Vietnamese New Year Traditions
Têt, or Vietnamese New Year, is the largest and most important festival in the Vietnamese calendar. Vietnamese New Year Traditions are anchored into the 12 days of Tết, which are filled with religious ceremonies, quality family time and purification rituals aimed at washing away all the bad luck of the old year and welcoming the new one afresh. As a foreigner in Vietnam, the extra hustle and bustle of Tết can be confusing and even a little frustrating. This guide to the 12 days of Tết pulls back the curtain on the myriad of Vietnamese New Year traditions by walking you through the 12 days of Tết.
Day One: Praying to The Kitchen Gods – Lễ Ông Công Ông Táo. 10 February 2026 (23rd of Lunar December)
Tết all kicks off a week before the Lunar New Year when Vietnamese Pray to Ông Táo, the Kitchen Gods. Vietnamese folk law says each house has three gods who protect the family and watch over their behaviour for the whole year. On the 23rd of the last Lunar month (10 February 2026), the Kitchen Gods return to heaven on a Carp (fish) to report to the Jade Emperor on all of the goings on in the house. Vietnamese people like to help the kitchen Gods on their way by making offerings on their family shrine and releasing goldfish into nearby lakes, ponds and rivers. If you’re in Vietnam on the 21st of January, expect to see women in traditional conical hats selling goldfish from the back of old motorbikes, families placing meals and pieces of elaborately decorated paper on small tables in front of their homes, and women and young couples releasing goldfish into any open body of water. As soon as the ceremony is over, the family will clean the whole kitchen, polishing every utensil, ready for the Kitchen God’s return.
Day Two-Three: Sweeping out the Old Year. 11 – 12 February 2026 (24th-25th of Lunar December)
It’s really important to start the new lunar year free from bad luck. For Vietnamese people, this means you have to literally sweep it out of your home. They believe that luck clings to dust and dirt. That’s why families will start a huge spring clean of their whole house between the 24th and 25th of the last Lunar month (11 – 12 February 2026). Every spot of dust, overlooked stain and tatty old rag is scrubbed and cleaned to purify the house and avoid an unlucky year. During the first 4 days of Tết, when the house is pure, it becomes unlucky to sweep any of the new dust out in case you sweep any of the New Year’s luck out with it.
Day Four: Bringing home the New Year’s Tree – Hái Lộc Đầu Xuân.13 February 2026 (26th of Lunar December)
Decorating the house is an important Tết ritual, and the most famous decorations are blossoming fruit trees. Vietnamese cities and markets are flooded with fruit blossom and kumquat trees around the 26th of the last lunar month (13 February 2026). You’ll see them lining the streets and comically strapped to the back of motorbikes. It’s an old tradition that represents fertility and prosperity and signals a bountiful year ahead.
In the past, many Vietnamese used to keep and tend their own trees in their gardens. With rapid urbanisation and fewer places to look after plants, this has become hard for people in the big cities. Lots of families keep the tradition alive by keeping a tree in their hometown and paying for someone to tend it for the year. When Tết comes around, they bring the tree back into the city around the 26th of the last lunar month and return it on the 5th day of tết.
Other tết decorations include bowls of ripe fruits, yellow flowers that represent longevity, old-fashioned paintings and calligraphy of ancient Vietnamese proverbs. In Southern Vietnam, some cultures create their own Tết tree by fixing each of the elements above onto sticks of bamboo. If you are in the old quarter of Hanoi or downtown Saigon, you might see street stalls covered in a blaze of red and yellow paper offerings, calligraphy and flowers ready for the new year.
Day Five: Wrapping Banh Chung – Gói Bánh Chưng. 14 February 2026 (27th of Lunar December)
Wrapping Banh Chung with “Dong” leaf gives Banh Chung a green colour.
Banh Chung are thick rice cakes filled with stewed meat or eggs wrapped in dong * leaves. They are boiled for up to 24 hours so the essence of the banana leaves soaks into the rice. For many Vietnamese people, Banh Chung is the quintessential Tết food. They are given as gifts to colleagues and friends, and a good New Year’s dinner wouldn’t be complete without a Banh Chung or two on the side. Wrapping and cooking the Banh Chung has become an important part of the Tết holiday. It takes many hours to cook the Chung cakes, and a good time for sharing stories and news.
*’dong’ leaf is the leaf of the Phrynium placentarium plant, a member of the ginger family, and has several important cultural and culinary roles.
Day Six-Seven: Stocking up on supplies and buying New Clothes. 15 February 2026 (28th of Lunar December)
Stocking up on supplies for the New Year’s meal
Most markets and food stalls are closed over Tết, so families have to buy all the food they need and get it cooked before the markets close. Families make a last-minute dash for the markets to buy all the ingredients they need for the traditional Tết feasts. Women of the household will typically spend the evenings making slow-cooked soups and stocks, storing away cured meats and preparing fruit and veg. You can find more about what people eat over the holidays in our Guide to traditional Tết food.
Buying New Clothes
A new year needs new clothes, particularly if you’re a child. Just like the Vietnamese don’t want to start the new year with a house full of last year’s dust and bad luck, they don’t want to start the new year with clothes that might still be clinging to the old year’s bad luck. In the last few days of the new year, city centres are heaving with people looking for new outfits for themselves and their children so they can start the New Year new and fresh.
