"Our First Tet Experience..."
(Double click on any pic for a better view)


Tet is the traditional Chinese New Year which is based on the lunar calendar. This year Tet was February 17-19. In Hanoi as well as the rest of Vietnam, almost everything closes for the three days. We found that here in Hanoi stores began to close on Tet Eve. There are so many traditions that are associated with Tet, I don't think we have room to write about them, so I will only highlight a few.

First, in preparation for Tet, people buy cum quat trees, orange trees, grapefruit trees and peach blossom trees. These trees are placed in our just outside homes and businesses. Most of these are bought on the streets and then transported by motor bike or bicycle. You can see this in some of the pics.

Second, people buy all kinds of cookies, candy, fruit and other food items for their consumption as well as for making offerings to their ancestors on family altars or in pagodas. One interesting food that is prepared is called "banh chung." This is made with sticky rice, bean curd and pork. It is wrapped in banana leaves and tied up with string. When you unwrap the "banh chung" you save the string and use it to cut it into four pieces. A little bit goes a long way!... believe me... I do mean a little!

Another interesting event that occurs the week before Tet is what is called "Ong Dao." This is a pagan ceremony in which people make an offering to the kitchen spirits! They believe that they must please the kitchen (and house) spirits so that they will give a good report to the gods (or ancestors?) so that they will have good fortune in the kitchen for the next year. Typically, fish is prepared because the fish is the mode of transportation that the spirits take to get to the heavens. * One thought I had was why does a "god" need someone to bring a report. If this is a "god" shouldn't the "god" know everything? My God is omniscient! He doesn't need someone to bring Him a report because He knows already!

On Tet Eve most people stay up past midnight like we do for New Years Eve. We celebrated Tet Eve at Hoan Kim Lake with about 2 million other people! On the first day of Tet most people sleep in and then begin to visit family. When they go to a family member's home they are all "decked out'! Men and boys are wearing suits and ties and the women are wearing traditional "ao dais"(pronounced: ao z-eye). I've never seen so many people all dressed up and walking or riding motor bikes. When people visit a home on the first day they will throw their trash or wrappers on the floor. The home owner doesn't clean the floor until later that night thinking it will bring "good luck." The second and third days are spent visiting friends and neighbors. Children are typically given small envelopes with a small amount of money inside which is called "lucky money."

There are so many other traditions, but we won't bore you right now! We hope that you enjoy the pics and if you have any questions about Tet that you would like to ask please don't hesitate to mention them in your comments.

"Chuc mung nam moi tu gia dinh cua toi!"