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Main National festivals
Most Vietnamese festivals are fixed by the lunar calendar: the majority takes place in spring, and the days of the full moon (day 1) and the new moon (day 14 or 15) are particularly auspicious.
- Tet Nguyen Dan (The lunar New Year Festival) is Vietnam's most important annual event; it lasts for seven days and falls sometime between the last week of January and the third week of February, on the night of the new moon. According to Vietnamese customs, Tet is a family oriented celebration and an occasion for family members to meet. It is also an occasion for people to light incense to commemorate their deceased relatives. It is the most sacred celebration in Vietnam during which people wish each other health and happiness.
- Tet Tao quan (Household Gods) is on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month. It ends a year of working and heralds the coming of Tet Nguyen Dan
- Tet Khai Ha on the 7th day of the 1st lunar month heralds the coming of Spring. This is a sign of bumper harvest and prosterity.
- Tet Thuong Nguyen (or Tet Nguyen Tieu) on the 15th day of the 1st month. Devout Buddhists celebrate at Buddhist Shrines. This is also called the anniversary of Buddha’s death.
- Tet Han thuc (cold Goods tet) takes place on the 3rd day of the third lunar month. People make offerings of banh troi and banh chay (rice flour doughnuts stuffed with lumps of brown sugar or bean paste respectively) to worship ancestors.
- Tet Thanh Minh (serene sky) falls on the 5th day of the 3rd lunar month. This is a good occasion for Vietnamese people to visit and tidy the burial mounds of relatives.
- Buddha’s Birthday takes place on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month.
- Tet Doan Ngo, also called “Exterminating Pest Day”, in the summer solstice or on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month to be exact. This is the middle year festival for the prevention of disease and warding off evil spirits (the day of changing weather from spring to summer, this is the time easy to get pathogen). On this day, every one has to get up early, eat fermented sticky and fruits. The worshipping is held at noon, hour of Ngo.
- Tet Trung Nguyen on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month in Pagodas and in families. This day is held to forgive the lost souls, to fulfil filial duty, and to remember the dead. Shoes and dresses made of paper, along with votive paper, are burnt in every household. The worship of Buddha also occurs.
- Trung Thu, (Sept-Oct) (Mid-Autumn Festival) on the15th day of the eighth lunar month. This is a joyful occasion for children to enjoy several activities, such as singing, dancing, parading with lanterns shaped as moon and stars, and eating pastries.
- Water Puppet Festival takes place in February.
- Buddhist full moon festival is celebrated in around March-April
- Hung Temple Festival from the 8th to the 11th day of the third lunar month, main festival day on the 10th day of the third lunar month, in Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province where King Hung’s Temple stands. This is the ancestors’ death anniversary of the whole nation. At the same time with incense-offering ceremony at Hung Temple in Phu Tho Province, sacrifice-offering ceremonies at Hung Temple in Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and other provinces are aslo celebrated.
Other important local festivals:
New year of Khmer people in the Mekong Delta on the 2nd day of the 4th lunar month
- Kate Tet is celebrated by the Cham people of the 8th lunar month
- Tet Ha Nguyen (New-Rice Tet) falls on the 1st day of the 10th lunar month
- Lantern Festival is celebrated by the Khmer population in the south-west of Vietnam in honor of the moon, on the 15th day of the 11th lunar month
- Com (young green glutinous rice) Festival of the Tay on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, at home and the head of village in Bao Yen District, Lao Cai Province. This festival includes the worship of Thanh Quan, the contest of pounding com, ceremonies of offering the moon, calling the moon, giao duyen singing, det cui (weaving) dancing, and nom singing of the Tay.
- Long Tong Festival of the Tay in Lao Cai province is celebrated early in spring, often from the 5th to the 15th day of the first lunar month. This worships the village Gods, Mountain and Stream gods, including the praying for all the good things, con throwing, xoe dancing.
- Phu Ninh Buffalo Fighting Festival on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month in Phu Ninh District, Phu Tho Province, to worship Hung King and his generals, the village's tutelary god.
- Ban Flower Festival of the Thai is in the second lunar month in the mountainous region of North-west, Dien Bien Province. This is the occasion to pray for good crop and happiness.
- Dau Pagoda Festival on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month in Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province. Objects of worship: Mother Buddha Man Nuong and four her daughters: Phap Van (Cloud – Lady Dau - worshipped in Dau Pagoda), Phap Vu (Rain - Lady Dau - worshipped in Thanh Dao), Phap Loi (Thunder - Lady Tuong - worshipped in Phi Tuong Pagoda), Phap Dien (Light - Lady Dan - worshipped in Phuong Quan Pagoda).
Characteristics: Great procession, dragon dance.
- Do Temple Festival from the 14th to the 16th day of the third lunar month. The main festival day is on the 15th day of the third lunar month. It takes place in Tu Son District, Bac Ninh Province, to worship Eight kings of the Ly Dynasty. Activities include the procession of palanquin from Dan Pagoda (Co Phap) to the temple, barbecued buffalo used as sacrifices - offering.
- Dong Ho Painting Village Festival on the 15th day of the third lunar month, in Bac Ninh Province. They worship the village's tutelary god, founding father of village, with the displaying and selling of Dong Ho traditional paintings in the yard of the communal house, and the building of a bridge by painting picture symbolizing for the exchanging relation, harmony.
- Dong Ky Festival (Festival of Mr. Quan Dam Procession) on th 4th day of the first lunar month in Dong Ky Village, Dong Quang Commune, Tu Son District, Bac Ninh Province.
- Dove releasing Festival (Thiet Ung Festival) on th 27th day of the third lunar month inYen Phong District, Bac Ninh Province.
- Lim Festival on the 13th day of the first lunar month, at Lim Hill, Lim Town, Tien Du District, Bac Ninh Province. They worship Lady King and Hieu Trung Hau, the two legendary patriarchs of quan ho tunes. The festival features Quan ho singing on the hills, boats or at home.
- Phat Tich Pagoda Festival is held on the 4th day of the first lunar month in Phat Tich Commune, Tien Du District, Bac Ninh Province, to worship worship: Quan Yin Buddha and Ly Thanh Tong.
- Tam Thanh Pagoda Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month in Lang Son Province, with activities like unicorn dance, breeding young fish to the lake and the stream, lion dance, human chess playing.