Tet Eve in Vietnam in 2025

Tet Eve in Vietnam in 2025
  How long until Tet Eve?
Tet Eve
  Dates of Tet Eve in Vietnam
2025 Jan 28, Jan 29, Jan 30, Jan 31, Feb 1, Feb 2, Feb 3
VietnamMon, Feb 3National Holiday
VietnamSun, Feb 2National Holiday
VietnamSat, Feb 1National Holiday
VietnamFri, Jan 31National Holiday
VietnamThu, Jan 30National Holiday
VietnamWed, Jan 29National Holiday
VietnamTue, Jan 28National Holiday
2024 Feb 8, Feb 9, Feb 10, Feb 11, Feb 12, Feb 13, Feb 14
VietnamWed, Feb 14National Holiday
VietnamTue, Feb 13National Holiday
VietnamMon, Feb 12National Holiday
VietnamSun, Feb 11National Holiday
VietnamSat, Feb 10National Holiday
VietnamFri, Feb 9National Holiday
VietnamThu, Feb 8National Holiday
2023 Jan 20, Jan 21, Jan 22, Jan 23, Jan 24, Jan 25, Jan 26
VietnamThu, Jan 26Government Holiday
VietnamWed, Jan 25National Holiday
VietnamTue, Jan 24National Holiday
VietnamMon, Jan 23National Holiday
VietnamSun, Jan 22National Holiday
VietnamSat, Jan 21National Holiday
VietnamFri, Jan 20Government Holiday (additional day)
2022 Jan 29, Jan 30, Jan 31, Feb 1, Feb 2, Feb 3, Feb 4
VietnamFri, Feb 4National Holiday
VietnamThu, Feb 3National Holiday
VietnamWed, Feb 2National Holiday
VietnamTue, Feb 1National Holiday
VietnamMon, Jan 31National Holiday
VietnamSun, Jan 30National Holiday
VietnamSat, Jan 29National Holiday
2021 Feb 10, Feb 11, Feb 12, Feb 13, Feb 14, Feb 15, Feb 16
VietnamTue, Feb 16National Holiday
VietnamMon, Feb 15National Holiday
VietnamSun, Feb 14National Holiday
VietnamSat, Feb 13National Holiday
VietnamFri, Feb 12National Holiday
VietnamThu, Feb 11National Holiday
VietnamWed, Feb 10National Holiday
  Summary

Day before Tet, the most important holiday in Vietnam

  Local name
Tết Nguyên Đán
Related holidays

Tet is the Vietnamese New Year and is the most important festival and public holiday in Vietnam.

An example of Tet being the definitive Vietnamese holiday is that 'Tet' itself means 'festival' and is the shortened version of 'Tết Nguyên Đán', which is Sino-Vietnamese for 'Feast of the First Morning of the First Day'.

When is Tet?

Tet falls on the first night of the new moon in the first month of the Lunar Calendar, which in the Gregorian calendar usually takes place between the last week of January and the third week of February.

The specific days taken as public holidays will depend on how the dates fall over a weekend, and extra days may be declared holidays to bridge to weekends. Under the Labour Code, employees are given five days off from work and since 2010, the government has allowed the exchange of working days and days off so that the holidays can be longer and bridge weekends.

Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year, though as there is a one-hour time difference between Vietnam and China, this can sometimes result in alternate calculations of when the new moon occurs.

Tet signifies the beginning of the year and also traditionally marks the first day of spring.

At the start of the Tet festival, Ong Tau, the god of the Hearth goes to the abode of the Jade Emperor to give his annual report on family members. People are keen that Ong Tau makes a favourable report so before his departure, houses are thoroughly cleaned or even renovated.

Hanging paintings to decorate the home has become a cherished tradition during Tet, the biggest national holiday in Vietnam. Dong Ho folk paintings, with their vibrant colours, diverse genres, and messages of prosperity, are often the top choice for Tet decorations.

A key part of the celebrations of Tet is that it is a chance to begin again, to forget about the problems of the previous year and start afresh. In addition to cleaning homes, people will buy more new clothes at this time of year and it is also a popular time for people to change jobs or switch careers.

On top of the new start, Tet also sets the tone for the coming year so popular customs include family reunions, giving money to children and the elderly, ancestor worship, and wiping out debts.

At midnight at the start of the New Year, Ong Tau returns and is welcomed back with fireworks and gongs. During this time, people will avoid bad thoughts or arguments in case they allow bad spirits into the house.

Tet is also when everyone in Vietnam becomes one year older as age is traditionally determined by the new year and not by each person's birthdays.

A popular event to mark new year is Flower Street in Ho Chi Minh City, which attracts over one million visitors each year. The animal of the new year will be displayed along with many flowers.

The most popular food of the festival is banh chung (banh tet), which is made of sweet sticky rice, meat or beans, and spices wrapped in a leaf and boiled for half a day. The legend is that this delicacy was invented over two thousand years ago by a prince in the Hung dynasty and the king was so impressed by the simplicity and humbleness by this gift that he named the prince as his heir.

Tet is a quieter and less dangerous festival than it used to be as firecrackers were banned in 1995. Instead, major cities now hold organised fireworks displays to provide an explosive aspect to the holidays.

During Tet, the cities become less busy as people return to their hometowns to be with friends and family and many businesses are closed.

If you are visiting Vietnam at this time of year, be aware that most of the country will close down for Tet, local transport services are stretched to the limit and international flights are very busy catering for Vietnamese people returning home from overseas for Tet.

Working in Vietnam over Tet

Employers who require employees to work during the Tet holiday must pay three times the normal wages. A customary Lunar New Year bonus, also known as a Tet bonus, is often paid to employees before their leaving for the Lunar New Year holiday. The amount of the Tet bonus will depend on both the company and employee performance.

The Tet Offensive

Probably the most common understanding of Tet outside of Vietnam is in relation to the Tet Offensive that happened during the Vietnamese War.

During the war, a truce had been established during the Tet holidays. On 31 January 1968, the truce was broken by North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front forces when they launched a surprise attack on over 100 cities in South Vietnam. The attacks made little in the way of strategic gains but the ferocity of the attacks was seen as a key turning point in the United States public opinion about the participation of their country in the conflict.


Translate this page