Understanding of Vietnam's Lunar New Year

Nowadays, Vietnamese people believe that during Tet, all things must be really early and new.
So, before Lunar New Year more than 2 weeks, all families has prepared for Tet, they usually clean up, decorate their homes, buy flowers, food shopping, etc. Besides, all non-essential things and all things is considered to bring bad luck, they are discarded .

At the end of the year

The work of preparing for Tet of the Vietnamese usually starts from December 23 - the day that Vietnamese people worships Kitchen God. In view of the Vietnamese people, the Kitchen God are both Kitchen God and recordsman all good and bad action that people did in the previous year, they will report the good and bad issues of the host to the Jade Emperor. The Kitchen God are offered foods at noon on afternoon on December 23th in Lunar Calendar every year. This event includes: incense, candles, fruit, votive(two hats for two men, one for woman) and carp( real crap or paper crap). According to the legend of Kitchen God, the craps will take the Kitchen God through "Vu Mon" (Wave gate) to Heaven to meet the Jade Emperor.

The last day of the year


The last day may be December 30th (for full year) or December 29th (for a year missing) in Lunar Calendar. This is day for family gather together to eat the last meal of the year. In the evening of this day, they usually cook to worship. Between December 30th (or 29th) and January 1st, "Ty hour" (from 11pm to 1am on the following day), in the beginning of the Ty hour (0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds on January 1st) - it is the most important moment of the Lunar New Year, marking the transfer of the old year and new year, known as Eve. In recognition of this moment, they usually cook food and divide into two trays: one for the ancestors, another for the sky and the earth in the front yard. Some other communities have partially devoted to worship beings, worship ghosts wandering, helpless.

Eve


Eve is the moment transfer between the old year and new year. In that moment, everyone in the family often give the best wishes for each other. On this occasion, fireworks is often displayed in the broad and cool places.

Meaning of 3 days in the beginning of the year

On the first day of January in Lunar Calendar, this day is considered the first and most important day of the whole New Year. Regardless of the good ones is invited to come to someone's house on this day, Vietnamese people often do not leave the house, just regale, wish and celebrate together in the family. For families who have separated from their parents and their parents have still alive, they visit their parents according to customs: "Mong Mot Tet cha" (Tet comes to father on the first day).

On the second day, this day is also the worship activities at home in the early morning. After, they visit mother - "Mong hai tet me"( Tet comes to mother on the second day). Particularly, for men who prepare to marry, they have to come to parents in-law.

On the third day, after having the worship activities, the students often visit the teachers teaching them - "Mong ba tet thay"( Tet comes to the teacher on the third day).

On these days, they often visit and ask each other what they have done in previous year and is going to do in the new year.


First-foot( first foot put on the ground of someone's house on the days of Tet)

First-foot customs has long appeared in Vietnam. Many people believe that the first day will "opening" a new year, if all goes well, the whole year will be good. As soon as eve, anyone put their foot into house from outside with the New Year wishes to be considered first-foot for the owner. Therefore, everyone intentionally looks for people who is cheerful, flexible, ethical and successful to invite a visit. They come and wish the best wishes about 5 or 10 minutes so that everything in the home is also gone flowing smoothly.


Going out and Getting Lucky

Going out is the first to come out of the year, usually done on the good day of New Year to look for luck for themselves and their family. Before going out, they have to choose Zodiac day, Zodiac hour and good direction to look forward to seeing Finance God, Patronus, God of love,etc.

In the North, if coming to pagoda or temple, after that, Vietnamese people often takes a break branch buds to get luck. It is getting luck customs. The branch buds is a small banyan tree branch or si branch,etc that is lush year round and buds bouncing Getting lucky customs in temples and pagodas is imply that getting a litte fortune of Gods, Buddhist for a whole year. The branch is put on the altar. Unlike the North, the Central doesn't have Getting lucky customs so that the trees is remained blue throughout the spring.

Visiting relatives, neighbors, friends and co-workers

Visiting relatives is to mount the extended family affection. New Year's wishes often is for health generally, financial development, luck, succeed,etc. Those who met bad luck in the previous year, they encourage to each other, something like towards goodness, etc.

Visiting neighbors, with the best wishes, this visit helps to bring people together, to remove all the knots of the old year, to welcome the new year in fun.

Lucky money


Adults often give children money in a red packet with the best wishes such as: well fed and fast growing. In ancient China, in red packet has 8 coins as incarnation of 8 fairies, it is put under the child's pillow to repel demons because demons afraid red paper

According to the legend:Once upon a time, there was a demon often appears on Lunar New Year's Eve that made the child cry. The following day, the child had a headache, high fever so the parent didn't dare to sleep to watch the demon. In that year, there were 8 fairies stroll through, they knew he would have a bad thing so they transformed into 8 coins to duty on boy. After the boy had slept, the parent got the red paper and wrapped the coins and put under the pillow. In midnight, the demon appeared to harm the child, from the pillow flashed bright yellow rays, made it horripilation fled. In the past, people put odd money into red packet without even money with imply that money will proliferate much more.

The last day of Tet

On January 7th(may be January 6th) is the last day of Tet. On this day, Vietnamese people put Tet pole(set  up in the courtyard of everyhouse in the country) down, and entered the business in the new year from the 8th or 9th January.