BỘ TƯ PHÁP

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC LUẬT HÀ NỘI

ASSIGNMENT BOOK
SUBJECT:
TIENG ANH NANG CAO

THEME: TET HOLIDAY -

VIETNAM TRADITIONAL LUNAR
NEW YEAR

GROUP: 03

CLASS: 4630B

Ha Noi, 2022
Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

On
Level Meeting
schedule
Name Assignment
Contribut
Not Fully
Yes No Medium Good Active e many
good present
ideas
Find
Nguyen
information
1 Minh x x x x x A
,
Phuong
presentation
Find
Nguyen
information
2 Duc x x x x x A
,
Trung
presentation
Find
Nguyen
information
3 Thi Kim x x x x x A
,
Van
presentation

EVALUTION

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. The history of Lunar New Year in Vietnam
2. The period of Tet holiday
3. Social beliefs & Traditional customs in Tet
4. Traditional cuisine in Tet
5. The meaning of Tet holiday
6. Comparing Tet in the South and in the North

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

INFORMATION
Theme: Tet Holiday - Vietnam Traditional Lunar New Year
Group: 03 Class: 4630B
Team members:
Nguyen Minh Phuong - 463032
Nguyen Duc Trung - 463038
Nguyen Thi Kim Van - 463039

INTRODUCTION
Tet Nguyen Dan, more commonly known by its shortened name Tet, is the most
popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year marking
the arrival of spring based on the Lunar calendar. The name Tet Nguyen Dan is
Sino -Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning.

The date of Lunar New Year differs every year but it generally takes place
around late January or February. Since Vietnamese families are so close-knitted,
Tet Holiday is considered the best occassion for family gathering. The Vietnamese
believe that Tet Holiday is an occasion to enjoy life after a full hard-working year,
thus people forget their struggles and focus on making the celebration as festive as
possible. Due to the high regard in which people hold it, Tet, as often as not, is
consumed with unique, distinctive colors and flavors. Let’s take a look at some
features of this special holiday in Vietnam.

BODY
1. THE HISTORY OF LUNAR NEW YEAR IN VIETNAM

According to historical documents, in the thirteenth century, Vietnamese people

often celebrated the Tet holiday by painting tattoos on themselves, drinking

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

traditional glutinous-rice liquor, using betel nuts to welcome guests, and eating
Chung cakes, pickled onions. In the Ly dynasty (1009-1226), many important
rituals were made on the Tet festival such as setting up a dome to pray for rains or
building communal houses to crave for a year of abundant harvests. In the period
of King Le Thanh Tong (1442-1497), Tet was the most important festival and
hundreds of mandarins had to gather at the royal court to celebrate this lunar new
year festival with royal families.

2. THE PERIOD OF TET HOLIDAY

2.1. TET ONG CONG, ONG TAO (GODS & GODDESS OF KITCHEN)

The tradition of celebrating Tet Tao Quan comes from a popular fairy tale about
2 men and a woman: Trong Cao, Pham Lang and Thi Nhi, who later would become
the trio of Deities, or “Tao Quan”.

On the 23rd of the last month in the lunar calendar, Vietnamese people prepare
the traditional offerings and especially the carps to regale the gods and goddesses
living at their house all over the year. Then they will release the carps into the river
so they will be used by the Gods as the transportations to come to heaven,
according to the legend. At heaven, they will report everything happening all
around the year of their family to the King of heaven. They will come back on the
last day of the year to celebrate the Tet holiday with the host. The carps then
become the dragons. Tet Ong Cong, Ong Tao of Tet holiday 2022 is on January
25th.

2.2. CLEANING & DECORATING THE HOUSE

Tet holiday is also called by a jolly name “house-cleaning festival”. A week

before the Tet festival, all members of the family clean the house, the garden, the
altars and do Tet holiday decorations. Broken things will be repaired, old things

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

will be replaced. Clothes and decorations such as lanterns, distiches, led lights will
be bought. All those preparations have the same purpose - to be the best to
welcome the Lunar New Year festival and to receive luck as well as fortune.

2.3. THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR & LUNAR NEW YEAR EVE

On the last day of the year, every member of different generations gathers
around a grand banquet to enjoy the last meal of the year. The talk at that time is
about things already happening in the year. The ambiance of the reunion is always
the most wonderful and happiest at all.

On Lunar New Year Eve, the young often go out to watch the Tet holiday
firework performance while the elderly and adults stay at home making offerings
of pig head, boiled chicken, rice, and salt for outdoor worship to the Gods and
indoor one to the ancestors. They will pray for a new year of luck, health, and
fortune to every family member.

After that, the young return home and become the first one to come to the house
in the lunar new year. It is believed that the wishes of that person for the host will
come true. Then everyone gathers again to drink some alcohol or juice. Then the
wishes, as well as plans of every person for the new year, will be shared with
others.

3. SOCIAL BELIEFS & TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS IN TET

Even though many Vietnamese traditions are based on old cultural beliefs that
may strike some as a little superstitious, families believe that their activities during
Tet must involve happiness, joy, and good luck. Below are some of the popular,
long-standing Tet traditional customs that have stood the test of time from
generations to generations. 

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

First is giving lucky money. The first day of Tet is reserved for the nuclear
family. Children receive a red envelope containing money from their elders. This
tradition is called Mung tuoi (happy new age) in the north and giving lucky money
in the south. Usually, children wear their new clothes and give their elders the
traditional Tet greetings before receiving the money.

