|
| |
|
FESTIVALS |
| |
|
|
| |
Most Vietnamese festivals are fixed by the lunar calendar: the
majority take place in spring, and the days of the full moon (day one)
and the new moon (day fourteen or fifteen) are particularly auspicious.
All Vietnamese calendars show both the lunar and solar (Gregorian)
months and dates.
Tet Nguyen Dan , or simply Tet ("festival"), is Vietnam's most important
annual event; it lasts for seven days and falls sometime between the
last week of January and the third week of February, on the night of the
new moon. This is a time when families get together to celebrate renewal
and hope for the new year, when ancestral spirits are welcomed back to
the household, and when everyone in Vietnam becomes a year older - age
is reckoned by the new year and not by individual birthdays. Everyone
cleans their house from top to bottom, pays off debts, and makes
offerings to Ong Tau, the Taoist god of the hearth. The eve of Tet
explodes into a cacophony of drums and percussion and the subsequent
week is marked by feasting on special foods. For tourists, Tet can be a
great time to visit Vietnam, but it pays to note that not only does most
of Vietnam close down for the week after the new year, but either side
of the holiday local transport services are stretched to the limit.
Festivals of interest to tourists include the Water Puppet Festival held
at Thay Pagoda, west of Hanoi (Feb ); the two-week Buddhist full moon
festival at the Perfume Pagoda , west of Hanoi (March-April ); Tet Doan
Ngo , the summer solstice, which is marked by festivities and dragon
boat races (late May to early June); and Trung Thu, also known as
Children's Day, when dragon dances take place and children are given
lanterns in the shape of stars, carp or dragons (Sept-Oct).
|
| |
|
