Tet (full name Tet Nguyen Dan) is the Vietnamese New Year according to the lunar and lunisolar calendar, the most important and popular holiday in Vietnam.
Tet is considered the first day of spring, so the holiday is often called the “Spring Festival”.
Celebrated on the first day of the first lunar month in the first season of the new year. The date of the new year according to the eastern calendar moves from year to year between January 20 and February 20.
Lunar New Year is often called Chinese New Year. This is not surprising, because traditions and culture came to East Asian countries from China.
Vietnamese New Year dates according to the Eastern calendar for the coming years:

in 2014 - January 31;
in 2015 - February 19;
in 2016 - February 9;
in 2017 - January 28;
in 2018 - February 16;
in 2019 - February 5;
in 2020 - January 25.

Customs for celebrating Vietnamese New Year

In the north of the country, a flowering peach branch is installed in a house on New Year's Eve, or the house is decorated with tangerine trees hung with orange fruits, symbolizing prosperity.
During this period, peach and apricot trees, tangerines and almonds bloom. The streets are decorated with young flowering branches and simply bouquets of flowers.
In the south of the country on Tet they prefer to decorate their home with a blooming apricot branch, and apricot flowers must have five petals. In addition, southerners place watermelons on the altar, the red, sweet flesh of which symbolizes good luck in the coming year.
Regardless of the family's wealth, before the New Year, people try to buy food, fruits, flowers, and sweets in order to prepare a sacrifice for the altar of their ancestors and treat relatives and guests during the three holiday days.
In the evening, on New Year's Eve, mass dragon dances take place. The most magnificent processions and colorful events take place at night. At dusk, bonfires are lit in parks, gardens or on the streets, and several families gather around the bonfires.
It is considered honorable to spend New Year's Eve in the company of a gray-haired man who is over 70 years old. As soon as twelve o'clock in the morning has arrived - this time is called "Giao Thya" (meaning "meeting of times") - children and grandchildren congratulate their grandparents and parents on the New Year, wishing them longevity, good health and prosperity. Then the adults congratulate the children and give them money for good luck. How much money doesn't matter. The most important thing is that the money is new (new bills or new coins). They must be packed in new red bags (either paper or fabric) with a red bow.
On subsequent holidays, adult relatives, friends, and family acquaintances come to visit and can also give money for the well-being of children. The custom of giving money to children for the New Year is obligatory these days, and not a single New Year in Vietnam passes without observing this custom. Traditionally, the Vietnamese believe that giving children a little money is like the beginning of “prasadam” in the New Year, so that this beginning will be multiplied many times over.
In recent years, the tradition of celebrating Tet only at home has become less unshakable as before, and many Vietnamese go traveling to other places, including abroad.
During Tet in Buddhist temples, monks give money to parishioners, which is also placed in small red bags. It’s like a gift of well-being from Buddha, from God. This is a gift for luck. A Vietnamese aphorism says: “A little prosperity from the Buddha is equal to a whole large basket of earthly prosperity.”
The next day is usually the Tet Festival. On the territory of the most ancient temple in Indochina, Van Mieu, the most fun and fierce cockfights flare up. On the Lake of the Returned Sword in Hanoi, the water puppet theater gives performances - a unique folklore troupe, the only one in the world. In the historical center of Hanoi, on Hangluoc Street, elderly people kindly offer long bamboo poles. They need to be “planted” in front of the entrance to the house - they will block the way for evil spirits.
Vietnamese women wear red and yellow colors during Tet, while men wear all black.

In mountainous areas where ethnic minorities live, the celebration is slightly different.

Tet is also a festival of flowers. Car access to flower markets is prohibited. And it’s unlikely that anyone would think of interfering with the happy New Year’s bustle in this way. The most festive flower is considered to be matcha - a sunny flower, or eastern “aster”. And these flowers, says the folk wisdom of the East, should be as many as there are people on Earth.

