Happy Lunar New Year

Hello everyone, Jane again!

Did you know that today is Lunar New Year?

Vietnam celebrates both New Year holidays, and Lunar New Year is the biggest festival of the year. Just like Japan's New Year, people return to their hometowns and spend the Lunar New Year with their families.

Lunar New Year is called “Tet” in Vietnamese.

At Tet, women often wear Vietnam’s national dress, “Ao Dai.”

“Ao dai” is often worn for festivals and weddings. Some high schools have made students wear Ao dai as part of their uniforms. Ao dai is fitted to the body and shows the curves without showing bare skin. It is often made from silk or other high-end textiles.

Of course, in addition to the traditional Ao dai, brands are increasing with fashionable and comfortable designs.

Vietnamese women in Ao dai

High school girls wearing Ao dai uniforms

Modern fashionable Ao dai

Besides Ao dai, another feature of the Tet holiday is plants. Like Western Christmas, Tet would not be Tet without the peach blossoms of northern Vietnam and the apricot blossoms of southern Vietnam.

Vietnamese peach blossoms, though both are cherry blossoms, are quite different from sakura.

Apricot blossoms in southern Vietnam.

Last but not least, lucky money. This is very similar to Japan, but in Vietnam, not only do children receive lucky money from adults, but older people also receive money from younger people.

What do you think, everyone? Thank you for reading to the end! Because of Covid-19 this year, I could not return to Vietnam. But by introducing Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, I hope you can better understand Vietnamese culture.