Vietnamese New Year or Tet is the year's most important festival. Family members gather in their hometowns, traveling from across the country (or the world) to spend the Tet holidays in each other's company.

Tet and Good Luck

On the stroke of midnight, as the old year turns into the new, Vietnamese usher out the old year and welcome the new Kitchen God, beating drums, lighting firecrackers, and goading dogs to bark (a lucky omen).

More on luck and the New Year: Vietnamese believe that one's luck in the entire year can be determined by auspicious (and not-so-auspicious) events during Tet. Thus Vietnamese will try to even the odds.

Barking dogs inspire confidence in the New Year, so dogs are encouraged to bark. Hooting owls are regarded as an unlucky omen. The wealth of the first person through the door on New Year reflects the family's luck for the year to come, so the rich and popular are invited to one's home.

On Tet, families lay out a splendid feast to welcome visiting relatives and friends. Traditional Tet treats include:

Family members and friends also exchange gifts during the visit. After the guests have been feted, the family goes off to their respective places of worship (Christian or Buddhist) to pray for the year to come, or join in the many public parades celebrating the festival.

The first few days of Tet are meant to be spent visiting friends and relatives. The first day is spent calling upon close friends and one's parents. The next day, Vietnamese call on their in-laws and other friends. And on the third day, people call upon their distant relations.

On the seventh day after Tet, the Cay Neu is taken down, and dragon processions stalk the streets.

Traveling in Vietnam during Tet

Tet is a great time to see Vietnam at its most colorful, especially in the cities of Hue, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. However, reservations are bound to be filled up long before the actual holiday and transportation before and after Tet is bound to be sketchy at best (everybody wants to be home for Tet). Also, many tourist spots are closed for several days between Tet.