THE LUNAR NEW YEAR
Tet has become so familiar, so sacred to the Vietnamese that when Spring  arrives, the Vietnamese, wherever they may be, are all thrilled and  excited with the advent of Tet, and they feel an immense nostalgia,  wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste  of the particular flavours of the Vietnamese festivities. Those who have settled down abroad all turn their thoughts to their home country and try to celebrate the festivities in the same traditional way as their family members and relatives to relieve their nostalgia, never forgetting the fine custom handed down from generation to generation.
And today, group 4 has a play to a few customs and practices are presented so that we can better understand the traditional Tet of Vietnam, the Lunar New Year. Members: …

Tú is American, he comes to Vietnam to enjoys the traditonal festival, The Lunar New Year (“Tết Nguyên Đán”). Hoa is studying at High School for the Gifted. She goes to meet Tú at the airport.
Hoa: Tú! Tú!
Tú: Oh, hello. Thank you for picking me up.
Hoa: You`re welcome. It`s been a year but you haven`t changed a bit.
How was your flight?
Tú: Great. I enjoyed it very much.
Hoa: Now, I’ll take you to Ben Thanh Market to buy many things for Tet.
Tú: Wow, It’s interesting! Let’s start!
At Tet, everyone, no matter how poor, tries hard to get enough money to make or buy some banh chung or banh Tet, jams, fruits, flowers and new clothes for Tet. Vietnam is an age-old agricultural country and therefore, most goods sold at Tet markets are agricultural products. Since markets are closed for the three days of Tết , all necessary food items must be purchased ahead of time. Therefore, in the days before Tết , the markets (especially the markets selling traditional Tết flowers) are crowded with eager shoppers and sellers.
Hoa: First, we’ll buy some fruit for the “five-fruit tray”.
Tú: What kinds of fruits?
Trái cây: In northern areas, five-fruit trays ornamented with pomelos, peaches, kumquats, bananas and persimmons are relatively smaller than those in southern areas with coconuts, papayas, custard apples, mangos, and figs. As they sound like "xài" ( We pray for enough money to spend ) in the southern dialect of Vietnamese .
Tú: What does it mean?
Trái cây: The "five-fruit tray" on the ancestral altar during the Tet Holidays symbolizes the admiration and gratitude of the Vietnamese to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors, and demonstrates their aspiration for a life of plenty. This is one of the general perceptions of life of the Vietnamese, which is “When taking fruit, you should think of the grower”
Tú: How about watermelons? Are they considered lucky due to the red color?
Trái cây: That’s right! They hold much importance, people belief that watermelons with scarlet and succulent would bring a wonderful year.

Tú: What are these small red envelopes?
Lì xì: Giving money on the occasion of New Year or festivals is a popular custom in South East Asian countries. This custom has also been much popular in Vietnam for generations on the occasion of lunar new year which is named "lì xì" custom. On New Year festival, the elderly normally give kids a small amount of money put in a very nice and small red paper bag which symbolizes for luck, good fortune, named "tien mung tuoi" (money given on the advancement in ages).
Hoa: Moreover, the red color of the envelope is supposed to ward off evil spirits.
Mứt: In Vietnamese New Year party, beside traditional dishes, no family can forget to make a tray of “Mut Tet”, a cup of tea, betel and areca ready to entertain their visitors.
Tú: How can we made it?
Mứt: “Mut” is made from all sorts of fruit, including mandarin oranges, apples, banana, coconuts, persimmons and breadfruit. “Mut” is made from all sorts of fruit, including mandarin oranges, apples, banana, coconuts, persimmons and breadfruit.

Hoa: Coming to Vietnam during the season of the Tet festival, the visitor is engulfed in an ocean of colorful flowers.
Tú: Does Pink blossoms represent one of the distinct Vietnamese cultural characteristics at Tet Festival. Where is it?
Bông: Oh. It’s called Peach blossom, which is traditional at Tet in the North while apricot blossom is traditional in the South. The warm pink of the peach could very well match the dry cold of the North, but the hot South seems to be flourishing in the riot of the yellow of the apricot. Talking about ornamental plants for Tet, you cannot forget peach blossom and apricot blossom , considered as traditional Tet`s flowers. They bring good luck to