Hanoi: TET holidays
On Sunday, I celebrated Tet with Ms. Tuyet (my friend and Binh Minh's Director) and her husband Mr. Chung and 3 yr old son BiBi. Tet, which means the first morning of the first day of the new year, is the Vietnamese New Year. According to the Vietnamese Zodiac, 2007 is the Year of the PIG. Accordingly, Ms. Tuyet had prepared a lovely spread of all pig products for dinner. Meals such as these are always a bit of a challenge because none of the food is recognizable and the visitor has to lead in the eating of each food group. I was so pleased to be included in this intimate event that I was able to happily slurp down the pig muscles and pig 'interiors'....
Preparation for Tet starts weeks before the celebration. Family clean their homes to rid them of bad fortune and paint their homes for the new year. Most people get new clothes and new shoes. It is important to pay your debts and resolve differences between family and friends. Actually, our microfinance clients do not like taking out new loans on TET so they will generally take out all of the loans several weeks before the new year.
On New Year's Eve, a ritual called Le Tru Tich is held at the mid-night hour where there are firecrackers and gongs and other festive items that make loud noises to kick out the old and invite the new. Like the Chinese, the Vietnamese are careful about how they spend the first day of the year as the events on New Year's Day determine your luck for the rest of the year. Therefore, people will go to great lengths to make sure the first person who walks into their door represents good fortune. Sometimes, foreigners will even be invited over as the first guest as they represent wealth and good fortune.
When driving though the streets, it is hard not to notice the New Year's tree called Cay Neu that are placed in front of everyone's homes. The leaves are all removed and the tress is wrapped in red paper. In fact, the red color is said to scare off evil spirits.
Preparation for Tet starts weeks before the celebration. Family clean their homes to rid them of bad fortune and paint their homes for the new year. Most people get new clothes and new shoes. It is important to pay your debts and resolve differences between family and friends. Actually, our microfinance clients do not like taking out new loans on TET so they will generally take out all of the loans several weeks before the new year.
On New Year's Eve, a ritual called Le Tru Tich is held at the mid-night hour where there are firecrackers and gongs and other festive items that make loud noises to kick out the old and invite the new. Like the Chinese, the Vietnamese are careful about how they spend the first day of the year as the events on New Year's Day determine your luck for the rest of the year. Therefore, people will go to great lengths to make sure the first person who walks into their door represents good fortune. Sometimes, foreigners will even be invited over as the first guest as they represent wealth and good fortune.
When driving though the streets, it is hard not to notice the New Year's tree called Cay Neu that are placed in front of everyone's homes. The leaves are all removed and the tress is wrapped in red paper. In fact, the red color is said to scare off evil spirits.
(for more info, see www.familyculture.com)
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