What is Tet Nguyen Dan(Tet)?

     Tet Nguyen Dan is the most important holiday of the year for Vietnamese people, which is counted at the beginning of the lunar year, Tet Nguyen Dan often has many different names such as: Tet ca, Tet am lich, Tet ta, Tet co truyen, etc.

     Tet Nguyen Dan is calculated starting on the first day of the lunar year, usually 1 to 2 months later than the New Year due to the rule of 3 leap years and 1 month of the lunar year. The Tet Nguyen Dan takes place at a time when farmers are idle, resting to prepare for the new crop. Because traditionally, most people in Vietnam are farming, so when you have free time, you will have an excited mentality, making up for the hard working days.

What is the meaning of Tet Nguyen Dan?

Tet Nguyen Dan is a time of interference between heaven and earth
The Lunar New Year is considered a time to show the interference between heaven and earth, gods and humans. “Tet” in the Tet Nguyen Dan means that the weather (here represents the weather) will operate according to 4 seasons in the year Spring – Summer – Autumn – Winter, a cycle that ends and has special meaning for the ancient economy when mainly based on agriculture.

Tet Nguyen Dan is an occasion to pay respects to ancestors
It can be said that this is the most important occasion of the year when the descendants of the family will gather to prepare and offer the most solemn trays of rice and five-fruit trays to the ancestors’ altars. According to the ancient concept, on this holiday, ancestors will come home to celebrate Tet with their children and grandchildren and bless their families with better health and harmony.

Tet Nguyen Dan is a day of luck and hope
The New Year symbolizes a new beginning, so every New Year comes, people invite each other to go to the temple to pray for good luck and good luck for the coming year.

From the past until now, there has always been a notion that the coming of the Tet Nguyen Dan will drive away the bad luck of the old year and welcome better hopes for the new year. So it’s a popular time to start work for the year and a good time to start a business thanks to the New Year’s climate.

Tet Nguyen Dan is a time for families to gather together
Not all families can be close to each other, so the Tet Nguyen Dan is the time when everyone in the family looks forward to being reunited with loved ones. Being together around a pot of banh chung on New Year’s Eve is what everyone dreams of.

In addition, this is also a time for children and grandchildren to give thanks to grandparents and parents who have given birth and nurtured with the most sincere affection or simply with gifts for Tet.

This article has presented what the meaning of Tet Nguyen Dan is and the popular Tet activities of Vietnamese people. Hope you will have more information about the traditional Tet holiday here and wish you a cozy Tet with your family!