Hanoi sparkles with vibrancy and excitement as the Lunar New Year, or Tet, approaches. This major festival brings families and communities together to celebrate the promise of renewal with gusto. From the careful preparations in the days leading up to Tet to the bustling parties and streets filled with flowers during the festival, Hanoians infuse Tet with joy and hope for the coming year.
Traditions Leading Up to the Lunar New Year
In the days before Tet officially begins, Hanoians busily spruce up their homes, shops, and public spaces. They believe that cleaning sweeps out inauspicious elements from the past year and makes room for incoming good fortune. Additionally, elaborate decorations and offerings intended to welcome ancestral spirits and deities adorn homes and temples.
These Tet preparations also have an eye toward celebrating family. People cook traditional meals and buy new clothes for their children during this symbolic fresh start. Gifts get purchased to give during many Tet visits with relatives and friends. Partaking in these customs bonds families and communities while preparing them for the Lunar New Year’s commencements.
The Excitement Peaks on New Year’s Eve
On the last day of the old year, festive excitement reaches its pinnacle. Hanoians prepare celebratory Tet foods, like banh chung (sticky rice with meat or bean paste wrapped in leaves) and mut (candied fruit). In the evening, families gather for a lavish meal signifying closure with the past year and anticipation of the new one.
After this meal, Hanoians start the eager countdown to midnight. As the clock strikes 12, resounding cheers, shouts of “Happy New Year!,” and firecrackers filling the skies announce the official start of Tet. Families exchange warm hugs, good wishes for the new year, and red envelopes with lucky money for children. With mighty fanfare, the vibrant first moments of Tet reverberate with joy across Hanoi.
The First Days
The first day of Tet sees Hanoians dress in new fine clothes to formally start the new year. Children wish their parents and grandparents a happy new year and receive more red envelopes. Then many families head out to partake in traditional good luck activities. Special Tet-themed games and entertainment like lion dances, human chess matches, and wrestling take place. People also visit temples to pray for blessings and luck at the year’s start.
Later, families pay visits to their relatives’ homes bearing trays of tea, wine, and Tet sweets. The subsequent days of Tet feature more home visiting, as people crisscross the city seeing their loved ones, exchanging well wishes, playing games, drinking tea, and indulging in delicious nibbles. Both family homes and Buddhist temples fill with laughter, happiness, and community as Lunar New Year day celebrations stretch on.
Famous Tet Festivities Across Hanoi
Several celebrations across Hanoi have also become famous fixtures of Tet traditions. Quang Ba flower market burgeons with gorgeous blooms that people buy to decorate homes and offices. Tall apricot trees get covered with yellow blossoms, which symbolize prosperity. Vendors also sell kumquat trees and peach flowers, signifying fortune and luck.
At the Imperial Citadel and Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, vibrant Tet-themed performances entertain crowds with singing, dancing, and drama. The centuries-old tales performed by skilled water puppeteers embody classic Lunar New Year traditions. Locals and tourists alike flock to these shows to immerse themselves in the symbolic stories and marvel at the puppet mastery.
Another top Tet attraction is Hang Ma Street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Here the street gets splendidly illuminated by thousands of red lanterns and lights that glow in the evening hours. Locals and tourists stroll down this street lined with vendors selling holiday trinkets, decorations, foods, and more to revel in the auspicious glow marking the Lunar New Year.
Bonding with Family as the Festival Winds Down
After a week of Lunar New Year celebrations, things start settling back down, though the festive mood still lingers. Hanoians catch up on rest and also plan small gatherings with families and close friends before regular work resumes.
People reflect on their hopes for the new year after making offerings at temples. Elders impart wisdom and blessings on younger family members during quiet talks. The week following Tet sees Hanoians strengthening familial bonds that ground them in traditions while wishing each other well in the year ahead.
Though Tet celebrations eventually fade away, their symbols, activities, and intentions permeate the spirit of Vietnam year-round. The Lunar New Year concentrates vibrant traditions, hopes, and community into several days of festivities that reconnect Hanoians to their cultural heritage. With colorful preparation, decoration, performance, and gathering, Tet washes away the old year and ushers in the new one with stellar celebration.
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