FESTIVAL

1. Từ vựng ngày Tết Nguyên Đán

 Lunar New Year: Tết Nguyên Đán

 New Year’s Eve: Đêm Giao Thừa
 Peach blossom = hoa đào
 Apricot blossom = hoa mai
 Vietnamese square sticky rice cake = bánh chưng
 Vietnamese cylindrical sticky rice cake = bánh tét
 Pickled small leeks = củ kiệu
 Roasted watermelon seeds = hạt dưa
 Dried candied fruits = mứt
 Braised pork and eggs = thịt kho trứng
 Family union = family gathering = cuộc đoàn tụ gia đình
 Five-fruit tray = mâm ngũ quả
 Parallel sentences = câu đối
 Ritual = lễ nghi
 Incense stick = nhang
 Altar = bàn thờ
 Worship the ancestor = thờ cúng tổ tiên
 Lucky money = tiền lì xì
 Spring cleaning = dọn dẹp nhà vào năm mới
 Get rid of bad spirit = xua đuổi tà ma
 Thắp nhang = light incense sticks
 in honor of = nhân dịp
 sense of belonging = cảm giác thuộc về
 drift apart = dần xa cách
 tighten the bonds = thắt chặt mối quan hệ
 hustle and bustle = sự hối hả, bận rộn
 blow off some steam = nghỉ xả hơi
 2. Talk about Tet holiday in Viet Nam – IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe a national festival in your country

You should say:

 when it takes place
 why it takes place
 what the people do during this festival
 and explain why this festival is important to you
ANSWER: (band 8.0+)

 – I would like to talk about the Lunar New Year festival, also known as the Tet holiday,
which is the occasion expected the most by Vietnamese people every year. The festival
usually lasts for around 3-4 days, and it takes place when a new year comes according to
the lunar calendar.
 – The Lunar New Year festival takes place because it is one of the most well-known
traditions of Vietnam. Our people have been celebrating this occasion for thousands of
years, and although there has been some recent argument about whether we should stop
celebrating this festival, I do not think this activity will come to an end soon, at least not in
the short term.
 – There are some common things that people do during this festival. Perhaps the most
important thing is that people who work and study in big cities would go back to their
hometown to celebrate the new year with their families and relatives. The new year festival
is one of very few occasions that families can gather together, so it is easy to understand
why everyone in Vietnam expects this festival so much. Another thing that we usually do
is that we give children some “lucky money” with the hope that it will bring fortune to
those kids. We also have some other activities such as making “chung” cake, visiting
temples and pagodas… and so on.
 – The new year festival is so important to me and also to all Vietnamese citizens. The
reason is because we get more days off from work and study, and therefore we have more
time to spend with our families and our loved ones. It is also a great time to think about
what we have done in the previous year, and to make plans for the upcoming year.