![]() Therefore, the first houseguest to offer the first greeting is very important. Giao Thua is the most sacred time of the year. ![]() Every single family should offer an open-air ceremony to welcome him back to their kitchen. Giao Thua is also the time for Ong Tao (Kitchen God) to return to earth after making the report to the Jade Emperor. Thus, Giao Thua (New Year’s Eve)is the moment of seeing the old chief (Dragon for 2000) end his ruling term and pass his power to the new chief (Snake for 2001). It is a common belief among Vietnamese people that there are 12 Sacred Animals from the Zodiac taking turn monitoring and controlling the affairs of the earth. However, in a literal translation, it means “Passage from the Old to the New Year”. His task is to make an annual report to the Jade Emperor of the family’s affairs throughout the year. Seven days (the 23rd night of the last lunar month) prior to Tet, each Vietnamese family offers a farewell ceremony for Ong Tao to go up to Heaven Palace. Farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods (Ong Tao) The best outfit is always worn on the first day of the year. However, children cannot wear their new clothes until the first day of the New Year and onward. Parents usually purchase new clothes and shoes for their children a month prior to the New Year. ![]() This is often the most exciting part of the Vietnamese New Year among children. Some people would paint their house and decorate with festive items. It is a common belief that cleaning the house will get rid of the bad fortunes associated with the old year. Usually, the head of the household cleans the dust and ashes (from incense) from the ancestral altars. The kitchen needs to be cleaned before the 23rd night of the last month. Children are in charge of sweeping and scrubbing the floor. Homes are often cleaned and decorated before New Year’s Eve. It is the festival of Purity and Renewal. Although the Lunar New Year is observed throughout East Asia, each country celebrates Vietnamese New Year in its own way in conformity with its own national psyche and cultural conditions.įor the Vietnamese people, Vietnamese New Year is like a combination of Western Saint Sylvester, New Year’s Day, Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. Vietnamese New Year occurs somewhere in the last ten days of January or the first twenty days of February, nearly halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox. But the most significant of all is “Vietnamese New Year”, which marks the Lunar New Year. The passage from one period to the next may cause a meteorological disturbance (heat, rain, mist) that must be exercised by ritual sacrifices and festivities. There are many Tets throughout the year (Mid-autumn Vietnamese New Year, Cold Food Vietnamese New Year, etc.). “Tet” is the phonetic deformation of “Tiet”, a Sino Vietnamese term which means “Joint of a bamboo stern” and in a wider sense, the “beginning of a period of the year”. The festival which best epitomizes Vietnam’s cultural identity is Vietnamese New Year or Tet. The festival is the best epitomizes Vietnam’s cultural identity.
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