Spring Travel: Discover 4 Unique Vietnamese New Year Festivals

As late winter gives way to early spring and the old year turns into the new, communities from south to north begin holding New Year festivals according to the customs of each region. These festivals are a priceless part of the country's spiritual life, carrying prayers and wishes for a prosperous new year.

Most of Vietnam's distinctive festivals take place in early spring, especially from January to March. Each festival has its own cultural beauty, traditions and regional identity. Below, Dulichvietnam introduces some of the most popular New Year festivals in Vietnam today.

Perfume Pagoda Festival: the most eagerly awaited New Year festival in the North

The Perfume Pagoda Festival is a major spring festival not only in Hanoi but across the whole country. Every year, from the 6th day of Tet until the end of the 3rd lunar month, crowds flock to the Perfume Pagoda in Huong Son commune, My Duc district, Hanoi, to join the festival.

Visitors come not only to worship the Buddha and burn incense for a peaceful, lucky new year, but also to witness sacred processions held only once a year. The festival also features folk art performances and unique religious rituals.

What's more, visitors to the festival at the start of the year can enjoy the poetic, romantic natural scenery here. However, during the festival the Perfume Pagoda is crowded with people from all over, so arrive early to avoid traffic jams.

Also beware of touts offering boat rides or entrance tickets, and agree on prices clearly. As for offerings, prepare them at home rather than buying them here, as prices are usually very high, overcharging is common and the quality isn't guaranteed.  

To enter the Perfume Pagoda festival, visitors need an entrance ticket of about 50,000 VND per person, and a boat ticket across the Yen Stream costs about 35,000 VND per person. Besides joining the festival and worshipping, take time to explore the natural scenery around the Perfume Pagoda complex for some fun, memorable experiences.

Discover the Long Tong festival of the Tay people

The Long Tong festival, also called the going-to-the-fields festival, is one of the most important New Year festivals of the Tay people in the northern mountain provinces such as Lang Son, Cao Bang and Thai Nguyen. It usually takes place from the 2nd day of Tet until the end of the 30th day of the 1st lunar month, opening the new planting season.

The Long Tong festival is held mainly within individual villages and is closely tied to farming. At each festival, people pray to the God of Agriculture, the deity who watches over the fields and villages, for lush crops, bountiful harvests, prosperity for all, thriving livestock and peaceful villages.

The festival is usually held outdoors on a large field, hence the name Long Tong (going down to the fields). It is divided into two main parts: the ceremony and the festivities.

In the ceremony, the master of ceremonies, the village temple keeper who oversees worship of the God of Agriculture, makes offerings to the God of Agriculture and gives thanks to heaven and earth and the god Fu Xi, praying for thriving poultry, favorable weather, flourishing crops and peaceful villages. All the villagers bring offering trays, usually with pork, white rice wine, sticky rice and cakes such as banh day, banh khau sli and banh khao, presenting them to the gods with wishes for a warm family life and a bountiful harvest in the new year.

During the festivities, villagers young and old sing and dance together and join folk games such as con ball throwing and snatching, tug of war, shuttlecock, top spinning, lion dancing, spear dancing and local produce contests, all great fun. Visitors here experience a way of life that, though lacking in material things, is always full of vitality in spirit and people, spreading the cultural values of the Vietnamese nation.

Experience the Cau Ngu festival: a traditional New Year festival in Central Vietnam

Early every morning on the 12th day of the 1st lunar month, in Thai Duong Ha village, Hai Duong commune, Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province, people eagerly hold the Cau Ngu (Praying for Fish) festival, one of the traditional New Year festivals of Central Vietnam.

The Cau Ngu festival is a major festival that people in Central Vietnam, especially in Hue, eagerly await. It features many fun activities and lively folk performances typical of the culture of the coastal people here. To open the festival, the clan elder burns incense on behalf of everyone, praying for calm seas, boats full of fish, prosperity and thriving livelihoods in the new year, then strikes three rounds on the great drum.

As the drum falls silent, a middle-aged man chosen as representative, dressed in red ceremonial robes, accompanied by two fishing boat captains in fishermen's clothes and red headscarves, acts out comic scenes to entertain everyone. Then comes the festive part, where each team in turn performs plays about the sea, ending with the promise of a bumper catch. There are also many folk games, singing and dancing, making for a lively start to the year.

The Cau Ngu festival in Thai Duong Ha village is not only a prayer for smooth sailing and a bountiful season in the new year, but also an expression of determination to protect the fishing grounds and the nation's sovereignty over its seas. It is a festival that shows the beauty of spiritual culture, preserved and held solemnly, and draws many visitors from Vietnam and abroad.

The famously sacred Dinh Co festival in Vung Tau

The Dinh Co festival belongs to the tradition of Mother Goddess worship, typical of the fishing communities of Vung Tau. It is not just Mother Goddess worship, but also combines the Cau Ngu festival with the local people's worship of the Sea God.

Every year, from the 1st to the 10th day of the 2nd lunar month, tens of thousands of people from across the country and abroad come to Dinh Co in Long Hai town, Long Dien district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, to join the festival. It has a long history and is considered the largest festival of the fishing communities along the southern coast.

During the festival, Long Hai town is brilliantly and grandly decorated, yet remains solemn. Every house in the fishing community sets up an incense table with trays of sticky rice, cakes, fruit, incense and candles, and in the evening hangs glittering lanterns. The bows of the boats are decorated with colorful paper lanterns and garlands of flowers from bow to stern, showing how carefully the locals prepare for the festival.

Another ritual of the Dinh Co festival is the release of living creatures. Locals buy caged birds and set them free, hoping their work will always go smoothly, with fair winds and calm seas.

During the festival days, participants hold singing and dancing contests and perform tuong and hat boi (classical opera). People also stage flower dances and lion and dragon dances, plus many folk games such as basket boat races, boat races and fish catching, all very lively. The festival draws huge crowds of locals and tourists alike, making it all the more exciting and bustling.

Clearly, Vietnam has not only beautiful scenery and unique, delicious food; the New Year festivals of this S-shaped land also reveal its own distinctive spiritual beauty. If you get the chance, come and join these festivals to see how wonderful Vietnam's cultural identity is.