New Year's dishes

Special rice delicacies are cooked over coals. In the north of the country, these are pork legs with bamboo shoots, jellied meat, carp in salted sauce. In the south - pork in a pot, boiled in salted coconut milk, while the pork is boiled in coconut milk whole, with skin, fat and lean parts. In the finished dish, the fatty part looks transparent, and the lean part looks bright red and tastes like coconut milk. Southerners' tables also include pickled green pea sprouts with leeks, slices of carrots, turnips, and bitter melon stuffed with meat.

The New Year's dish in Vietnam is banh tiung rice cake. It is a square shaped cake wrapped in banana leaves and tied with flexible bamboo rods. Pieces of pork are sometimes added to the bean filling. This seasonal filling is sandwiched between two layers of glutinous rice.

The New Year in Vietnam is called Tet nguet dan, that is, “the first morning holiday,” and the abbreviated version is Tet. This is the most popular and beloved festival of the Vietnamese and it personifies all the national and cultural specifics of Vietnam. The tradition came from China and is associated with the change of seasons, with the transition from winter to spring. When the season changes, it usually begins to rain and fog in northern Vietnam.

The Vietnamese made ritual offerings to ensure that the weather was favorable and helped prepare for the sowing of grain crops. For all Vietnamese, Tet is a festival of purity and renewal. The date of the Vietnamese New Year is constantly changing depending on the lunar calendar. At the same time, China also celebrates the New Year or Spring Festival.

Long before the New Year, the Vietnamese are preparing for the holiday. The main streets of cities and towns are painted red, yellow and orange. In special markets and just on the streets, in parks and squares, fruit trees are sold: apricot and peach trees in bloom, tangerine trees with fruit and dwarf trees of bizarre shapes. Fruit trees symbolize happiness, peace, luck and prosperity. Some flower markets are colored yellow by chrysanthemums. For the people of Vietnam, this color and the flower itself symbolize immortality and prosperity.

Officially the holiday lasts three days, but people usually celebrate it for a week. Before the beginning of the festival in Vietnam, they visit relatives, pay respect to the elders of the clan, especially mothers, visit temples, make offerings, meet with friends, eat, have fun and give gifts to loved ones.

Traditions of New Year celebrations in Vietnam

1. Vietnamese clean and decorate their homes

Before New Year's Eve, houses and apartments are cleaned and cleared of old things, and then decorated. Children are responsible for cleaning. The kitchen should be cleaned on the 23rd day of the lunar month before the New Year. The head of the house cleans the altar. The Vietnamese believe that tidying up the house will rid the family of misfortunes associated with the old year. The house is then decorated with holiday symbols.

2. Get new clothes

This ritual, which takes place a month before the New Year celebrations, is the most favorite among children. Parents usually buy new clothes and shoes, but children cannot wear their new clothes until New Year's Day. Only on the first day do they put on new clothes.

3. Solemn farewell to the Kitchen God (Ong Tao)

Seven days (from the 23rd night of the last lunar month) before the Tet holiday, every Vietnamese family arranges a ceremonial farewell to Ong Tao - the Kitchen God, who is heading to the Heavenly Palace. The Vietnamese believe that Ong Tao is riding a carp to the Jade Emperor. His task is to report to the Emperor on the affairs and behavior of the family for the year. This tradition came from China, where they escort the god of the hearth - Zao Wang - to heaven for a conversation with the Heavenly Emperor Yu-di (“jade sovereign”). The Chinese appease the family spirit, because it must convey their wishes and requests. At a time when the Kitchen God is on his way to the Heavenly Palace, whole families of Vietnamese feed carp in reservoirs, so that the carp along the way will put in a good word about their good deeds and deeds.

4. New Year's Eve (Giao Thua)

Literally translated, the ritual that takes place on New Year’s Eve is called “The Transition from the Old to the New Year.” The Vietnamese believe that the 12 animals of the zodiac calendar together take control and manage earthly affairs. Thus, all twelve animals observe the transfer of power from one zodiac animal to another. New Year's Eve (Giao Thua) is the time of the return of the Kitchen God from the Jade Emperor. Each family organizes rituals for the solemn meeting.

