Vietnam Welcomes in the New Year February 7th

Vietnamese people throughout the world will be celebrating the New Year, which is being hailed as the Year of the Rat this year, Thursday, February 7^th.

The Vietnamese New Year, known as Tet Nguyen Dan or simply Tet, shares some of the same customs and taboos as the Chinese New Year, which coincidentally falls on the same day as Tet; except in rare cases when the one-hour time difference between Vietnam and China results in the Chinese New Year occurring 24-hours later.

Unlike most countries where New Year festivities lasts for a day, Vietnam's can last anywhere from three to ten days. The Vietnamese believe the first day and the first week of the New Year will determine the fortunes or misfortunes they will receive throughout the year. For this reason special attention is given to cleaning and decorating the house, settling debts and purchasing new clothes and traditional holiday food items in the weeks preceding the actual holiday.

Traditional decorations include the Tet tree or cay neu, which is a bamboo pole stripped of its leaves except for a tuft on top that is set up outside the home as a guardian of the house to ward off evil spirits; in the north, flowering branches of rose-colored dao flowers are spread throughout the house as symbols of life and good fortune while the bright golden yellow branches of the hoa mai are used in the south; and kumquat bushes, which have been pruned symmetrically to reveal it's orange fruits are prominently displayed in the home in the hopes that wealth and good fortune will be forthcoming.

Traditionally, the New Year is celebrated with a special rice cake, known as bánh chung in Hanoi, and bánh tet in Ho Chi Minh city. The tradition of serving these rice cakes is believed to have gotten its start over 3,000 years ago during the reign of King Hung.

Vietnamese legend says when the time came to choose a successor the King, who had 22 sons, directed each to search out recipes and foods that he had yet tasted. The son to bring back the best dish would be named ruler of the kingdom.

The King's son Prince Lang Lieu had no idea what to do. Motherless since a young child he had no one to advise him. Then one night a genie appeared in his dream and said: "Prince, I know of your youthful loneliness and understand your anxieties. I have been sent here to help you, so that you will be able to please your royal father. Therefore, do not despair. It is a law of nature that man can not live without rice; it is man's chief food. For that reason, you will first take a quantity of glutinous rice, some beans, some fat and lean pork meat, and spices. Pluck some banana leaves and from split bamboo cut flexible lacings. All this materials symbolize the abundance of the Earth. Soak the rice in clean water and boil part of it. When it is well-cooked, pound it into a cupola-shaped, plain. Now prepare a stuffing of bean paste and bits of pork. Place this between layers of rice. Wrap the whole in banana leaves and press it into a square shape. Then bind it with the flexible bamboo lacings. Cook it for a day and the cake will be ready for eating."¹

When the time for tasting the new foods arrived, the King was quite pleased with Lang Lieu's dish. He asked how it was made. After hearing of the dream he decided to appoint Lang Lieu his successor knowing that divine inspiration would not be lacking for the young prince, a quality he felt would be beneficial in handling state affairs.

Many Vietnamese, especially those living in the provinces, continue the tradition of preparing the rice cakes according to Lang Lieu's recipe. Those who don't, purchase bánh chung or bánh tet from vendors throughout the country.

References:

¹ Tet Legends Retrieved January 24, 2008 http://www.vnstyle.vdc.com.vn/lunar_newyear/tet_legend/banhchungbanhday.htm