visit the graves of their ancestors in their homeland.
They also clean the grave of their family as a sign of
respect. Although Tt is a national holiday among all
Vietnamese, each region and religion has its own
customs.
Tt in the three Vietnamese regions can be divided
into three periods, known as Tt Nin (Before New
Year's Eve), Giao Tha (New Year's Eve), and Tn
Nin (the New Year).

In the days leading up to Tt, the streets and markets are

full of people. As the shops will be closed during Tt,
everyone is busy buying food, clothes, and decorations for
their house.
Vietnamese families usually have a family altar, to pay
respect to their ancestors. Vietnamese families have a tray
of five different fruits on their altar called "Mm Ng Qu"
(five fruits type). During Tt the altar is thoroughly cleaned
and new offerings are placed there.

The first day of Tt is reserved for

the nuclear family. Children
receive a red envelope containing
money from their elders. Usually,
children wear their new clothes
and give their elders the
traditional Tt greetings before
receiving the money.
Monetary gifts are usually
presented in red envelopes
during festive occasions, like
weddings, birthdays, and
the New Year. While their
main task is to bear gifts,
their second duty is to
shower the recipient with
luck, joy, and prosperity

Since 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. The act of being the first person to enter a house
on Tt is called xng t, xng nh, which is one of the most
important rituals during Tt. According to Vietnamese tradition,
if good things come to the family on the first day of the lunar
New Year, the entire following year will also be full of blessings.

These celebrations can last from a

day up to the entire week, and the
New Year is filled with people in the
streets trying to make as much
noise as possible using firecrackers,
drums, bells, gongs, and anything
This parade will also they can think of to ward off evil
include different masks, spirits.
and dancers hidden under
the guise of what is
known as the Mua Lan or
Lion Dancing. The Lan is
an animal between a lion
and a dragon, and is the
symbol of strength in the
Vietnamese culture that is
used to scare away evil
spirits.

The traditional greetings are "chc mng nm mi" (Happy

New Year -
) and "cung chc tn xun"
(gracious wishes of the new spring). People also wish each
other prosperity and luck.
Sng lu trm tui (Long life of 100 years).
An khang thnh vng (, Security, good health, and
prosperity).
Vn s nh (, May myriad things go according to
your will).
Sc khe di do (Plenty of health).
Cung h pht ti, from the Cantonese Gung hy fat choy (
, Congratulations and be prosperous).
Tin v nh nc (May money flow in like water).

In Vietnamese language, to celebrate Tt is to n Tt,

literally meaning "eat Tt", showing the importance of
food in its celebration. Some of the food is also eaten
year-round, while other dishes are only eaten during
Tt. Also, some of the food is vegetarian since it is
believed to be good luck to eat vegetarian on Tt. Some
traditional foods on Tt are:

Bnh chng and bnh dy: essentially

tightly packed sticky rice with meat or
bean fillings wrapped in Dong
(Phrynium placentarium) leaves. When
these leaves are unavailable banana
leaves can be used as a substitute.
Bnh chng (rectangular to represent
Earth) and bnh dy (circular to
represent Sky) are symbolically
connected with Tt and are essential
in any Tt celebration. Preparation is
time-consuming, and can take days to
cook.

Tht Kho Nc Da Meaning

"Meat Stewed in Coconut Juice",
it is a traditional dish of fatty
pork stomach and medium
boiled eggs stewed in a brothlike sauce made overnight of
young coconut juice and nuoc
mam. It is often eaten with
pickled bean sprouts and chives,
and white rice.