Tet 2010

Heya Folks,
Now that the crazy holiday season is nearly over and things are returning to normality, I can update you on whats been going on! Tet is the official Lunar New Year celebration in Vietnam, and easily the biggest holiday of the year. This is a time for Vietnamese people all over the country to return to their home towns and families to celebrate. Hanoi itself shuts down for nearly a week, hard to believe but the streets are empty of motorbikes and all the shops are shut.

I celebrated this new year by going down to Hoan Kiem Lake to watch the fireworks at midnight to welcome in the new year. Although they were more impressive in noise than in aesthetics, it was still an awesome experience and especially great to see Vietnamese families celebrating and enjoying themselves. On the way back to the hotel we saw loads of people in shops and houses and out on the streets celebrating and having fun. It is customary to visit a pagoda as soon as possible in the new year, to pray for good luck and success in the year to come. We also saw many people burning incense and throwing rice onto the streets. I later found out that this was for the souls of people who have died on the street, without a family to celebrate the holiday season with.

The first person that enters a household after new year is responsible for bringing good luck throughout th year. They must be born on a special date as determined by a fortune teller and related to the age of the owner of the house. This year, my friend and fellow volunteer Brenda fit the bill so it was back to STA house on sunday morning to have tea with Mr Hung and do the honours.

All in all, I'm very happy to have been in Hanoi to celebrate this special holiday.

SarahHeadsEast xx