Lunar New Year Festival often falls between late January and early February; it is among the most important holidays in Vietnam. Officially, the festival includes the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day in Lunar Calendar; however, Vietnamese people often spend about nearly a month to celebrate this special event.

Tet Holiday gets its beginning marked with the first day in the Lunar Year; however, its preparation starts long before that. One week before the holiday, in the 23rd day of the last Lunar month, is East Day—a ritual worshiping Kitchen Gods (Tao Cong). It is believed that each year on this day, these Gods go to heaven to tell Jade Emperor about all activities of households on earth. On the New Year’s Eve, they return to earth to continue their duties as taking care of families.

On the New Year’s Day, the first ones who come to visit households—called first-foot—are very important and hence need to be well chosen, as they are believed to hold in their hands the entire luck of the family in New Year (Tan Nien). After that, till the third day or even the fourth day of Tet, individuals meet relatives, friends and colleagues, wishing them all kinds of good things like happiness, health and success.