Do They Celebrate Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

Vietnam
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Are you wondering if they celebrate Lunar New Year in Vietnam? While you may associate the concept of the Lunar New Year with China, other Eastern cultures also celebrate a unique kind of Lunar New Year. But is Vietnam a country that celebrates the Lunar New Year?

They celebrate Lunar New Year in Vietnam, which falls on the same day as Lunar New Year in China. Lunar New Year in Vietnam is about celebrating the new year of life, and the food, colors, and symbols of the Lunar New Year invite a prosperous new year. Red and gold are popular colors for Lunar New Year in Vietnam.

Related: Do They Celebrate Mother’s Day In Vietnam?

When Is Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

The Vietnamese celebrate Lunar New Year on the first lunar moon in the new year. For example, in 2022, Lunar New Year fell on the 1st of February. The exact date for Lunar New Year in Vietnam depends on the moon’s cycles.

People start celebrating Lunar New Year in Vietnam three days before the lunar moon and several days after it. Lunar New Year is a massive celebration in Vietnam, one of the most important festivals. This is a time when families come together to wish for a prosperous new year.

What Is The History Of Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

Vietnam’s celebration of the Lunar New Year dates back to early Vietnamese settlers along the red delta river. They celebrated the Lunar New Year, which marked the start of the new season for cultivating wet rice. Since then, the tradition has spread across Vietnam, and each region has its own traditions.

Most regions view Lunar New Year as a time to reflect on the time that has passed and prepare for the year ahead. Lunar New Year is a significant holiday for Vietnamese people, and many traditions and ideas surround this holiday across Vietnam.

Why Do They Celebrate Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

People celebrate Lunar New Year in Vietnam as a way to reflect and let go of the past year while preparing for the new one. In addition, the Vietnamese people see Lunar New Year as an important time for families to come together and be thankful for their blessings in the past year.

They also use this time to ask for blessings and prosper in the new year. Traditionally, Lunar New Year signified the beginning of a new season for crop development. Now, it signifies the beginning of a new year in life.

Vietnamese people love celebrating Lunar New Year and go to great lengths to ensure it’s done right.

How Do People Prepare For Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

People start preparing for Lunar New Year a few weeks in advance. They believe you must clean out the old to invite new beginnings, prosperity, and wealth into your life. Therefore, people often spring clean their homes, cut their hair, and buy new clothes to prepare for Lunar New Year.

Vietnamese people will also start making special dishes to symbolize the beginning of a new year. They’ll often buy flowers and clean their vehicles to ensure everything is fresh and clean for the start of the new year. By doing so, they remove all the bad energy from the past year and invite new beginnings.

How Do People Celebrate Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

Vietnam’s celebration of the Lunar New Year is quite astonishing. Families gather to share special meals and their stories of trial and triumph of the passing year. They often gift each other candied fruit and other delicacies to show their gratitude and invite prosperity for the coming year.

Vietnam’s houses, streets, shops, and gardens are covered in red and gold paper decorations in all shapes and sizes. The zodiac animal is represented on almost all these decorations, as the Vietnamese celebrate the zodiac animal of the new year.

On Lunar New Year, the streets are covered with onlookers as the night sky lights up with fireworks. Flower shows are also popular in Southern Vietnam, where the yellow Ochna flowers are used to symbolize the coming of the new year.

What Do People Eat During Vietnam’s Lunar New Year?

People often eat food symbolic of the moon and connected to prosperity and wealth during Lunar New Year. For example, Bahn Chung is a rice cake with filling often served for Lunar New Year. It is shaped like the moon and is said to bring good fortune.

In Northern Vietnam, people often eat these sticky rice cakes, spring rolls, and boiled chicken to celebrate Lunar New Year. In the South, popular Lunar New Year’s dishes include bitter melon soup, chicken salad, and caramelized pork.

These delicacies are served at Lunar New Year to help people forget about the struggles of the past year and focus on the prosperity and wealth that await in the New Year. Like many other Eastern cultures, Vietnam places a lot of emphasis on food and culture.

Do Children Get Red Envelopes For Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

While adults often receive gifts of candied fruit and other snacks, children are gifted with li xi (red bao). These are red envelopes filled with money. Children get these red envelopes from senior family members. It is tradition to gift children with li xi, as the elders wish them a prosperous year full of wealth.

As children get older, they stop receiving li xi. Instead, they start giving it to the younger family members. This is a sign that the children are maturing, and they pass their wealth on to the next generation. Company bosses also sometimes gift their employees with li xi as a sign of good faith.

Do They Make Offerings For Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

In addition to celebrating what’s gone in the past year and what is to come in the new one, the Vietnamese people also use Lunar New Year to thank their ancestors. They also ask them for protection and blessings. This means Vietnamese people often take offerings of incense and boiled chicken to temples.

They offer chicken and fruit to their ancestors at the temporary temples that line the streets for Lunar New Year. This makes the Vietnamese people feel like their ancestors celebrate this time with them and that the ancestors will guide and protect them throughout the following year.

What Symbols Are Used For Lunar New Year In Vietnam?

You’ll notice some specific symbols used for Lunar New Year in Vietnam. These symbols represent the coming of a new year, and if you hang these symbols around the house, you will receive many blessings. Typical Lunar New Year’s symbols in Vietnam are fish, blossoms, coins, and firecrackers.

The fish and coin symbolize wealth and food during the new year, while the blossoms represent new harvests. The firecrackers represent the new year, as they are lit and fired on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

In Northern Vietnam, peach blossoms are the flowers that represent Lunar New Year. In contrast, yellow Ochna flowers represent this time in the South. These flowers are often sold on the markets, and Vietnamese buy the best flowers they can afford to place in their home.

Finally, the kumquat tree is representative of the Lunar New Year, wealth, and prosperity. You’ll see hundreds of kumquat trees throughout a city in Vietnam, where people place them in shop windows and around their homes. People also often gift others with kumquat trees to promote health and wealth.