Vietnamese New Year 2023: Date Jan. 22, Year of the Cat

Vietnamese New Year is also called Tet. It falls on January 22^nd in 2023. Vietnamese people enjoy a 6-day national public holiday from January 21^st (Tet Eve) to January 26^th, 2023.

Vietnamese New Year is the most important festival of the year in Vietnam, celebrating love, the start of spring, and the best of hopes for the new year. It is observed on the first day of the first month of the Vietnamese Lunar Calendar and ranges between late January and mid-February on the Gregorian calendar.

Lunar year 2023 is a year of the Cat on the Vietnamese zodiac, from January 22^nd, 2023 to February 9^th, 2024. Cat is the fourth sign in Vietnamese Zodiac, taking place of the Rabbit in Chinese Zodiac.

Happy kid having fun with traditional dress ao dai during Vietnamese New Year.

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How Long Does Vietnamese New Year Last in 2023?

Though the public holiday lasts only 6 days, local celebrations usually last around 20 days from 'Minor New Year' or 'Kitchen God Day' (January 14^th in 2023) to Tet Nguyen Tieu — 'First Full Moon of the Year' (February 5^th, 2023).

Here are the main celebrations and dates, outlined for you to have a general idea of how the Vietnamese people celebrate this most popular festival.

January 14^th in 2023: House Cleaning and a Feast

House cleaning and feasting take place on the 23^rd day of the last lunar month, which is called 'Kitchen God Day'.

In Vietnamese culture, there are three deities (God of the Kitchen, God of the Land and House, and God of the Market) in charge of people's homes and property. The 23^rd of the twelfth lunar month is the date for the three deities to go to Heaven for their annual report and prayers for the coming year. They then come back to Earth on New Year's Eve and resume their protective duties for the new year.

On this day, Vietnamese households clean their houses and prepare a tray of traditional offerings as a farewell.

Boiled or steamed chicken is a must of traditional offerings during Vietnamese New Year.

January 17^th to 19^th in 2023: Making Chung Cake

Chung cake is made from the 26^th to the 28^th day of the last lunar month.

Chung Cake is a traditional and irreplaceable Vietnamese New Year food. They are square cakes made of glutinous rice, pork meat, and green beans and wrapped in bamboo or banana leaves.

Square is traditionally thought of as the shape of Earth in some Asian cultures (Heaven being round).

Vietnamese people make Chung cake to express their gratitude to their ancestors and their homeland.

Read more about typical Vietnamese food...

Chung cake is a traditional Vietnamese New Year food.

January 21^st in 2023: Vietnamese New Year's Eve

It is on the last day of Vietnam's last lunar month.

New Year's Eve on Vietnam's lunar calendar is a day for finishing off the events of the past year, preparing for the new year, as well as family gatherings.

• House cleaning: This is a must to sweep away any bad luck of the old year. Cleaning in the first three days of the new year is not allowed, as it is thought to drive away Thần Tài (the God of Luck, in charge of a family's wealth for each coming year).
• Home decoration: The most popular items are flowers, trees, and small red ornaments.
• Cleaning altars and setting offerings: An altar represents the family ancestors' home or entrance door to Earth, hence cleaning of ancestral altars and offerings placed there are to please ancestral spirits.
• New Year's Eve Feast: Family members share stories of the past year and their hopes for new year, while eating special New Year food together.
• Giving red envelopes to children and seniors: Red is the auspicious color for New Year and red envelopes are a way of wishing the young and old good luck.
• Watching the New Year TV show and fireworks

Vietnamese young lady holding Tet greeting cards

January 22^nd in 2023: Vietnamese New Year's Day, Visiting Fathers' Relatives

It is the first day of Vietnam's first lunar month.

Vietnamese New Year's Day is the time Vietnamese visit relatives on their father's side. For wives and young children, this means the husband's/father's father and his relatives.

January 23^rd in 2023: Visiting Relatives on Mother Side

On the second day of Vietnam's first lunar month, Vietnamese people visit their (husband's/father's) maternal relatives.

January 24^th to 26^th in 2023: Visiting Teachers, Friends, Other Relatives, and Neighborhoods

Other relatives and old friends in childhood localities are visited from the third to the fifth day of Vietnam's first lunar month.

February 5^th in 2023: Tet Nguyen Tieu — First Full Moon

The 15^th day of Vietnam's first lunar month is the day of the First Full Moon of the New Year, which is very important for Vietnamese cultural and religious life. On Tết Nguyen Tieu, Vietnamese eat vegetarian food and plain water for purification.

Other activities include:

• Going to a pagoda to pray for good luck in the new year
• Flower vehicle parades, dragon and lion dancing, and lantern shows on the streets

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Vietnamese New Year is a Public Holiday — Tet Holiday

Vietnamese New Year is a national public holiday called the Tết Holiday, usually lasting 5–7 days. It is the biggest and longest holiday in Vietnam. In 2023, the holiday lasts 6 days from January 21^th to 26^th.

Many shops, government offices, and banks, close during Tết Holiday. Employees working during the Tết holiday are entitled to 300% of their normal daily salary.

Vietnamese New Year Dates 2023–2031

Vietnamese New Year (Tết) is based on their lunisolar calendar that gives a varying date in January/February, and each Lunar New Year marks the start of a new zodiac sign year, shown below: