Spring Break
Traditional Vietnamese New Year
ISOSU
Issue date: 1/22/08 Section: Forum
Many people might have heard of the Vietnamese Tet (Traditional New Year), but not many people actually know about it.
The Vietnamese New Year is based on the Vietnamese Luna calendar. It runs from Feb. 7-10 this year. Nevertheless, we start to celebrate this special event on Feb. 1.
For many centuries Vietnamese have celebrated "Ong Tao Day" (one week before the Tet holiday) with their families. It is thought that there are three angels named Ong Tao who live with us in our kitchens. On Ong Tao Day, these angels ride "Koi" and fly to the sky, reporting family issues with the god. Families have a farewell party with plenty of food, fruits and alcohol to say goodbye to them.
Two things that cannot be missed at this party re Ong Tao's hats and Koi, which are made from colored paper. After burning incense, we burn the paper hats and Koi so that Ong Tao can use them to fly to the sky. Of course, after that, we enjoy the good food.
On New Year's Eve we prepare another family party to invite our ancestors and dead people to return for Tet celebration. We put a set of five types of fruits - banana, grapefruit, orange, papaya and pineapple - on the spirit table at home along with Banh Trung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake), Thit Ga (boiled male chicken), Gio Lua (Vietnamese pork ham), deep fried spring rolls (Vietnamese egg rolls), Mien (Grass noodle in soup), sticky rice and wine.
Banh Trung was created by the first Vietnamese king four centuries ago to thank farmers who worked hard planting rice. This square cake was the symbol of the earth in those days. Chicken and pork meat were the precious foods of the culture.
In the house, instead of Christmas trees, we have peach and tangerine trees. The peach flower blooms in January and February in Vietnam, so it has become a symbol of spring in our country.
Before Tet, we buy peach trees from markets or nurseries with the hope that its flowers will bloom during Tet. If the weather is warm and the peach flower blooms before Tet, nursery workers cry because nobody wants to buy a dried-out peach tree for their house. We believe the fresher looking the peach tree is, the happier its owners will be.
The Vietnamese New Year is based on the Vietnamese Luna calendar. It runs from Feb. 7-10 this year. Nevertheless, we start to celebrate this special event on Feb. 1.
For many centuries Vietnamese have celebrated "Ong Tao Day" (one week before the Tet holiday) with their families. It is thought that there are three angels named Ong Tao who live with us in our kitchens. On Ong Tao Day, these angels ride "Koi" and fly to the sky, reporting family issues with the god. Families have a farewell party with plenty of food, fruits and alcohol to say goodbye to them.
Two things that cannot be missed at this party re Ong Tao's hats and Koi, which are made from colored paper. After burning incense, we burn the paper hats and Koi so that Ong Tao can use them to fly to the sky. Of course, after that, we enjoy the good food.
On New Year's Eve we prepare another family party to invite our ancestors and dead people to return for Tet celebration. We put a set of five types of fruits - banana, grapefruit, orange, papaya and pineapple - on the spirit table at home along with Banh Trung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake), Thit Ga (boiled male chicken), Gio Lua (Vietnamese pork ham), deep fried spring rolls (Vietnamese egg rolls), Mien (Grass noodle in soup), sticky rice and wine.
Banh Trung was created by the first Vietnamese king four centuries ago to thank farmers who worked hard planting rice. This square cake was the symbol of the earth in those days. Chicken and pork meat were the precious foods of the culture.
In the house, instead of Christmas trees, we have peach and tangerine trees. The peach flower blooms in January and February in Vietnam, so it has become a symbol of spring in our country.
Before Tet, we buy peach trees from markets or nurseries with the hope that its flowers will bloom during Tet. If the weather is warm and the peach flower blooms before Tet, nursery workers cry because nobody wants to buy a dried-out peach tree for their house. We believe the fresher looking the peach tree is, the happier its owners will be.
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