Tet- The Vietnamese Lunar New Year

New Year, called Tet in Vietnam, is the country´s main holiday. Tet is more solemnly comprehensive than the oen- shot blowout New Year´s eve celebrated in the West. This quintessential Vietnamese holiday combines the joyous optinism of Western New Year, the purity and renewal of Easter, with the post- harvest thankfulness and gathering together of the clan of Thankgiving day. In addition, Tet shares the warm merriment and gift- giving of Christmas. and it is even more.
New Year is officially a three- day holiday in viet nam, but often celebrations spill happily through a week. The most important moment is the night of the first new moon of the year. This is based on the ancient lunar calendar. It is the second new moon after the winter solstice. Lunar calendars, found in all Vietnamese homes, are consulted to learn the exact date. This falls between january 21 and february20 of the western sun- based calendar, halfway between the Winter and Spring equinox.