Vietnamese New Year 2023

Vietnam New Year 2023, Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short, is considered the biggest and most popular festival of the year in Vietnam. Celebrated on the first day of the first month in the Lunar Calendar, the Tet celebration is the longest holiday which may last up to seven to nine days. Vietnamese New Year in 2023 will last from 20/Jan/2023 – 29/Jan/2023.

Notes: Vietnam Immigration Department is issuing eVisa- 1-month Single entry for many countries. If you’ve planned your trip to Vietnam, apply for a visa in advance from now on Apply Vietnamese Visa Now!

Vietnamese New Year in 2023 will last from 20/Jan/2023 – 29/Jan/2023 & at this time you still apply for a Vietnamese visa but the visa price is so high.

How Tet is calculated?

Different from the Gregorian calendar, Lunar Calendar has a fixed number of twelve months with 30 days each, and a leap year will have a whole intercalary month instead of the 29th day of February. The new year of the Lunar Calendar normally will start in late January or the beginning of February according to the Gregorian calendar. That explains why Tet days vary from year to year: it is because the leap month may fall shorter or longer which creates a smaller or bigger gap between the two calendars.

When is Tet?
* In 2011, Tet day falls on February 3rd
* In 2012, Tet day falls on January 23rd
* In 2013, Tet is on February 10th
* In 2014, Tet is on January 31st
* In 2015, Tet is on February 19th
* In 2016, Tet is on February 8th (actual holiday from Feb 6-14)
* In 2017, Tet is on January 28th, Rooster
* In 2018, Tet is on February 16th, Dog
* In 2019, Tet is on February 05th, Pig
* In 2020, Tet is on January 24th, Rat
*In 2021, Tet is on February 2022 1st, Buffalo
*In 2022, Tet is on January 2023 23rd, Cat

The actual holiday will last 1 day before and about 3-5 days after the day mentioned above.

YearDateActual DaysHolidayZodiac2017Saturday, January 2826 Jan to 06 FebVietnamese Lunar New YearRooster2018Friday, February 1614 Feb to 20 FebVietnamese Lunar New YearDog2019Tuesday, February 53 Feb to 10 FebVietnamese Lunar New YearPig2020Tuesday, Jan, 2424/Jan to 30/JanVietnamese Lunar New YearRat2021Friday, Feb, 1210/Feb to 16/FebVietnamese Lunar New YearBuffalo2022Sunday, 23rd 20/Jan/2023 – 29/Jan/2023Vietnamese Lunar New YearCat

Update 2022: If you plan to visit Vietnam during the Tet Holiday, it is strongly advised that you apply for a visa as soon as possible as the embassy offices may close during the holiday time above.

What is Tet?

Tet is the occasion for Vietnamese to express their respect and remembrance for their ancestors as well as welcome the New Year with their beloved family members. Moreover, in the past, Tet was essential as it provided one of the few long breaks during the agricultural year, which was held between the harvesting of the crops and the sowing of the next ones. To make it easier, one can imagine Tet as a combination of Christmas and New Year: every family will get together to have big meals, decorate Tet trees and eat Tet food but to welcome the new year instead of a religious cause.

How is Tet celebrated?

Since Tet occupies an important role in Vietnamese’s religious beliefs, Vietnamese will begin their preparations well in advance of the upcoming New Year. In an effort to get rid of the bad luck of the old year, people will spend a few days cleaning their homes, polishing every utensil, or even repaint and decorate the house with kumquat trees, branches of peach blossoms, and many other colorful flowers. The ancestral altar is specially taken care of, with careful decoration of five kinds of fruits and votive papers, along with many religious rituals. Everybody, especially children, buys new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of New Year. People also try to pay all their pending debts and resolve all the arguments among colleagues, friends, or members of the family.

Like other Asian countries, the Vietnamese believe that the color red and yellow will bring good fortune, which may explain why these colors can be seen everywhere on Lunar New Year. People consider what they do on the dawn of Tet will determine their fate for the whole year, hence people always smile and behave as nicely as they can in the hope of a better year. Besides, gifts are exchanged between family members and friends and relatives, while children receive lucky money kept in red envelopes.

No matter where Tet is celebrated, it must be clarified from the beginning that Tet is not a day, but several days of celebration.

The general process is as follows (all dates quoted in the lunar calendar):

Ông Công, Ông Táo Day (Kitchen God day) – December 23rd
Wrapping Chung cake – December 26-28th
Family reunion and Tất niên – December 30th
Giao thừa – New Year’s Eve: including praying sessions to God and Ancestors, Xông đất (First visit a family in the new year)
The first three days of the new year: visit the paternal side on the first day, the maternal side on the second day, and teachers on the third day
Visit relatives, friends, and neighbors: can take place from January 3rd – 5th
Hóa vàng – burn the offerings near Tet’s end for ancestors: January 4th
Reopen business: usually, owners pick a good date that matches their age
Tết Nguyên Tiêu: January 15th

Food for Tet

The following food is often consumed during Tet; some are particular to Tet and often associated with the grand celebration:

Banh Chung/ Banh Tet
Pickled onions
Boiled chicken
Mung bean pudding
Vietnamese sausage – giò chả
Xôi Gấc – Red Sticky Rice
Roasted nuts and seeds
Read more about Essential Food for the Tet holiday

Traveling to Vietnam during Tet

Tet has a very special attached meaning to all Vietnamese. It is the time for everybody to come back to their hometown, gather with family, visit relatives, and have a good relaxing time after a hard-working year. If you have the opportunity to visit Vietnam during the Tet holiday, make sure you join this festive and happy moment for Vietnamese!