Vietnamese New Year!!!

By Minh Tran

Vietnam Vietnam is a small country in south Asia and

celebrates its new year on the 10th of February. This year is the year of the snake and For the first time ever, my brother and I went back to Vietnam for the new year and celebrated it with the rest of our family.

This is Vietnam here on the map next to Cambodia and China.

And this is the Vietnamese flag.

New Years Eve

On new years eve, the 9th of February, the whole family will come together and have an evening meal. The meal will always contain a boiled chicken which symbolizes knowledge, martial art, bravery, care and prestige.

At midnight, there are fireworks above the many lakes in Vietnam and lots of people will come to watch.

This is a picture of the fireworks above the West Lake in Vietnam.

The two traditionalTrees

Traditionally, most Vietnamese people will buy two types of trees for the new year. A peach blossom tree and a kumquat tree. The kumquat tree symbolizes the fertility and fruitfulness the family hope will be in the coming year while the peach blossom tree symbolizes the lunar new year and they both also symbolize luck.

Kumquat Tree Peach Blossom Tree

The Red Envelopes During the new year in Vietnam children, as well as

elderly adults, are given small red envelopes containing ‘lucky’ money. The bright red colour of the envelope is suppose to symbolize good luck and ward of evil spirits. The money inside the red envelope is usually a note so the person receiving it cannot guess how much is inside.

This is a picture of a few Vietnamese red envelopes :

Visiting our Ancestors

During the new year, Vietnamese families will visit the graves of their dead ancestors in respect. The tradition is to light incense sticks and pray to them for things like prosperity, strength and good luck in the coming year.

We also visit the birthplace of our grandparents where an alter will have been set up and place offerings to our ancestors on it.

Vietnamese Graves

Vietnamese Temples Throughout Vietnamese New Year, the people of

Vietnam will visit a few Buddhist temples to pay respect and say there prayers to the Buddha. It is the custom to put a donation to the temple every time you go there to help maintain it. My mum, my brother and I visited ten temples alone! Van Mieu was the first university in Vietnam and used to teach students literature but is now a beautiful temple in Hanoi.

Van Mieu, the temple of literature:

The Twelve Animals Much like the Chinese Zodiac cycles, the Vietnamese too have

a system of the years being associated with a particular animal. The various animals that are associated with the Vietnamese New Year are:

The rat, the buffalo, the tiger, the cat, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig.

This year is the year of the snake, the year which I was born in, people born in the year of the snake are said to be Wise, Sensual, Purposeful and Prudent.

The twelve animals:

Thank you for watching my presentation on my trip to

Vietnam during Vietnamese new year!

By Minh Tran6L