For many people youthful Vietnamese, Tet at all times had been one thing crucial to our households, to our tradition and to our individuals.

Nonetheless, we regularly don’t perceive sure issues that the older people within the household often say and do throughout these Three essential days of the Lunar New Year.

Identical to lots of the younger Vietnamese dwelling abroad, I’ve been by the age of questioning and struggling to seek out out the actual tales and causes behind every exercise and habits that the Vietnamese individuals do for Tet.

You might not agree with a number of the believes and traditions that I’m going to listing under, however studying this listing will prevent loads of headache and hopefully will enable you to in beginning to recognize the great thing about our Vietnamese tradition and traditions:

The 10 Do’s:

1. Say “Glad New Year” in any language which you could whenever you see a Vietnamese or an Asian individual. In Vietnamese, it’s “Chuc Mung Nam Moi,” with an enormous smile!

2. Give crimson envelopes (Li Xi), although within the outdated days, solely married individuals have been supposed to do that job within the new 12 months as a result of married individuals have been believed to be extra profitable than single people. Nonetheless, these days, giving freely Li Xi is an act of displaying your generosity and wishing the recipients luck all year long. Who doesn’t like getting cash from these crimson envelopes? As a result of, I DO!

3. Smile, snigger usually, and be energetic. Simply don’t overdo the smiling and laughing as a result of individuals could misjudge you as somebody lately discharged from an asylum or somebody on dope. Nonetheless, seeing somebody with a smile on his/her face will brighten the temper of anyone on any day, so positively do that!

4. Provide others one thing candy resembling candies or “mut Tet”. Folks imagine that candy issues will deliver sweetness for the remainder of the 12 months.

5. Provide the aged a heat cup of tea if they’ve misplaced all their tooth or have diabetes. A heat cup of tea is believed to ship happiness, heat, and the flavorful candy style to the individual. Vietnamese households often collect round throughout Tet to only drink tea. The tea won’t be heat, however love of household is unquestionably heat.

6. Go to all of your kin. That is your golden excuse to go to your kin and meet up with them. That is my golden excuse to fulfill the remainder of my crowded relations to be sure that that cute chick I’m relationship doesn’t occur to be my fifth cousin. (J/Ok!)

7. Give something associated to quantity 6 or 8. It is because our tradition has been tied with some features of Chinese language tradition. Quantity 6 in Cantonese sounds just like the phrase “Loc” in Vietnamese, which implies Luck. Quantity Eight in Cantonese sounds just like the phrase “Phat” in Vietnamese, which implies Prosperity. I personally don’t imagine in these, however I’ll do something to make individuals completely happy. So, giving $6 or $Eight for Li Xi would beat the $10. In the long run, I save $2 to $Four for every Li Xi and nonetheless make others completely happy. Good trick huh?

8. Give something crimson in shade, resembling watermelon, li xi, dried fruits in a crimson field (mut Tet), and many others. The colour crimson is related to Luckyand Excessive Class rankings in Asian tradition, particularly those which are closely influenced by Chinese language tradition. As well as, the colour crimson brings heat emotions or hotness, like hearth. So in brief, crimson brings luck and heat to the household.

9.  Put on new, colourful, stunning garments with gentle colours. Put these wrinkled, smelly garments within the washer already!

10. Give the next package deal of fruits: custard apple, coconut, papaya, and mango. In Vietnamese, the fruits, respectively: Mang Cau, Dua, Du Du, Xo Within the Vietnamese Southern accent, the fruits will likely be pronounced as “Cau Dua Du Xai”, which implies “wishing you having sufficient cash to spend”.

Nonetheless, if you happen to learn quantity Four on the 10 Dont’s Record under, you will notice that folks often take out the custard apple from the package deal because of the issue of discovering it throughout Tet and the idea that Four is a nasty quantity. You’ll usually see the package deal accommodates solely coconut, papaya, and mango, which provides you the mix of “Dua Du Xai”, the truncated model with the that means of “Sufficient Cash to Spend”.

The 10 Dont’s:

1. Don’t present up at anyone’s home on the first day except you could have been invited by the home proprietor first. In any other case, go on the 2nd day or at a later time. Folks imagine that the primary one who exhibits up at their home will deliver to the household all of the traits of that individual. If an individual is a profitable individual, the household will likely be profitable. If the individual has been unfortunate final 12 months, the household will likely be in unhealthy luck all this new 12 months.

