Vietnam Lunar New Yr – 10 Issues To Do and Do not

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

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

Similar to lots of the younger Vietnamese residing 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.

It’s possible you’ll not agree with among 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 in beginning to respect the fantastic thing about our Vietnamese tradition and traditions:

The 10 Do’s:

1. Say “Joyful New Yr” in any language that you may if you see a Vietnamese or an Asian individual. In Vietnamese, it’s “Chuc Mung Nam Moi,” with a giant smile!

2. Give purple envelopes (Li Xi), although within the outdated days, solely married individuals have been supposed to do that job within the new yr as a result of married individuals have been believed to be extra profitable than single people. Nevertheless, these days, making a gift of 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 purple envelopes? As a result of, I DO!

3. Smile, snort typically, and be energetic. Simply don’t overdo the smiling and laughing as a result of individuals could misjudge you as somebody just 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 akin to candies or “mut Tet”. Folks consider that candy issues will deliver sweetness for the remainder of the yr.

5. Provide the aged a heat cup of tea if they’ve misplaced all their enamel 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 simply drink tea. The tea may not 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 satisfy the remainder of my crowded relations to be sure that that cute chick I’m courting doesn’t occur to be my fifth cousin. (J/Okay!)

7. Give something associated to quantity 6 or 8. It’s because our tradition has been tied with some elements 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 consider in these, however I’ll do something to make individuals pleased. So, giving $6 or $Eight for Li Xi would beat the $10. Ultimately, I save $2 to $Four for every Li Xi and nonetheless make others pleased. Good trick huh?

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

9.  Put on new, colourful, lovely garments with mild colours. Put these wrinkled, pungent garments within the washer already!

10. Give the next bundle 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 might be pronounced as “Cau Dua Du Xai”, which implies “wishing you having sufficient cash to spend”.

Nevertheless, if you happen to learn quantity Four on the 10 Dont’s Checklist under, you will notice that folks often take out the custard apple from the bundle because of the problem of discovering it throughout Tet and the idea that Four is a foul quantity. You’ll typically see the bundle accommodates solely coconut, papaya, and mango, which provides you the mixture 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 any person’s home on the first day except you’ve been invited by the home proprietor first. In any other case, go on the 2nd day or at a later time. Folks consider that the primary one who reveals 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 might be profitable. If the individual has been unfortunate final yr, the household might be in unhealthy luck all this new yr.

So it’s best so that you can keep residence till somebody has invited you over. It’s their sign of telling you that both somebody already has entered their home for this yr or they personally like your traits to have you ever over and produce them luck. Consider it or not, I don’t suppose all this luck stuff is true, however I like to recommend you to take heed 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 loss of life and funerals. By the best way, put on one thing good and full of life–it’s New Yr!

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

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

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 (not less than darker than hen meat).

Quantity Four is pronounced as “Tu” within the outdated Vietnamese language system which sounds nearly like “Tu”, which implies Die or Demise within the outdated Vietnamese language that’s closely influenced by the Chinese language language. Most individuals have mistaken the actual fact of quantity 7 being a fortunate quantity. Nevertheless, in outdated Vietnamese language, 7 is pronounced as “That”, which is similar 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 if you’re in Vietnam, don’t eat or give canine meat throughout New Yr. I’ll let you know the rationale in individual.

5. Don’t discuss unfavorable matters akin to 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 consider that in the event that they need to repay or borrow cash firstly of the yr, they should borrow and repay cash for the remainder of the yr. Finest time of the yr to dodge your debt, eh?

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

8. Don’t go to anybody’s home for the primary Three days of the lunar calendar in case you have funeral in your instant household within the final Three years. Vietnamese individuals consider that the useless individual within the household won’t go to Hell inside the first Three years of his or her loss of life.

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 actual fact of their loss of life. Folks don’t need spirits to enter their home throughout New Yr 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 residence together with your beloved spirit; individuals will come to your home to share your unhappiness 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 can be associated to fireside out of any person’s home akin to: lighters, matches, coals, fireplace fluid, fuel, and many others. Hearth is taken into account to be the supply of the heat of the household, the need of couple’s love. It’s believed that households with fireplace taken away could have issues inside the household. Firefighters ought to take Three trip days throughout Tet if their station occurs to be inside the Asian neighborhood.

10. Don’t take or ask to take issues which can be associated to water out of any person’s home akin to: bottles of water, water containers, water dispensers, ingesting 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 any person’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 residence 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 yr, a profitable 12 months, a tremendous 365 days, and an exquisite 8,760 hours together with your family members!

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!