5. First guest

Before the New Year begins in Vietnam, guests are closely monitored. The first guest who comes in first to wish the family a Happy New Year is very important for the family. If this guest is well educated, rich, respected, famous or successful, then the family will have good luck in the next year and everyone will be happy and prosperous throughout the year.

6. Apricot and peach flowers

Flower buds and flowers are symbols of any endeavor in Vietnam. But two types of flowers are especially popular here. Hoa Mai - yellow apricot flowers, common in southern Vietnam. On New Year's Day, every home in the south of the country has blooming apricot trees. Hoa Dao are pink flowered peach trees that thrive in the cool climate of northern Vietnam. Therefore, in every house in the north of the country on New Year there are peach trees or branches with peach flowers.

7. Distributing red envelopes with money

Red envelopes symbolize good luck and wealth. This ritual is performed on New Year's Day. Older people usually distribute red envelopes containing a small amount of money to young people, who in turn must listen to instructions from the older generation about studies, harmonious development of personality and relationships with each other, as well as advice to respect and obey parents.

8. Ritual offerings to ancestors

This ceremony is held on New Year's Day before noon. The head of the house must offer food, wine, cakes, fruits to his ancestors and light incense on the home altar. This is done so that the souls of ancestors join in the New Year celebrations. The well-being of the family will depend on this.

Home decoration for the New Year

Plate with five fruits

A plate filled with five types of fruits is a mandatory attribute of the Vietnamese New Year. She must stand on the ancestral altar in every Vietnamese home during all days of celebration. The fruits should be large, beautiful, preferably red, yellow or orange. The Vietnamese, like all Asians, use the five basic elements of the universe in their rituals: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. A plate of fruit on the family altar on New Year's Day shows these elements. Fruits also symbolize a good harvest and prosperity.

The following fruits can be placed on the plate: a bunch of bananas, grapefruits, palmate citrons or “Buddha’s Hands”, lemons, oranges, tangerines, apples, persimmons. The family selects only the best fruits and arranges them in a pyramid shape. Sometimes watermelons, coconuts, and dragon fruits are placed on the dish. And in some families, the offering is decorated with lanterns and flowers.

Wishes

For the New Year, every home is supposed to place wishes that are specially written by calligraphers on paper in red and black inks. These wishes on paper are posted on both sides of the front door or above the altar of the ancestors.

Christmas tree

On New Year's Day, the Vietnamese decorate their New Year tree, which they call Cay Neu. It consists of a long bamboo pole on which is a bunch of dry leaves or branches. On top of such a bamboo frame are placed fish figures and bells made of clay, which ring softly in the wind. There is also a small kerosene lamp that burns at night. Gifts are tied onto a bamboo frame. The “New Year Tree” shows the way for ancestors who return from the other world to celebrate the New Year with their family. Evil spirits are afraid to approach the pole. They are frightened by dry and prickly grass, as well as the ringing of bells. Just in case, the Vietnamese place bows and arrows in their yards, which will also ward off evil spirits.

Traditional painting

For the New Year, family members in Vietnam prepare congratulatory New Year's pictures - “chan tet” with a variety of benevolent symbols. The pictures depict instructions to the younger generation, as well as fragments from the history of Vietnam and scenes from life.

New Year's traditional dishes

One of the most traditional special dishes for Vietnamese New Year is the sticky rice cake called Banh Trang, filled with pork and green beans. Each cake is wrapped in a leaf called “duna”. The square shape of the pie has remained unchanged for many centuries. Banh Chang pies, along with other foods, fruits, and wine are placed on the altars of the ancestors. Once upon a time, making such pies was a family affair. They sat by the fireplace and prepared a New Year's dish, told fairy tales, family stories, and remembered their deceased relatives. To this day, this tradition has been preserved in the villages. But city residents buy New Year's pies in shops that line up in large numbers on the streets of small and large cities in Vietnam before the New Year.

