write a short passage about Tet?

Tet holiday is celebrating on the fist day of the Lunar New Year.Some weeks before New Year , the Vietnamese should clean their houses and repaint the walls.They will buy new clothes.One or two days before the festival,people will make banh chung- the traditional cakes,and other goodies. On the New Ther'Eve, whole family for reguin dinner.Every members of the family should be present during the dinner.On the New Year Moring,the young members of family pay their respect to the elders. IN return ,they will receive lucky money wrapped in red tiny evenlopes. Then people will go to visit their neighbors,some friends and relatives.

Dịch :

Tết Nguyên đán được tổ chức vào dịp đầu năm âm lịch. Một vài tuần trước Tết, người Việt Nam nên dọn dẹp nhà cửa và sơn lại các bức tường. Họ sẽ mua quần áo mới. Một hoặc hai ngày trước lễ hội, mọi người sẽ làm bánh chung- bánh truyền thống, và các đồ ăn. Vào năm mới, cả gia đình ăn tối sum họp.Những thành viên trong gia đình nên có mặt trong bữa tối.Trong Năm Mới, các thành viên trẻ trong gia đình tôn trọng các người lớn tuổi. Đổi lại, họ sẽ nhận được tiền may mắn được bao bọc trong những bao lì xì đỏ. Sau đó mọi người sẽ đến thăm những người hàng xóm của họ, một số bạn bè và người thân.

Tet , or Lunar New Year is considered one of the most popular festival in Vietnam. This special holiday takes place on January 1st based on Lunar Calendar. Tet is an occasion for people gather their family, express their respect to their ancestors and welcome a new year. Tet occupies an important role in Vietnamese culture, so the preparation often begin before one or two weeks. Although Tet is a holiday for all Vietnamese, every region has its own custom and preparation.

In my hometown, to celebrate this occasion, people usually clean and decorate their houses, go shopping and cook traditional food, as well as take part in many specific activities during this holiday. Firstly, to prepare for Tet, people often spend a few days cleaning their houses, polishing furnishings and bronze incense burner, or even repainting the wall. They want everything in their houses must be cleaned to get the good in new year and get rid off the bad luck in the old year.

They also decorate their houses with many flowers as: apricot blossom, marigold, daisy, and so on. Moreover, the houses is also garnished with colorful lights and parallel sentences. Each parallel sentence has its own meaning, showing the expectation of Vietnamese.

For example, “Security, good health, and prosperity”,” May myriad things go according to your will”. Vietnamese believe that the color of red and yellow will bring fortune things, so these colors can be seen everywhere during Tet. Besides, the ancestor’s altar is also especially taken care of with flowers and some kinds of fruit, including: custard apple, coconut, papaya, mango and fig. They want to pray for enough money to spend and comfortable life in the New Year. Secondly, to welcome this great festival people usually go shopping for everything which is necessary for Tet and cook traditional food. Everyone spend money purchasing new clothes to wear when Tet arrives. This is often the most exciting among children, the best beautiful clothes is always worn on the first day of the new year. People buy not only clothes but also flowers to put them in front of or inside their houses. Furthermore, they also buy a lot of food, which is integral during Tet. The food is very various from cakes, candies, jam to many special dishes. Some popular dishes are often cooked to consume during Tet as: sticky rice cake, boiled chickens, spring rolls, Chinese braise pork. These are very delicious and contain culinary culture in Vietnam.

Finally, it is the time to enjoy the new spring together. There are many activities happened in Tet holiday. In some big cities, people organize concerts and performance firework at the moment of New Year’s Eve to welcome the new year. Besides, lion dance is also a traditional activity to bring lucky and prosperity. During Tet,children wear new clothes and receive lucky money from the older after giving to them greeting Tet. Parties are organized to all of member in family eat and drink together. During the time of Tet, the streets are very crowded and noisy because of streams of people. They spend time visiting their relatives, their friends, and their teachers. Some people go to pagoda to pray for peace and happiness in the new year.

Tet is a special and meaningful occasion to all Vietnamese. It is the time for people reunite with their family and relax after a hard-working year. I am sure that if foreigner have a chance to visit Vietnam at Tet holiday, they will be fascinated by its feature. Remember that, do not consume too much alcohol and sweet stuff during Tet because it is not good for your health.

