To have a lucky person as the first guest of the year is an important Tet custom in Vietnam. Photo: Thai Nguyen Born in a close-knit Chinese-Vietnamese family with nearly 20 members as I was, I have been taught a lot about Lunar New…

If you are still chewing over what to do during the week-long Tet holiday, how about hopping on a trip to one of these destinations that have become popular among many Vietnamese people choosing to break away from endless gatherings and parties.  Make sure…

Tet has yet to come, but the smell of it lingers in alleys throughout the country. For Vietnamese people, no holiday is as significant as Tet. It’s an occasion for family reunions, for worshipping the ancestors, for taking a once-a-year rest – and for…

From three simple ingredients, arrowroot starch, egg and sugar, villagers in the central province of Quang Ngai have turned them into special cupcakes that look like yellow apricot blossom. The cupcake, known locally as bánh thuẫn, is made all year round. It is particularly…

Every house has a kitchen; every kitchen has its gods. And you’d better treat them well, because they are guardian angels/special agents sent from heaven. Vietnamese people adore their Kitchen Gods. They have a day just for them during the busy Tet festival. On…

Ambassador Camilla Mellander and all staff members at the Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi have made a three-minute video to send greetings to Vietnamese people for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.   The ambassador in a traditional ao dai conveyed her greetings and also joined…

It is unclear when and how lanterns became a must-have decoration for Vietnamese families during important holidays, especially the mid-autumn festival and Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival. Some scholars criticized the practice, saying it was not a Vietnamese tradition to hang lanterns…