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Vietnam celebrates the usual New Year, like the rest of the world, on January 1, but the country celebrates its own according to the lunar calendar especially. It is called Tet (Teth) and is celebrated on the first day of the first lunar month in the first season of the new year. The date of the new year on the eastern calendar moves from year to year between January 20 and February 20. Its onset does not occur exactly at 24.00, it is calculated for each year separately. Moreover, due to lunar calculations, sometimes the onset of the New Year in Vietnam occurs 1 day earlier than in China. This will happen, for example, in 2030 and 2053.
Outside of Vietnam, Lunar New Year is often called Chinese New Year. This is not surprising, because traditions and culture came to East Asian countries from China.
In Vietnamese, this holiday is fully written as Tết Nguyên Đán and is pronounced “tet nguyen dan.”

Lunar New Year in 2020 in Vietnam will be celebrated from January 25th to January 26th. This will be the year of the Rat (Mouse).
As usual, on this day and for several days after it, life on the streets, in institutions, and in shopping places will freeze. This is very inconvenient for tourists. This applies less to crowded resort areas. Students at all levels from schools to universities, as well as children in kindergartens, are given 16 non-working days.

New Year's Eve in Vietnam

Tet is a family holiday. Before Tet comes, it is necessary to do some general cleaning to rid the house of the filth of last year's failures, as well as to cleanse yourself spiritually - to forgive those who have offended you and to repent yourself. Also, the 23rd day of the last month of the outgoing year should be celebrated with a modest sacrifice dedicated to the Master Craftsman, the Spirit of the Earth and the Kitchen God (or in another way, the God of the family hearth), because it is then that they fly to heaven, to the Jade Emperor, with an annual report on family behavior. The magical Carp delivers the Kitchen God to heaven. Therefore, on Tet it is customary to release live carp into the river.

In the north of the country, a flowering peach branch is installed in the house on New Year's Eve or decorated with tangerine trees hung with orange fruits, symbolizing prosperity. During this period, peach and apricot trees, tangerines and almonds bloom. The streets are decorated with young flowering branches and simply bouquets of flowers.
In the south of the country on Tet they prefer to decorate their home with a blooming apricot branch, and apricot flowers must have five petals. In addition, southerners place watermelons on the altar, the red, sweet flesh of which symbolizes good luck in the coming year.
Regardless of the family’s wealth, before the New Year people try to buy food, fruits, flowers, and sweets in order to prepare a sacrifice on the altar of their ancestors and treat relatives and guests during three holiday days.
In the evening, on New Year's Eve, mass dragon dances take place. The most magnificent processions and colorful events take place at night. At dusk, bonfires are lit in parks, gardens or on the streets, and several families gather around the bonfires.

On the eve of Tet, many Vietnamese living in other countries come to Vietnam. Those who remain in their new homelands during this time still celebrate Tet at home.

Vietnamese New Year dishes

Special rice delicacies are cooked over coals. In the north of the country, these are pork legs with bamboo shoots, jellied meat, carp in salted sauce. In the south - pork in a pot, boiled in salted coconut milk, while the pork is boiled in coconut milk whole, with skin, fat and lean parts. In the finished dish, the fatty part looks transparent, and the lean part looks bright red, with the taste of coconut milk. Southerners' tables also include pickled green pea sprouts with leeks, slices of carrots, turnips, and bitter melon stuffed with meat. Bitter melon is believed to have antipyretic properties, is highly nutritious and cures many diseases.
A very common dish everywhere is the banh chung square cake, which is one of the most famous dishes of Vietnamese cuisine. It is made with pork rice, green peas and pickled onions wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Tet - family holiday