Vietnam is a country in the Eastern Hemisphere that was influenced by China for many years. Therefore, the Chinese New Year and Tet, the Vietnamese New Year have many similarities. Tet is the abbreviation of Tet Nguyen Dan which means the first morning of the first day of the new period. Tet marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar, and the beginning of Spring. Vietnamese are constantly aware of the phases of the moon. All events are planned by the lunar calendar. The New Year begins on the first night of the first moon after the sun enters Aquarius. This is sometime between January 21 and February 19 on the solar calendar.

Tet is a huge celebration lasting three days. Families save money, store food, and plan far in advance for Tet, major holiday in Vietnam. The Vietnamese take extreme care to start the New Year out right. They buy new clothes, paint and clean their homes, cook three days worth of food, pay off all debts and make amends to rid themselves of all bad feelings. Cleaning is frowned on during Tet because one would not want to sweep out any good luck. Digging and drawing water is also not allowed so the ground and water can enjoy the holiday.

The marketplace is very busy the week before Tet, as people buy food, trinkets, firecrackers, flowers, and other items in anticipation of the holiday. At four o'clock in the afternoon on Tet eve all the markets close down so the people can go home and prepare for midnight when Tet begins. Before 1995 firecrackers would explode scaring off all evil spirits and welcoming the New Year. In 1995, because of the huge waste of money and the injury rate, (71 people killed in 1994), the government banned the use of firecrackers resulting in a very quiet Tet.

The atmosphere is very festive. Incense is burned in the homes. The color Red, symbolizing good luck and happiness is seen everywhere. Games of gambling are in the streets, homes and in cars. If a gambler wins then he is said to have good luck gambling in the new year. If a gambler loses, he is said to have good luck in other affairs. There are dragon dances at night. Food is plentiful, homes are decorated, parks are full of crowds of people dressed in their best new clothes, and for three days the people have an ultimate celebration.

Tet is a time for visits from family and friends. The first visitor to a home is very important. If the first visitor is rich, prestigious, or happy then the family will have good fortune that year. Usually this visitor is a relative, but sometimes the family will invite a special guest that they feel will bring them good luck. The first day of Tet is reserved for visiting family and relatives. The second day is set aside for special guests and close friends to visit, and the third day is for teachers and business associates to make a visit. Negative talk, and arguments are taboo. Visitors end their visit with a farewell wish for the family such as, "I wish that money will flow into your house like water, and out like a turtle."

The Vietnamese believe that their deceased ancestors will visit the family for the holiday. Alters are decorated in the homes with incense, flowers, and photographs of deceased relatives. A tray full of fruit, coins, and a tall vase of blossoms are placed in front of the alter symbolizing good luck and prosperity. The third day is also a day to visit the graves of deceased relatives. The graves are decorated with incense, flowers, and candles. Many Buddhists go to their favorite Pagoda to pray for a good year. The Catholics go to a pre-midnight mass.

Not only is Tet the beginning of a New Year, it is also everyone's birthday. The Vietnamese do not know or acknowledge the exact day they were born. A baby turns one on Tet no matter when he/she was born that year. Children say they were born in the year of the symbol of the lunar calendar for that year. On the first morning of Tet, adults congratulate children on becoming a year older by presenting them with red envelopes that contain "Lucky Money," or li xi. These envelopes are given to the children by parents, siblings, relatives and close friends.

Families choose a Tet tree, or tac, which is a cone shaped fruit tree with miniature oranges just ripening. The more fruit on the tree, the luckier the family. Greeting cards and good luck symbols are hung from the Tet trees. Each family also has a branch of the Mai tree in their homes, a symbol of spring, which bear lucky little yellow flowers.

Food plays a major role in the Tet celebration. Tet is a time of excess, one does not enjoy Tet, one "eats" Tet. The first day a feast of boiled male virgin chicken, sticky rice, a special soup made with clear vermicelli and bamboo shoots, boiled pork, and 3 or 5 duck eggs is offered to ancestors who have returned to their homes. Sticky rice and salt are also offered in the streets to any hungry ghosts who might be wandering in the neighborhood. A traditional food is Earth cake, a square cake made with rice beans and pork. When a watermelon is cut they believe that the redder the watermelon the more luck for the family. Several different desserts and dishes are made with coconut. On the third day another feast of virgin chicken is served to say farewell to ancestors returning to their ethereal abodes.

In the United States large populations of Vietnamese celebrate Tet. In Orange County, California, Vietnamese children do not attend school that day. Ladies wear red and yellow, the colors of the Vietnamese flag, and the men wear all black. They go to church, eat earth cake, and have games, carnival rides, food booths and contests that are set up at a local college. The red envelopes are passed with "lucky money" in it. In the evening red firecrackers explode and dragon dances begin.