In a colourful and festive video, our Sisters of Charity in Vietnam convey the warmth of the Lunar New Year. Already for days, Vietnamese families have been flocking to markets to decorate their homes and tables, to welcome relatives, and to honor ancestors worthily, because Tet, also known as Vietnamese New Year, is the biggest and most important holiday in Vietnamese culture.
Tet is representative of Vietnam’s cultural identity: it allows Vietnamese people to show their respect and gratitude to ancestors by visiting their graves and burning incense, and to start a new year with family members and loved ones.
For the Vietnamese Catholic Church, the first day is dedicated to praying for peace in the new year, the second day is dedicated to praying for the ancestors, and the third day is dedicated to the sanctification of work. Specifically, on the first day, during the morning Mass, most parishes will receive Holy Blessings. Each family will choose a holy blessing containing a verse from God’s Word as God’s invitation for their family in the new year. We wholeheartedly join in the prayer, in the feeling of gratitude to our ancestors, in welcoming God’s Blessings of the Vietnamese people and our Sisters from that land into our lives!
We wholeheartedly join in prayer, in feeling grateful to our ancestors, in welcoming God’s Blessings of the Vietnamese people and our Sisters from that land into our lives!
Every year, millions of people take advantage of the Vietnamese New Year vacation and set out, crossing Vietnam far and wide, to reach their hometowns and spend time with their friends and families. Vietnamese people look forward to this time all year round, to visit each other and exchange good wishes, along with envelopes of good luck money to exchange spring blessings. It is an opportunity for children and grandchildren to reunite with family and reconnect with relatives.
Ahead of the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese people decorate houses and streets using decorations with colors considered good luck: red and yellow. For this reason, you will see red banners with yellow lettering everywhere during Tet. Homes, as well as schools and offices, are adorned with flowers: in the North, Vietnamese people decorate spaces with pink peach blossoms, while in the South they prefer the deep yellow of Mai flowers.
The warm atmosphere of Tet is something unforgettable.
