Celebrating Spring Festival abroad

Ahsan (Vietnam)

The Lunar New Year Festival is also among the most important holidays in Vietnam. Officially, Vietnamese will get a three-day vacation but we often spend almost a month celebrating this special event. We call the celebration 'Tet'. The celebrations in my country share a lot in common with those in China, such as cleaning houses, family reunions, setting off fireworks, paying visits and posting spring couplets. We also have something unique. We often break off branches and take them home, literally meaning "pluck the green", which we believe can bring us good luck. On New Year's Day, the first ones who come to visit households—called first-foot—are very important and hence need to be well chosen, as they are believed to hold in their hands the entire luck of the family in the New Year.

A girl takes a photo for another girl posing before a decorated tree. [Photo/IC]