Tet: The Biggest Holiday in Vietnam

Tet is the most important holiday in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year. Vietnamese people celebrate Tet in January or February every year.

Before Tet, families clean their houses. They buy flowers for the living room. Many people choose a peach blossom or a yellow mai flower. These flowers bring good luck for the new year.

On Tet, families cook special food together. They make banh chung, a square rice cake with pork and green beans. Banh chung is a symbol of the earth in Vietnamese culture.

Children love Tet very much. They wear new clothes and visit their grandparents. Older people give lucky money to children. We call this "li xi". The money is inside a red envelope.

Last year, my family visited grandmother's house on the first day of Tet. We ate banh chung and received li xi together, and it was a very happy day.

Tet is not only a holiday. It is a special time for Vietnamese families to be together.

Grammar Focus

• Present Simple (S + V(s/es) + O) — for facts and yearly habits: "Vietnamese people celebrate Tet in January or February every year."
• Simple Past (S + V-ed/V2) — for one past event: "Last year, my family visited grandmother's house on the first day of Tet."