How Vietnam Celebrates Tết: Long Holidays, Special Foods and Festive Traditions
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, Tết, brings weeks-long holidays (often 2–3 weeks) as people travel across the country’s long north–south span. Many shops and services close or post holiday notices, and prices for cafes, taxis and deliveries often rise 20–30% for those who work during the break. Cities like Ho Chi Minh become unusually quiet, with far fewer motorbikes and better air quality. Traditional Tết foods include Bánh Tét (cylindrical sticky rice cake common in Ho Chi Minh) and Bánh Chưng (square cake in Hanoi) — glutinous rice filled with mung beans and pork, wrapped in lá dong (dong leaves) and boiled for hours. These cakes can be store-bought, keep well, and are eaten plain, with fish sauce (nước mắm), sugar, or fried for variety. Common side dishes are củ kiệu (pickled shallots), thịt kho trứng (braised pork and eggs), canh khổ qua (bitter melon soup), lạp xưởng (Chinese-style sausage) and xôi gấc (red sticky rice). Markets also feature elaborately carved watermelons — a symbol of luck — stacked for display. Tết includes lively events like lion dances and flower festivals, and people buy zodiac-themed trinkets; Vietnam’s zodiac animals differ slightly from Korea’s (for example, the cat replaces the rabbit). The article describes a traveler’s personal Tết experience: planning for closures, enjoying festival quiet, tasting regional specialties, and celebrating with local customs.
