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pale green colour. According to legend, an impoverished prince of the Hung dynasty invented the cakes over two thousand years ago; his father was so impressed by the simplicity of his son’s gift that he named the prince as his heir. Tet is an expensive time for Vietnamese families, many of whom save for months to get the new year off to a good start. Apart from special foods and new clothes, it’s traditional to give children red envelopes containing li xi, or lucky money, and to decorate homes with spring blossoms. In the week before Tet, flower markets grace the larger cities: peach blossoms in the north, apricot in Hué and mandarin in the south. Plum and kumquat (symbolizing gold coins) are also popular, alongside the more showy, modern blooms of roses, dahlias or gladioli.

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Festivals and religious events | Tet: the Vietnamese New Year |

Public holidays

January 1 New Year’s Day

Late January/mid-February (dates vary each year): Tet, Vietnamese New Year (four days, though increasingly offices tend to close down for a full week)

April 30 Liberation of Saigon, 1975

May 1 International Labour Day

September 2: National Day

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Festivals and religious events | Tet: the Vietnamese New Year |

Vietnam’s major festivals

Festivals and religious events | Tet: the Vietnamese New Year | Vietnam’s major festivals |

Spring festivals (Jan–April)

Tet The most important date in the Vietnamese festival calendar is New Year (Tet Nguyen Dan). After an initial jamboree, Tet is largely a family occasion when offices are shut, and many shops and restaurants may close for the seven-day festival. Officially only the first four days are public holidays, though many people take the whole week. First to seventh days of first lunar month; late January to mid-Feb.

Tay Son Festival Martial arts demonstrations in Tay Son District, plus garlanded elephants on parade. Fifth day of first lunar month; late January to mid-Feb.

Water Puppet Festival As part of the Tet celebrations a festival of puppetry is held at Thay Pagoda, west of Hanoi. Fifth to seventh days of first lunar month; Feb.

Lim Singing Festival Two weeks after Tet, Lim village near Bac Ninh, in the Red River Delta, resounds to the harmonies of “alternate singing” (quan ho) as men and women fling improvised lyrics back and forth. Thirteenth to fifteenth days of the first lunar month; Febuary–March.

Hai Ba Trung Festival The two Trung sisters are honoured with a parade and dancing at Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung temple. Sixth day of the second lunar month; March.

Perfume Pagoda Vietnam’s most famous pilgrimage site is Chua Huong, west of Hanoi. Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims flock to the pagoda for the festival, which climaxes on the full moon (fourteenth or fifteenth day) of the second month, though the pilgrimage continues for a month either side. March–April.

Den Ba Chua Kho The full moon of the second month sees Hanoians congregating at this temple near Bac Ninh, to petition the goddess for success in business. March–April.

Thanh Minh Ancestral graves are cleaned and offerings of food, flowers and paper votive objects made at the beginning of the third lunar month. April.

Festivals and religious events | Tet: the Vietnamese New Year | Vietnam’s major festivals |

Summer festivals (May–Aug)

Phat Dan Lanterns are hung outside the pagodas and Buddhist homes to commemorate Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and the attainment of Nirvana. Eighth day of the fourth lunar month; May.

Chua Xu Festival The stone statue of Chua Xu at Sam Mountain, Chau Doc, is bathed, and thousands flock to honour her. Twenty-third to twenty-fifth day of fourth lunar month; May.

Tet Doan Ngo The summer solstice (fifth day of the fifth moon) is marked by festivities aimed at warding off epidemics brought on by the summer heat. This is also the time of dragon-boat races. Late May to early June.

Trang Nguyen (or Vu Lan) The day of wandering souls is the second most important festival after Tet. Offerings of food and clothes are made to comfort and nourish the