tết

Thân thiện

Tết là dịp gia đình sum họp và cùng nhau gói bánh chưng.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The Lunar New Year festival: "Tết" refers specifically to Tết Nguyên Đán, the most important and sacred traditional festival in Vietnam, celebrating the Lunar New Year. It marks the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar and is a time for family reunions, ancestral veneration, and cultural rituals.
   • A major annual festival: In a broader sense, "Tết" can denote other significant traditional festivals throughout the year, often specified with a modifier (e.g., Tết Trung thu - Mid-Autumn Festival).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cả gia đình sum họp đón Tết. (The whole family gathers to celebrate Tết.)
  • Tết năm nay rơi vào cuối tháng Một. (This year's Tết falls in late January.)
  • Trẻ em rất thích Tết Trung thu. (Children love the Mid-Autumn Festival [Tết Trung thu].)

Advanced Usage

• "ăn Tết": to celebrate Tết (implying the full experience of customs, food, and rest during the holiday period).

  • Năm nay chúng tôi sẽ về quê ăn Tết. (This year we will return to our hometown to celebrate Tết.)

• "nghỉ Tết": to have time off for the Tết holiday.

  • Công ty cho nhân viên nghỉ Tết một tuần. (The company gives employees a week off for Tết.)

• "chúc Tết" / "mừng tuổi": to offer New Year's greetings / to give lucky money (a Tết custom).

  • Sáng mùng Một, con cháu chúc Tết ông bà. (On the first morning, grandchildren offer New Year's greetings to their grandparents.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tết Nguyên Đán (n): The full, formal name for the Lunar New Year festival.
• Tết Âm lịch (n): Lunar New Year (literally, "Lunar Calendar Tết").
• Tết Dương lịch (n): New Year's Day (January 1st, the solar calendar new year).
• Tết Trung thu (n): Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Tết Đoan ngọ (n): Festival held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month.

Synonyms

• Năm mới: New Year (a more general term, not specific to the lunar celebration).
• Ngày lễ cổ truyền: Traditional holiday/festival.

Related Phrases

• "đi chợ Tết": to go to the special pre-Tết market.

  • Mẹ tôi đi chợ Tết để mua hoa và đồ cúng. (My mother goes to the Tết market to buy flowers and offerings.)

• "dọn nhà đón Tết": to clean the house in preparation for Tết.

  • Trước Tết, mọi người thường dọn nhà sạch sẽ. (Before Tết, people usually clean their houses thoroughly.)

Related Idioms

• "Vui như Tết": As joyful as Tết; used to describe extreme happiness or a very festive atmosphere.

  • Được về quê, bọn trẻ vui như Tết. (Being able to go back to the hometown, the children are as happy as during Tết.)

• "Tết đến sau lưng": (Literally: Tết is right behind). An expression indicating that Tết is coming very soon, often after other preceding festivals.

  • Sau lễ Giáng Sinh, Tết đến sau lưng thôi. (After Christmas, Tết is just around the corner.)

Học thuật

noun

1. New Year's Day, Tet festival
2. To the Vietnamese people, Tết Nguyên Đán (Lunar New Year's Day) is very sacred. The Tết season usually falls on either the second half of the first calendar month, or the early days of the second calendar month of the year. This is the time when family members together make food, fruit and incense offerings on the family altars to commemorate their ancestors. This is also the time for people to visit their neighbours, their friends and relatives. During the first three or four days of Tết, any visitor who is the first visitor to one's house to offer Tết greetings would be considered as the first visitor for the year (Xông đất). Their good or bad luck would have a strong effect on the house owner's business success for the coming year. The belief of Xông đất remains very strong nowadays, especially among business people. Tết days are always regarded as a perfect time for people to enjoy traditional food such as bánh chưng, a square-shaped sticky rice cake, the fragrance of which alone could strongly provoke one's sense of nostalgia for Tết
3. WHAT TẾT MEANS FOR HANOIAN CHRISTIANS Hà Nội (originally called Thăng Long) was an early site for the propagation of Christianity. Phan Phát Huờn, author of "Việt Nam Giáo Sử" Vol.1 (A History of Religion in Vietnam), writes that in 1581, a missionary named De Pesaro wrote a letter and sent pictures depicting the history of Christianity to Mạc Mậu Hợp (the then ruler of Thăng Long). In 1584, another missionary, Bartholomew Ruiz of the Franciscan Order from Manila, came with an interpreter to Northern Vietnam (then called Tonkin) and Thăng Long. He was warmly received by Mạc Mậu Hợp and allowed to hold his services and ceremonies. In 1626, Father Baldinoti arrived in Thăng Long and was greeted by Trịnh Tráng, the then Lord of the North. He was also granted permission to hold services for the public. This put the Christian faith in Vietnam well on its way. A real landmark came in 1627, when missionary Alexandre de Rhodes came to Hà Nội on July 2 after Lord Trịnh Tráng returned from his expedition to the South. This event effected a marked change in the propagation of Christianity in Northern Vietnam. From just a wooden hut provided by Trịnh Tráng, Rhodes set up a small prayer-hall to preach his faith and by the end of 1627, he had baptised over 1,200 people. In 1628, another ,000 were baptised, with this number growing to 3,500 in 1629. At the same time, Rhodes romanised the Vietnamese language in order to further facilitate the spread of Christianity. He also wrote a book in Vietnamese called 'Christianity in Eight Days'. To provide a stronger base for Christianity, he incorporated local customs and traditions to his religious festivals and practices, especially during the Tết Festival period. The New Year festival, according to the local people's lunar calendar, is one of the most important annual events for the people of this agricultural economy. During the festival, people erect in front of their houses a high bamboo pole called a 'cây nêu' to ward off evil spirits. Taking full advantage of this tradition, he advised people, especially his Christian followers, to hang a cross on top of the pole to highlight theTrinity. He advised followers to offer prayers in the first three days of the New Year to the Holy Father, Holy Son and Holy Ghost and thanksgiving to the Trinity and saints of the religion. In 1805, the Bishop of Vietnam wrote to all Christians in Northern Vietnam during the New Year festival urging them to be brothers and offer each other good wishes, entertain and dine with each other. This remains a good and healthy practice. These practices were maintained until the 1960s, after which new ones were introduced. For instance, the second day of the New Year is used to commemorate ancestors, in keeping with the Vietnamese custom. Interestingly, Vietnamese Christians have included various Christian festivals in the lunar calendar. Following the Trinity festival and the Candle festival comes Tết. Thus, they say: 'Ba Vua, Lễ Nến, Tết đến sau lưng' (If Epiphany and Candlemas have come, Tết cannot be far behind). Christian churches also prepare for Tết putting up beautiful decorations and engaging in communal activities