Vietnamese New Year

 Vietnamese  New Year is the most important holiday of the Vietnamese lunar calendar. The New Year begins between January 21 and February 20. The celebration starts with the second new moon after the beginning of winter (December 21) and lasts until the next full moon.

The Vietnamese name their years after 12 different animals: the rat, the buffalo, the tiger, the cat, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, the pig. Some people believe that a human being’s personality and character depends on the animal of the year he or she was born.

The Vietnamese New Year marks the start of the next animal’s year. After the year of the pig the twelve year cycle starts over again with the year of the rat.

A lot of things are done for Vietnamese New Year. Houses are cleaned from top to bottom in the days before the beginning of the holidays. People write merry wishes on red paper and hang them all over the house. Rooms are decorated with flowers, plants and oranges.

On New Year’s Eve fireworks used to send out the old year and welcome the new one. At midnight people open all their doors and windows to let the old year out. On New Year’s Day children and adults who are not married get red envelopes with money in them. This is a symbol of good look and wealth in the new year.

Food plays an important part in Vietnamese New Year celebrations. Special dishes are eaten on certain days. Many kinds of food have special meanings. 

The traditional greetings are “Chúc Mừng Năm Mới” (Happy New Year) and “Cung Chúc Tân Xuân” (gracious wishes of the new spring). People also wish each other prosperity and luck. Common wishes for Tết include:

• Sống lâu trăm tuổi (Long life of 100 years): used by children for elders. Traditionally, everyone is one year older on Tết, so children would wish their grandparents health and longevity in exchange formừng tuổi or lì xì (利是).

• An khang thịnh vượng (Security, good health, and prosperity)

• Vạn sự như ý (May myriad things go according to your will)

• Sức khỏe dồi dào (Plenty of health)

• Cung hỉ phát tài, from the Cantonese Kung hei fat choy ( Congratulations and be prosperous)

• Tiền vô như nước (May money flow in like water): used informally

Words

• admire = to respect and think highly of
• bamboo = a tropical plant that is empty inside; it is used to make furniture
• celebration = event of celebrating, having a party
• cycle = a series of events that happen again and again, mostly in the same order
• decorate = to make something look more beautiful by putting nice things on it
• depend on =here: something affects something else
• dish = meal
• dragon = a large animal that has wings and can breathe out fire
• envelope = a thin paper in which you put and send a letter
• firecracker = a small firework that explodes loudly
• glow = to produce or reflect light
• human being = a person
• lantern = a lamp that has a light inside it
• mark =is the sign for
• merry = happy, cheerful
• noodles =long pieces oft thin food made from flour water and eggs , like spaghetti
• personality = someone’s character; the way they behave towards others
• rooster = a male chicken
• silk = a smooth soft cloth made from a material that is produced by a silkworm
• temple = a place where people go to pray to God
• wealth = a lot of money; being rich