Tet is a very big deal in Vietnam, from the perspective of someone that has put near zero effort into becoming familiar with the culture of this country, I will admit that I don't really know anything about it except that the amount of preparation that goes into it is huge and that people take a bunch of time off of work during it.
Most businesses are closed for an extended period of time and the ones that remain open will normally charge 10-20% more than they normally would for their goods and services. This is expected although it did catch me off guard the first year I was here for it.
I don't even have much of an idea about what Tet is but my landlord kept mentioning something about the "year coming to an end" so I was guessing it is the end of the lunar year? Let's let the internet answer this one because even as I write this I don't really know.
Ok, looked it up and yes, that is exactly what it is. It is called many things around the world in Thailand they called it "Chinese New Year" but apparently all of it is the same thing. However, in Vietnam there is significantly more time given off to your average worker during this time as people travel far and wide in order to spend long amounts of time with their families and I presume do normal things like eat and drink together. I don't really know.
I do know that unlike the "regular new year" that Tet isn't on the same day every year but it normally takes place in late January or early February.
There is something else that I have noticed that makes me happy and that is the fact that nice smelling flowers are just about everywhere. At the entrance of my own condo we have dozens of flowerpots and that is a nice touch. I just kind of worry about what is going to happen to the mostly plastic pots that some of these are in. This country doesn't exactly have the best track record for waste disposal and has a HUGE plastic waste problem.
Every country has their problems: I'll leave Vietnam to their own devices on that one. I do want to focus on one thing that really makes me extremely happy about the Tet celebration in my particular part of Vietnam and that is the total shutdown of all construction sites.
This relative monster of a building is one of dozens within earshot of my apartment that is just a noise factory from dawn till dusk (and sometimes even later than that if they bring in their own lighting) and is a true thorn in my side as far a living where I do, or just in Da Nang in general. The construction noise here is relentless and even though I moved into a building that has soundproof windows and doors, it is really annoying that you have to never get any fresh air lest you have to listen to banging, drilling, cutting, and heavy-equipment noise every hour of every day.
During Tet, all of these people have also gone home and it is therefore going to be one week of peace and quiet for everyone in the neighborhood. Maybe this doesn't seem like a big thing to a lot of people out there but if you were to live in a construction zone - which is basically everywhere in Da Nang - and had to deal with this racket for just a month or so, you would understand where I am coming from.
I sit here now with my balcony door and bedroom window open and all I can hear is the breeze and even the sound of the ocean waves crashing a few blocks away. This is the ONLY time of year that this is going to be possible and I truly relish it.
Myself and my friends have all reveled in this temporary break in the unending noise and while some people consider the Tet break to be excessive and annoying since most businesses are closed, I would quite happily deal with businesses being closed even longer to have some aspect of quiet in my life. It truly is majestic and I am reminded of one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs from the 90s called Enjoy the Silence.
those hairdos need to make a comeback if they haven't already
So for those of you that celebrate Lunar New Year, Tet, or whatever else your culture might call it, I wish you a happy one. For me, I am going to enjoy having my windows open for a week without the constant barrage of noise.