Vietnamese Tet Festival

 Tet Nguyen Dan or the Lunar New Year is a 5-day public holiday in Vietnam and its most significant festival.  While the public holiday lasts only for a week, the celebrations and preparations actually run longer.  The Tet is the first day of the Lunar New Year and marks the start of spring in the North of Vietnam. From being the start of the new cycle of wet rice cultivation in the old times, it now signifies a new beginning with the family and loved ones.  Everyone gets busy preparing for the festival and will usually return to their hometowns for the holiday. Don't forget to try the festival's most significant food, the banh chung or sweet sticky rice with meat or beans and spices wrapped in a leaf.