Tet 2025: Vietnamese Lunar New Year – Year of the Snake

We first experienced Tet in Vietnam back in 2021 in Nha Trang. As foreigners visiting Vietnam, especially for the first time, it often feels like a mysterious part of the Vietnamese culture. It was exactly like that for us until we learned more about it and observed the locals celebrating it and sharing their celebrations with us.

While Tet in Vietnam is a celebration, it is nowhere near as dramatic and party-like when compared to the Songkran Festival in Thailand (Thai New Year). Tet is meant for family, friends, and neighbors to bring in the new year together.

In this guide to Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, we’ll detail all you need to know about it, especially if you’re planning to travel to Vietnam during the time of Tet, which lasts about a week and can affect your experience.

When is Tet?

Vietnamese follow the lunar calendar, so Tet’s date changes yearly.

According to the lunar calendar, Tet falls on the first night of the first month’s new moon. It falls somewhere between 20th January and 20th February in the Gregorian calendar. This year (2025), it is on the 29th of January.

The preparations start weeks before, while the highlight is a few days before the holiday itself. Tet is also the longest holiday in Vietnam. The celebrations officially last from seven to nine days, although depending on how long people want to celebrate, they can be even longer in practice.

You can think of Tet as Christmas, New Year’s, Birthdays, and other holidays bunched up into one big celebration. Everyone also celebrates their birthday on this day, so don’t be surprised if someone wishes you a happy birthday!

The two most important dates of Tet in 2025 are Lunar New Year’s Eve on Tuesday, January 28, and Lunar New Year Day on Wednesday, January 29.

What is the meaning behind Tet?

Tet marks the new year and the arrival of spring according to the lunisolar calendar, and as such, it is often referred to as the Spring Festival, a name also used in other countries like China.

What is the connection between animals and Tet?

Vietnamese believe in a complex Zodiac system, including animals, Ying and Yang, the elements, and astronomical symbols.

All these depend on the time you were born, even the century itself. In combination, they determine your personality and the amount of luck you have in life.

In the Vietnamese lunar calendar, each year is assigned one of the 12 animals of the Zodiac. In Vietnam, 2025 is the year of the Snake.

Interestingly, even though both China and Vietnam follow the lunar calendar, 2023 was the year of the rabbit in China and the year of the cat in Vietnam. While similar, there are cultural differences.

How is Tet really celebrated?

Tet is celebrated amongst Vietnamese families as it is primarily a family holiday, where those who moved away return to the family home to be with their loved ones. It’s the happiest time of the year.

What traditions take place during Tet?

There are many traditions taking place before and during Tet, which are mostly done inside Vietnamese homes.

Paying all your debts
People try to pay off all their debts to go into the new year debt-free.

Cleaning the house
Everything gets adequately cleaned and fixed before Tet. It symbolizes removing old things and bad luck and welcoming the New Year’s fortunes.

Family, family, family (late and alive)
Family means more than just the living one. During Tet, ancestors are also invited to join with meals and offerings placed on the family altar.

Tet tree
For Vietnamese, bringing a blossoming tree or flowers into their household represents new life and good fortune. Along with family altars and offerings, the Tet tree is something you can easily see passing by a Vietnamese home during Tet.

Lucky money!
Money is usually given to children, sometimes elderly in a red envelope as a wish of luck and everything good in the new year.

Fun fact: one of our hosts in Da Nang named their new puppy “Lucky Money” just before Tet.

Preparing and eating traditional Tet food
Traditional Vietnamese dishes are prepared and eaten during Tet. If you’re lucky, you might see one of these interesting meals near the altars.

Smile brighter
During Tet, Vietnamese believe the first interactions of the new year set the scene for the coming year. It’s expected to smile brighter, have fun, and be pleasant for a peaceful and prosperous new year.

Symbols of Tet

Tet is the best time to see the importance of symbolism in Vietnam. Everything has a meaning and plays a vital role in Tet, from the flowers and trees to the colors and decorations to the offerings, gifting, and burning.

A good combination of all the correct symbols helps bring Vietnamese people health, good luck, and prosperity in the new year.

Why is everything in red and yellow during Tet?

The traditional red and yellow colors during Tet symbolize wealth and good fortune. They are everywhere: on banners, decorations, trinkets, and flowers you see. Some even paint their vehicles in these two colors.

What are Tet offerings?

During Tet, offerings are made to the gods and the ancestors. The gods are worshiped outside, and the ancestors inside the house. The ancestors are also invited to join the family for a meal, which is placed as an offering on the altar.

Why do the Vietnamese burn things during Tet?

Burning things during Tet symbolizes the transition of the items from the current world (Yang) to the ancestors in the afterlife (Yin). Fake money and paper models of things are usually burned to bring them wealth and comfort.

Flowers and plants of Tet

For Tet, bringing a blossoming tree into your household represents new life and good fortune. A pot of beautiful yellow chrysanthemum is also believed to symbolize life.

The most common Tet flowers are the yellow apricot blossoms in the south and pink peach blossoms in the north of Vietnam.

Kumquat trees, which symbolize fruitfulness, health, and good luck, are bought to decorate living rooms and sometimes entrances of homes, hotels, and businesses.

Tet gifting traditions

Maintaining a close relationship between people is an integral part of Vietnamese culture. This is emphasized even more during Tet with gifts, which symbolize good wishes and bring joy and luck.

Children also receive money in a red envelope as a wish of luck and everything good in the new year.

Streets of Vietnam during Tet

Tet is VERY colorful, and through the weeks leading up to it, Vietnam streets transform into a lively scene.

The streets are full of artwork and symbolic carvings from professional craftsmen and craftswomen. You can find scenes like this and more in all the big cities.

We love driving around Vietnamese cities during Tet because of all the colors, smells, and excitement in the air.

Traditional food prepared for Tet

Many unique dishes are prepared to welcome Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. This includes some of the old traditional dishes from when there were no refrigerators. At that time, everything had to be either pickled or wrapped/conserved to last during the days of celebration, as most places with fresh food were closed.

Bánh Chưng (chưng cakes) is a dish that embodies the spirit of the Vietnamese New Year. The square shape represents the earth (once believed to be a square), the fillings of vegetables and meat represent all living beings on earth, and the green leaves that cover it represent the parents’ care for their children.

Among others, some of the important and essential Tet dishes are Thit ga (chicken), Xôi gấc (red sticky rice), Hạt dưa (melon seeds), Dưa hành (pickled onions), Giò (Vietnamese sausage) and Thịt đông (frozen meat).

Special fruits found during Tet

Stores and street vendors sell some uniquely fascinating fruit during Tet, which you likely won’t see otherwise. The most “normal” of them are the different colored and the carved-out watermelons.

However, the coolest ones we found were some funny-looking pineapples and a finger fruit called Buddha’s Hands.

What to know as a tourist during Tet

The most important part of Tet is family. This means that most Vietnamese who live away from their childhood home come back to join their family for the celebration.

DOs and DONTs during Tet