5 traditional customs not to be missed on the first day of Tet

New Year Tet is the time for family reunion and gathering together. For Vietnamese people, Tet is the biggest holiday of the year and there are many customs related to this big holiday.

The moment of transition between the old year and the new year has many important customs and practices for Vietnamese people. Photo: VNA

In particular, the first day of the new year is an important time during Tet holidays with customs and practices through which Vietnamese people express their wishes for a smooth, lucky and successful new year. Let's review the good and meaningful customs and practices on the first day of Tet.

1. New Year's Eve Offering or New Year's Eve Ceremony

New Year's Eve is the moment when heaven and earth are in harmony, yin and yang blend together to bring new life to all things. For Vietnamese people, New Year's Eve is sacred and solemn. According to ancient Vietnamese customs, every family worships outdoors and indoors at New Year's Eve. The offering tray also usually includes sticky rice with chicken, banh chung, candies, betel and areca nuts, fruits, wine, etc.

The ancients believed that each year there was a god who looked after the affairs of the human world. At the end of the year, the old god handed over his work to the new year god, so in addition to worshiping ancestors, they had to hold a New Year's Eve ceremony outdoors to send off the old year god and welcome the new year god.

This custom also has the meaning of removing all the bad things of the old year to welcome the good things of the new year. After the New Year's Eve rituals are completed, everyone in the family often gathers together to celebrate Tet.

2. First visit of the year

The first person to enter someone’s house after the New Year’s Eve is believed to have an impact on the homeowner’s future. Therefore, before Tet, the homeowner often chooses a successful acquaintance whose age is compatible with theirs according to astrology books to invite them to be the first person to enter their house.

In some places, people believe that the first person to enter the house on New Year's Day will bring luck and fortune to the family.

3. Lucky money

Giving lucky money to children on the occasion of the New Year. Photo: VNA

This is a very beautiful custom, every time Tet comes, adults often give children spending money, wrapped in a pink envelope with wishes for the children to be good and study well.

Giving lucky money also includes young people giving red envelopes and wishing the elderly a long life, showing filial piety of children and grandchildren.

4. Going out and wishing a happy new year

On the morning of the first day of Tet, also known as the first day of the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese people often gather their children and grandchildren to worship their ancestors and wish their grandparents a happy new year. According to the ancients, each new year each person gets one year older, so the first day of Tet is the day children and grandchildren wish their grandparents and the elderly in the family a long life.

New Year wishes are usually for health, prosperity, good luck, and fulfillment of all wishes. People who had bad luck in the previous year encourage each other to look towards goodness.

After wishing a happy new year at home, the whole family will go out to wish their relatives, neighbors, and friends a happy new year. Going out is the first time leaving the house in the new year. People believe that this direction will affect each person's future in the coming year. Therefore, before going out, some people choose a good day, time, and direction in the hope of meeting noble people, the god of wealth, the god of joy, etc.

5. Buy salt

There is a folk saying “buy salt at the beginning of the year, buy lime at the end of the year” to describe the customs of Vietnamese people in the new year. The buying of salt at the beginning of the year of each family usually begins in the early morning of the first day of Tet.

The ancients believed that salt is salty, anti-foul, drives away evil spirits, and brings good luck to the family. Buying salt at the beginning of the year also has significance in culinary culture, emotional culture, it is believed to bring richness to family relationships, harmony between husband and wife, children./.

According to Vietnamplus