One of the main decorations for Tet is the kumquat (or “cumquat”) tree.  Its many fruits symbolize fertility and fruitfulness in the coming year.

The traditional cake for Tet is the Trung cake.  The ingredients to make a Trung cake are rice, pork, gram and a kind of leaf called ‘la dong’ for wrapping.  Once everything is mixed together and carefully wrapped, the cake is then boiled from 12 to 14 hours!  Because making a Trung cake is so time consuming, many people now buy them instead of making them.  That being said, some families still cherish this tradition and continue to make their own.  The good thing about making Trung cakes at home is that it announces the coming of the New Year.  What an exciting time!

‘Ong Do’ is a scholar who teaches and writes old Vietnamese letters (pictographic letters).  During Tet, people go to see him to ask him to write letters on a parchment to wish for good energy for the coming year such as happiness, health, wealth, etc.  This art of writing is almost lost nowadays.  In order to preserve the ancient Vietnamese calligraphy, the government is holding an event on the occasion of the Lunar New Year at Van Mieu - Vietnam’s first university.

Tet is just around the corner… and as the tradition goes, lots of jam.

This photo was taken on the night when the Vietnamese national football team beat Thailand and won the AFF Cup.  Everyone hit the street to celebrate!

People always wonder how Vietnamese nationals can manage such a large load on a small bicycle like this. Everyday in Hanoi we see bicycles burdened with everything from traditional conical hats to household items such as trash bins.  All these things are made in Ha Tay, which is now part of Hanoi by government decree.

This girl is peeling chestnuts for customers.  She is from Thai Binh.  Her family is so poor that she had to leave the countryside and relocate to Hanoi.  This scene is very common in Vietnam and street vendors have become an important part of our lives.  After the government restricted the areas where they could operate, this made it even harder for them to earn a living.

This photo was taken at the flower festival which took place on the occasion of the “western” New Year.  This year is the first time that the flower festival has been held in Hanoi.  All kinds of flowers were brought from Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh and Thailand to prepare for this big event.  The organizational board tried to set as many records as possible and one of them was to feature the biggest traditional hat, also called a conical hat.  The street was packed with thousands of people who wanted to see this gigantic hat… not that it would fit their head!