So it’s best so that you can keep house till somebody has invited you over. It’s their sign of telling you that both somebody already has entered their home for this 12 months or they personally like your traits to have you ever over and deliver them luck. Consider it or not, I don’t assume all this luck stuff is true, however I like to recommend you to hearken to this recommendation to keep away from being unreasonably blamed.

2. Don’t put on darkish clothes or simply black and white. Darkish, black, and white clothes is believed to be related to demise and funerals. By the way in which, put on one thing good and vigorous–it’s New Year!

3. Don’t swear, curse, trash speak, or argue. Any of those is already unhealthy for any time of the 12 months, not alone the New Year…

4. Don’t give presents with unfortunate indicators. For instance: Any meals with squid or duck meat and quantity 4 and 7.

Squid produces black liquid, which is taken into account to be soiled and dangerous, although the squid itself tastes tremendous good! Geese are believed to be silly and their meat is darkish (at the very least darker than hen meat).

Quantity Four is pronounced as “Tu” within the outdated Vietnamese language system which sounds virtually like “Tu”, which implies Die or Loss of life within the outdated Vietnamese language that’s closely influenced by the Chinese language language. Most individuals have mistaken the very fact of quantity 7 being a fortunate quantity. Nonetheless, in outdated Vietnamese language, 7 is pronounced as “That”, which is identical spelling and similar sound because the phrase “Misplaced” or “Lacking” in outdated Vietnamese language. So in Vietnamese, quantity 7 is definitely very unhealthy! Not as fortunate as you thought.

Oh yeah, and in case you are in Vietnam, don’t eat or give canine meat throughout New Year. I’ll let you know the rationale in individual.

5. Don’t speak about detrimental matters resembling accidents, deaths, or funerals. Who likes to speak about these items anyway?

6. Don’t ask somebody to repay you a debt or mortgage. Wait till the subsequent 2-Three weeks. Folks imagine that in the event that they should repay or borrow cash in the beginning of the 12 months, they must borrow and repay cash for the remainder of the 12 months. Greatest time of the 12 months to dodge your debt, eh?

7. Don’t ask for “Li Xi” if it was not given. That is thought-about equal to asking the individual to pay their debt. In my private opinion, this has extra to do politely and politeness.

8. Don’t go to anybody’s home for the primary Three days of the lunar calendar if in case you have funeral in your speedy household within the final Three years. Vietnamese individuals imagine that the lifeless individual within the household is not going to go to Hell throughout the first Three years of his or her demise.

Their spirit will observe the relations for Three years earlier than they both get drained from it or witness the truth that the household has gotten over the very fact of their demise. Folks don’t need spirits to enter their home throughout New Year as a result of gods, goddesses, and Buddhas are partying it up throughout this time and paying much less consideration in guarding the home of the homeowners from ghosts and spirits.

So, sit house together with your beloved spirit; individuals will come to your home to share your disappointment if they’re thoughtful. You don’t want to take any silly blame if some household sheds some blood for one thing that’s completely unrelated to you.

9. Don’t take or ask to take issues which are associated to fireplace out of anyone’s home resembling: lighters, matches, coals, hearth fluid, fuel, and many others. Fireplace is taken into account to be the supply of the heat of the household, the will of couple’s love. It’s believed that households with hearth taken away can have issues throughout the household. Firefighters ought to take Three trip days throughout Tet if their station occurs to be throughout the Asian neighborhood.

10. Don’t take or ask to take issues which are associated to water out of anyone’s home resembling: bottles of water, water containers, water dispensers, consuming cups, glasses, and many others. Folks often want one another “Tai Loc Nhu Nuoc” or “Cash and success coming in like water”.

So, taking water out of anyone’s home is equal to taking away their wealth. In case you are thirsty, drink the water inside the home, don’t take the bottle house or you will notice the proprietor coming to your home to take again their waterbottle with an offended face.

Lastly, I want all of the readers and vacationers a contented new 12 months, a profitable 12 months, an incredible 365 days, and a beautiful 8,760 hours together with your family members!

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!