At night, children and grandchildren congratulate their grandparents and parents and wish them longevity, good health and prosperity. Then the adults congratulate the children and give them money for good luck. Money must be new, banknotes or coins, and packaged in new red paper or cloth bags with a red bow.
The next day is usually the Tet Festival.
According to Vietnamese tradition, the first New Year's guest in a house bestows good luck on the house. The guest can also give and receive money from the hosts. It is not recommended to hand over dollars and large bills. They also believe that you need to wake up early on New Year's Day. The day begins with a trip to the temple where the Vietnamese eat banh tring.
On subsequent holidays, adult relatives, friends, and family acquaintances come to visit and can also give money for the well-being of children.
Vietnamese women wear red and yellow colors during Tet, while men wear all black. In mountainous areas where ethnic minorities live, the celebration is slightly different.

During Tet in Buddhist temples, the monks themselves give money to the parishioners. They also put money in small red bags. It's like a gift of prosperity from Buddha, from God, for luck. A Vietnamese aphorism says: “A little prosperity from the Buddha is equal to a whole large basket of earthly prosperity.”

Every year more and more foreign tourists come to Vietnam for Tet. They see that despite the country's integration into world processes and the economy, the Vietnamese carefully preserve their traditions. The Tet holiday appears in many Vietnamese works of art.

Much attention is paid to the New Year holiday itself according to the lunar calendar. The influence of the eastern horoscope on a person’s fate in recent years has been perceived with less confidence than before.

In recent years, the tradition of celebrating Tet only at home has become no longer as unshakable as before and many Vietnamese go to travel to other places, including abroad.

New Year's Eve dates according to the Eastern calendar for the coming years

January 25, 2020 - Year of the Rat
February 12, 2021 is the year of the Buffalo (Ox, Cow)
February 1, 2022 - Year of the Tiger
January 22, 2023 - Year of the Cat (Rabbit)
February 10, 2024 - Year of the Dragon
January 29, 2025 - Year of the Snake
February 17, 2026 - Year of the Horse
February 6, 2027 - Year of the Goat (Ram)
January 26, 2028 - Year of the Rooster
February 13, 2029 - Year of the Monkey
February 3, 2030 - Year of the Dog
January 23, 2031 - Year of the Boar (Pig)

New Year in Vietnam is celebrated twice a year. According to European tradition, it is celebrated on the night of December 31 to January 1. Vietnamese New Year (Tet) falls on the first day of the first lunar month - one of the days between January 20 and February 20.

New Year January 1

European New Year traditions have spread and taken root in Vietnam since French colonization.

The busiest celebrations take place in the south of the country. At the seaside resorts - Phan Thiet, Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Do Son - a festive atmosphere reigns. Restaurants and entertainment venues try to please tourists - they offer New Year's programs and menus. Foreigners and local youth party all night with top DJs. At midnight, the sky lights up with colorful fireworks.

Preparations for the winter holidays in Vietnam begin in early December. Restaurants, cafes, hotels, bars and shops decorate their halls with artificial Christmas trees, tangerine trees and electric garlands, and place New Year's decorations in their windows. On the streets you can see decorated palm trees or local exotic trees. Residents of the country decorate their homes with Christmas trees, garlands, and Santa Claus figurines.

Most Vietnamese celebrate the New Year with a modest family circle over dinner. The holiday table includes baked turkey, chicken broth soup, side dishes of vegetables and rice, seafood, and fresh fruit.

Cities and resorts

New Year's holidays in Vietnam are an opportunity to have fun in a warm and exotic atmosphere. During the winter months, the south of the country enjoys sunny weather, without precipitation and suffocating heat. Affordable prices will allow you to spend your New Year's holiday in an unusual, fun and colorful way.

In winter, the popular resorts of Phan Thiet and Phu Quoc. They are famous for their clean sandy beaches with colorful dunes surrounded by dense thickets of coconut palms that create impressive scenery. During the winter months, the sea wind creates high waves, which are ideal conditions for surfing and kiting. Divers will discover an amazing underwater world with a variety of exotic fish and coral thickets.