Second is Xong nha. 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 Tet is called Xong dat, Xong nha or Dap dat, which is
one of the most important rituals during Tet. 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. Normally, a person of good temper,
morality and success will be the lucky sign for the host family and be invited first
into the house. However, just to be safe, the owner of the house will leave the
house a few minutes before midnight and come back just as the clock strikes
midnight to prevent anyone else entering the house first who might potentially
bring any unfortunate events in the new year, to the household.

During subsequent days, people visit relatives and friends. Traditionally but not
strictly, the second day of Tet is usually reserved for friends, while the third day is
for teachers, who command respect in Vietnam. Local Buhhist temples are popular
spots because people like to give donations and get their fortunes told during Tết.
Children are free to spend their new money on toys or on gambling games such
as bầu cua cá cọp, which can be found in the streets. Prosperous families can pay
for dragon dancers to perform at their house. Also, public performances are given
for everyone to watch.

4. TRADITIONAL CUISINE

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

In the Vietnamese language, to celebrate Tet also means to eat, which affirmed
the important role of Vietnam Lunar New Year’s Food. One Vietnamese
traditional proverb denotes that you can be hungry all year except three days of the
Tet festival because dozens of delicious dishes and desserts will be prepared on
Lunar New Year in Vietnam to feast on the ancestors as well as every family
member.

Chung cake is the most significant and typical dish when it comes to Tet
holiday. Chung cake is a food made from glutinous rice, mung bean and pork,
added with many other ingredients. Chung cake is covered by green leaves (usually
banana leaves) and symbolizes the Earth, invented by the prince Lang Lieu from
Hung King dynasty. Besides traditional reason, Chung cake is chosen as the main
food for Tet holiday because it can last long for days in Vietnamese weather
(Chung cake can survive at room temperature for nearly 1 month).

Vietnamese ham/sausage is another traditional food in Tet holiday, and usually

served with sticky rice and Chung cake. Gio is different from Cha since Gio is
boiled and Cha is deep-fried. Cha is also made of lean pork and ingredients, but
Cha is not wrapped by leaves.

Xoi (sticky rice) is also a very important part of Tet holiday in Vietnam, along
with Chung cake, Xoi is the main staple foods for Tet holiday. Xoi can be seen in
many forms: Xoi Lac (sticky rice with peanuts), Xoi Do Xanh (sticky rice with
mung bean), Xoi Gac (sticky rice with special “gac” fruit). Among these types, Xoi
Gac is favorite the most by people because of its special red color – symbolizes the
luck and new achievement for the New Year.

Mut Tet (Tet jam) is not a dish to serve in a meal during Tết holiday, but more
like a snack to welcome guests in this special period. This once-in-a-year mix of

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

snack is very large in variety, with so many tastes: ginger, carrot, coconut,
pineapple, pumpkin, lotus seed, star fruit, etc.

5. THE MEANING OF TET HOLIDAY

For Vietnamese people, Lunar New Year is not only a transition period between
the old year and the new year of the lunar calendar, but it also contains many
spiritual and cultural meanings,... According to the Eastern concept, this is the
period of time when heaven and earth were reconciled and people became close to
the gods.

In the past, Lunar New Year was an occasion for farmers to pay respects to gods
such as Earth god, Rain god, Thunder god, ... and pray for a year of favorable rain
and wind, abundant crops.

Besides, this is also considered as a "refreshing" day when people can hope for
a peaceful, prosperous and favorable new year for the whole year and put aside all
bad luck in the old year. Therefore, on Tet holiday, every house is busy cleaning,
shopping, and decorating the house beautifully.

This is also an opportunity for people to renew emotionally and spiritually so

that the relationship with their loved ones is closer, the spirit is more comfortable
and joyful. During Tet holiday, families often gather to wish each other Tet, light
incense together in memory of their grandparents and ancestors, and thank them
for their blessing over the past year.

6. COMPARING TET IN THE SOUTH & IN THE NORTH

Ornaments: Peach blossom is a symbol of Tet in the North because it is

suitable for the cool and cold climate here, while apricot blossom is suitable for the
bright yellow sunshine of the South. These two types of flowers only bloom in
spring, near Tet or during the short Tet days. But whether it is peach blossom or

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

apricot blossom, these two flowers also signal the arrival of spring, a new year
with new beginnings with lots of luck and peace for everyone, every home.

Cuisine: If the North has a square “chung cake” with the outstanding green
color of dong leaves that has been saved in the legend, the South is famous for “Tet
cake” with the same ingredients, shell and filling as “Chung cake”, differing only
in the shape of the cake with each long cylindrical cake. “Tet cake” is cut into
convenient slices while the square chung cake is cut into 8 small triangular cakes.

Activities: The North people think that New Year's Day is a time to reunite
family members, so they often gather together at home to spill the tea and have a
meal or go to New Year's Eve with relatives and friends. However, in the south
with a more "open" mindset, they believed that Tet is for rest, so they often spend
the time and money accumulated during the year to travel, explore here and there
with their partner

CONCLUSION
Tet holiday is coming, today is the last day we studied in 2021. We hope that the
coming year brings everyone peace and prosperity. I also hope that in the next
year, the COVID-19 pandemic will end and we can meet each other in the flesh.
May the new chapter of life be even better than the last. Have a wonderful New
Year! Thanks for listening !

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Tet Holiday - Vietnamese Traditional Lunar New Year

REFERENCE
1. https://studentexchange.vn/tet-traditions-vietnam-lunar-new-year/

2.https://www.lasinfoniadelreyhotel.com/guide/detail/203/
Vietnamese_Traditional_Tet_Holiday_Foods.html

3. https://www.dienmayxanh.com/kinh-nghiem-hay/tet-nguyen-dan-la-gi-nguon-
goc-va-y-nghia-cua-nga-1320657#hmenuid4

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