The special activity series for – “Vietnamese Tet – Tet Street 2023” (Tet Viet Pho Viet 2023) has started to serve tourists and citizens from January 8th to February 28th 2023 to celebrate Lunar New Year. This can be the chance for foreign tourists to come and experience the traditions of Vietnamese Tet.
WHAT IS THE LUNAR NEW YEAR?
Different from the Western countries, Eastern Asian countries, including Vietnam, celebrate the lunar new year (in Vietnamese: Tết). The celebration follows the circulation of the lunar calendar and the traditional twelve-zodiac system. Hence, the holiday happens around the end of January to the beginning of February each year.
At this time of the year, there are many organized events and activities to celebrate this important holiday. Also, this can be the opportunity for foreign tourists and local citizens to deeply understand the traditions and cultural stories behind them.
For this year, to celebrate the year of the cat in Vietnamese culture, the cultural departments of Hanoi city and Hoan Kiem district have organized many interesting activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year and promote the traditional culture of Hanoi.
FESTIVAL IMITATION
If you just have a short time visiting Vietnam but also desire to learn more about Vietnamese culture, don’t worry, come to the Old Quarter area these days. You can learn more about the traditional customs and manners, notable spring festivals, and Vietnamese Tet folktales through many imitational events. You can participate in many ceremonies, such as the Neu Tree hang-up, the worship of the master of the traditional craftmanship villages, the traditional reporting at Thang Long Citadel, and so on. While observing the traditions, foreign tourists can understand the deep roots of the cultural traditions and experience the meaning of Vietnamese Tet culture.
Also, you see the distinguishing traditional art performance from many parts of the country like Ca Hue from Hue city, Hat Xoan from Phu Tho or Don Ca Tai Tu from the Southern part of Vietnam. These performances will showcase the beauty and diversity of Vietnamese traditional art forms.
EXHIBITION ABOUT THE LUNAR NEW YEAR AT KIM NGAN TEMPLE
Coming to Kim Ngan Temple (42-44 Hang Bac Street), tourists can visit the exhibition of Cat (the zodiac represented this lunar year) in different forms of traditional paintings. Tourists can see the different versions of the cat through the paintings by Hang Trong, Dong Ho, and Kim Hoang styles.
Also, coming to this traditional experience space, tourists can listen to the traditional folks about Cat and the years of Cat in the past, try the traditional food for the Tet holiday, experience the making of To He (toy figurine), and receive the letter on the signature red paper from calligraphy master as a blessing for a peaceful and happy new year.
TET CUSTOMS AT HERITAGE HOUSE
At the Heritage House (87 Ma May Street), there are many traditional customs of the Tet Holiday will be organized. The notable events are making Chung cake, the worship ceremony of the Kitchen God (on the December 23rd of the Lunar calendar), the Neu Tree hang-up ceremony, end-year dinner, New Year Eve’s ceremony, and planting daffodils – a hobby of the Hanoian elite class in the past.
TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP MARKET
Starting from the 6th to the 20th of January, there is a traditional craftsmanship fair on Phung Hung street. At this fair, tourists can understand better different famous types of Vietnamese crafts, such as pottery, bamboo crafts, silk, paintings, and so on. Moreover, tourists can talk and interact directly with the people from those traditional craftsmanship villages, know more about the making process, and buy some crafts as souvenirs if wanted.
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SOURCE: National Information – Hanoi Post