Day Eight: New Year’s Eve Fireworks, Family Time and Herbal Baths – Đêm Giao Thừa. 16 February 2026 (29th of Lunar December)
Family time
Lunar New Year’s Eve is the real start of Tết for most families. Parents eagerly await family members’ return from work or studies in big cities, and the streets are thronged with people hurrying to finish last-minute preparations. Over the next few days, shops will be closed, and families will spend all their time relaxing together and visiting friends and relatives.
Herbal Baths
In the lead-up to Tet, families have purified their homes, paid off any outstanding debts and bid farewell to the Kitchen God. Just before the new year starts, it’s time to purify oneself. Many Vietnamese people believe bathing in water treated with medicinal herbs washes away all of the previous year’s misfortune and sets them up for a clean and prosperous New Year.
Fireworks
Since Firecrackers were banned in the late 90s, fireworks shows have become an even larger part of the Vietnamese New Year. Traditionally New Year was marked by locals making loud noises to scare off evil spirits from ruining the New Year. In big cities up and down the country, families will gather around lakes and rivers just before midnight to watch huge displays bring in the New Year. In some places, locals perform dragon dances and carry whistles, rattles, gongs and bells to ensure those evil spirits think twice about ruining the New Year.
Day Nine: New Year’s Day (Mồng 1 – Tết Cha). 18 February 2026 (1st of Lunar January)
New Year’s Day officially marks the start of Tết. The family has all come home and is catching up with stories of their time away. The cupboards are fully stocked, and in the kitchen is plenty of meat, sweets, and soups. All that’s standing in the way of quality family time is a few rituals.
The first one over the threshold
The first person to enter the house on New Year’s Day sets the benchmark for the whole year to come. Vietnamese people are very cautious about the first person to enter their homes, believing that what comes to you on New Year’s Day sets the tone of the year to come. If someone with an unlucky star sign or of bad character is the first, then the rest of the year will be filled with misfortune. A good match could be someone who has a good matching star sign with the house owner or an elder with characteristics you want in your year, such as wealth, fertility, strong morality or a keen intellect. If a homeowner can’t find someone to match what they need, they might nip outside themselves a few minutes before midnight and nip back in just after to ensure the first person isn’t undesirable.
Top tip: don’t enter anyone’s home on New Year’s Day without being invited first.
Lucky Money (Tiền Mừng Tuổi)
Tet isn’t just a time for renewal, it’s a time for redistribution too. Family members earning a wage will put money into little red envelopes and hand them out to younger family members after the main meal of the day. Kids will spend them on treats and their education. In some families, younger people also give lucky money to the old so they can give it back to the young or supplement their pension.
Inviting the Ancestors to eat
Tết is a time for family, both alive and dead. Most Vietnamese people believe the spirits of their ancestors live alongside the living. Most homes, businesses and offices have a family shrine dedicated to the deceased that is carefully tended to throughout the year with meals being offered, incense lit and special paper offerings burnt. Around Tet, this custom becomes more important as the family prepares to invite all of their ancestors to “An Tet” (eat tet) with them. Before the big holiday family tombs are visited, weeds are cleared and any repairs are made. On New Year’s Day, special offerings of elaborately decorated paper, fruit, food and wine are made to the deceased and left on the altar until the 4th day of tết.
Feasting
The first family meal of the new year is a hugely important event. The whole family gathers around the table and enjoys plates of boiled meat, Banh Chung cakes, Pickled onions (Hanh Muoi), special soups and sweet sticky rice treats. All of the foods eaten on the day have a long history in Vietnamese culture. You can find out more by reading our Guide to traditional Tết meals.
Putting on your New clothes
Starting the New Year clean and fresh is incredibly important. Most Vietnamese people will start by putting on brand new clothes to start the New Year free from the bad luck that might be hidden in their old ones.
Day Ten: The Second Day of Tết (Mồng 2 – Tết Mẹ). 19 February 2026 (2nd of Lunar January)
The first day of Tết really is for immediate families and families living in the same home. The second day is for extended family. The whole family will ride their bikes, cars or bicycles to their auntie’s, uncle’s, brother’s or sister’s homes to feast all over again, enjoy a few cheeky drinks and hand out lucky money to the kids. People are careful to pay homage to the ancestors’ shrines at their relatives’ homes, and they offer a second round of offerings on their own family shrine.
Day Eleven: The Third Day of Tết (Mồng 3 – Tết Thầy). 20 February 2026 (3rd of Lunar January)
The Third Day of Tết is for visiting family, friends and teachers. In years gone by, this meant visiting their homes and enjoying another Tết feast. In recent years, more and more businesses have opened on the third day, allowing people to meet at restaurants, coffee shops, and at Tra Da stands all over the cities. At the end of the third day, the head of the household makes the final offering on the family shrine, and everyone gets ready for the biggest meal of the year.
Day Twelve: The Biggest Meal of the Year (Hoá Vàng). 21 February 2026 (4th of Lunar January)
The last day of Tết is seen off with a bang as the 12 days of Vietnamese20 New Year Traditions come to a close. All the special papers and food placed on the family altar over the past three days are collected in one place. The paper is burned as prayers and wishes are recited, sending the offerings into the other world. The food from the altar is added to a huge feast, which can last several hours. Expect to see people setting up shrines outside their homes and parties spilling out of restaurants and homes onto the streets.