In the vicinity of Phan Thiet there are attractions that will help diversify your holiday with interesting excursions. The most popular of them is Ta Cu Mountain, on which the sacred Son Tho Pagoda and a giant Buddha statue are located. The Cham Towers of Poshanu are a monument of ancient Indian architecture. The Whale Fisherman's Temple contains the skeleton of an animal washed ashore in 1762, which according to legend is the god of the sea. At the Phan Thiet Market, travelers can expect a variety of spices, exotic fruits, oriental food and clothing.

On the island of Phu Quoc, tourists will enjoy exotic entertainment: walks through the picturesque jungle, visits to pearl farms and black pepper plantations. To celebrate the New Year, you can rent a two-story villa at the resort. The large spacious living room will be an excellent place for a cozy company.

In the capital of Vietnam - Hanoi - you can get acquainted with the culture and history of its inhabitants, enjoy the color and exoticism. The most popular attractions: the Temple of Literature pagoda complex, the Vietnamese Museum of Ethnology, the Hoalo Prison Museum, the Architectural ensemble of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Natural monuments of the city: lakes Hoan Kiem (“returned sword”) and Tay. In the vicinity of the capital there is the legendary snake village of Le Mat, whose residents are engaged in catching and breeding snakes.

Vietnam celebrated its most important holiday. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year, which is celebrated this year on the night of January 27-28. Tet symbolizes the first day of spring. So, happy spring to you, ladies and gentlemen! For about two weeks, the Vietnamese carefully prepared for Tet. Now it has become clear why Vietnam practically ignores our New Year on December 31st. We have already told you how our New Year is going in the article.

New Year's decorations in Vietnam

Preparing for Tet

2 weeks before Tet in Nha Trang they begin to slowly display all kinds of trees in pots. Tangerine trees are medium sized. Pots with tall yellow flowers are also popular. The more pots you buy, the better the coming year will be for your family, as the Vietnamese believe.

In our hotel, in addition to the usual tree, there is a pot of flowers and the most important prop of the Vietnamese New Year - a tangerine tree.

Without a tangerine tree it’s like our New Year without a tree

The tree on which small and very tasty tangerines grow is an analogue of our Christmas tree. You sit on New Year's Eve and pick the harvest right in the house.

Kidding. We have never seen the Vietnamese do this. Maybe after the holidays they will eat tangerines. We bought half a kilo of these tangerines. Tangerines cost 60 dong per kg ($3). Expensive, but very tasty.

Such trees are transported by thousands of Vietnamese every day. But for some reason this practice does not exist in tourist Nha Trang. But in central and northern Vietnam, every second biker carries a tree.

Interesting Vietnamese tradition. Looks nice. Somehow even childish

What to cook during Tet in Vietnam

The Vietnamese do not eat any Olivier salads or sandwiches with red caviar. There are different taste preferences here. It is generally accepted that most dishes served on this day are vegetarian. Since in Tet it is forbidden to kill animals and cause them suffering. However, the Vietnamese prepare pork belly stew with rice, soup with dried pork skin and fruits. And the table must also have traditional Vietnamese sweets wrapped in a banana leaf.

Where can I order a transfer from the airport?

We use the service - KiwiTaxi
We ordered a taxi online and paid by card. We were met at the airport with a sign with our name on it. We were taken to the hotel in a comfortable car. You've already talked about your experience In this article

How the Vietnamese celebrate New Year

They begin to celebrate the upcoming holiday 10-12 days in advance. Near your hotels, guesthouses and shops you can often hear evening chants and screams of drinking residents. Mostly these are men.

And on Tet day, the Vietnamese people light up already during the day. A motorbike biker can drink beer and immediately shout to you that he will take you to the city center, barely standing on his feet. Some people feel good in the morning and sit on the asphalt catching butterflies. And next to it is a bottle of beer.

In the evening, closer to 9 o’clock, the Vietnamese have a feast, turn on their programs and concerts on TV, like our blue light, talk loudly in their usual manner, sing songs, congratulate each other and have fun until the morning.

