Viet Nam Welcomes New Year of the Dog

Country readies itself for Year of the Dog that begins January 29th.

Thomas Hutchings

(Saigon, Viet Nam) – Everyone in Viet Nam is busy making final preparations to greet the Lunar New Year, which begins on January 29, 2006. Vietnamese are traveling to their hometowns, as is the custom, and getting their houses ready for 4 days of celebration, and sometimes more. It is customary to clean the entire house, moving furniture in the process, repainting surrounding walls, front gates and sometimes the entire house, to make everything new again. The country is preparing for the Year of the Dog which begins officially at midnight, January 29, 2006. It is the time of the new moon and the beginning of spring.

Downtown Saigon is also preparing itself. Entrances to different residential quarters are decorated, flags are being flown and the abundance of decorative red lanterns, “Lucky Money” envelopes and gift packages are displayed on many street corners and on the sidewalks in front of stores. People are buying new clothes, washing their motorbikes and going to parties; all in the spirit of Tet 2006.



The park areas along Le Duan Boulevard and bounded by Pasteur Street and Cong Xa Paris are decorated with the Tet Tree in full blossom (photos above) and there are many colorful displays, food vendors and dragon dances and drummers to fill the air with excitement. Various companies have sponsored huge wire and colorful plastic displays of famous locations around the world, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China and Sydney’s Opera House, to name a few.


Pedestrians and motorists vie for space along the park (photo) and along Le Duan Street. Thousands throng the downtown to see the electric displays, the lights and they have come to share the spirit of the holiday. Nearby, Saigon’s Notre Dame Cathedral is bathed in an eerie glow.


As for me, I’ve had some help cleaning my house, bought some new furniture, hung paintings and will soon purchase gift packages for when I visit friends over the holiday. This is an important time for renewal and when the government releases many of those held in prison and allow them to go back home; debt paid. Ask a Vietnamese what their favorite time of year is and they will all reply “Tet!”

Happy New Years!! May you all have prosperity, luck and a long healthy life!!