It’s not much different from our Russian feast at 12 o’clock on New Year’s Eve. Just now, the dishes are different and the songs are different. The tradition of celebrating Tet with family is the same as ours.

Holidays last at least 3 days, but in fact even longer, up to two weeks.

Gifts for Tet

It is customary to give red envelopes. They put money in envelopes and give it to loved ones, acquaintances and relatives. And as it turned out, even for tourists. By the way, on the eve of Tet, such envelopes are distributed in supermarkets when buying groceries, as well as in the Lottery fast food restaurant. Parents buy clothes for their children so that the child will wear new things in the new year. Adults should also buy themselves new clothes for the holiday.

New Year Vietnamese red envelopes

Difficulties for travelers during Vietnamese New Year

Of course, the Vietnamese New Year is so interesting and beautiful, but many travelers try to leave Vietnam before Tet. Why?

Increasing prices for hotels, buses, planes and taxis. Many Vietnamese from all over the country come to celebrate the New Year in southern seaside resorts. Therefore, everything in Mui Ne and Vung Tao will cost almost 2 times more during the holiday week. If your trip falls on Tet days, book your hotel as early as possible.

In Vietnam, transport prices also increase 2-3 times in the New Year. All intercity buses are becoming more expensive and even metered taxis are now more expensive. Moreover, the rise in price begins not on the day of Tet, but about a week in advance. And these elevated prices remain for two weeks after Tet.

For example, a bus, which normally costs about 220 dong ($10), now costs 600 dong ($27)

Difficulties with housing. Apart from increased hotel prices, travelers will also face another problem when all the hotels and apartments are full.

Our apartment in Nha Trang was booked, so we could not stay there for the second month. Searches for others were unsuccessful. There are no places available until the beginning of February. Only in one complex there were 2 vacant apartments for the Tet period, but they honestly admitted that on holidays a night would cost $35, despite the fact that the regular price was $20.

This is what the situation with hotels in Nha Trang looks like now - 94% of hotels are booked:

On Tet days, shops, cafes, banks, and markets are closed. Yesterday we walked around our area looking for a cafe, but didn’t find anything. In general, everything is closed. We only saw a couple of cafes, but only Vietnamese sat there. Even large supermarkets such as Big C and are closing for 3 days.

Somehow it doesn't seem logical. On New Year's holidays everything works until late. Shopping malls, restaurants and movie theaters make a month's worth of revenue during the holidays. But in Vietnam, on the contrary, some kind of post-apocalypse begins, when there is nowhere to even buy water, you have to wander around the city in search of an open shop

How we met Tet

Tet was no longer met in Nha Trang, but in another city in Vietnam. There was a stir in Nha Trang, also caused by the fact that this year the Chinese New Year coincided with Tet. Moreover, we were left without an apartment. We decided to move to where we thought it would be quieter. It turned out that in the new place preparations for the holiday were even more intense.

On January 27, we did not go to the epicenter of all the events in the evening, we stayed at the hotel and ate tangerines.

In the morning we went down for breakfast. The hotel owners congratulated us on the Vietnamese New Year. It was so funny to hear Happy New Year again when it's almost February. We also learned congratulations in Vietnamese and pleased the Vietnamese with the expression: Chuc Mun Nam Moy.

We were even given traditional envelopes with money. We could not have foreseen this in any way and also burst into gratitude, thanking them in Vietnamese.

The owners of our homestay even invited us to the table to taste traditional New Year's dishes and sweets with pork. But we decided to refuse in order to avoid gastronomic torment, realizing that we would not be able to cram such treats into ourselves anyway.

This is how we celebrated Tet 2017. We have added to our list of holidays in Vietnam, which includes May 9 in Mui Ne, Slavin’s Birthday in Nha Trang, New Year in Nha Trang, and now Tet in...

Well, as always, you will find out what city we are in now very soon. Or maybe you can guess it just from the photo alone