The Vietnamese Calendar is a Lunar Calendar that is mostly based on the Chinese Calendar. The Lunar Calendar has a fix number of twelve months with 30 days each, and a leap-year will have a whole intercalary month instead of the 29th day of February. The new year of Lunar Calendar normally will start in late January or beginning of February according to Gregorian Calendar. That explains why Tet days vary from year to year: it is because the leap month may fall shorter or longer which create a smaller or bigger gap between the two Calendars.
The Vietnamese administrative offices officially started to use the Gregorian Calendar in 1954, while the civilian populace continued to use a variety of local Calendars derived from French, Chinese and Japanese sources. The North Vietnamese government issued a decree in 1967 to make the Gregorian Calendar the sole official Calendar, restricting Lunar Calendar use to holidays and commemorations. South Vietnam would later join this change at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short, is considered the biggest and most popular festival of the year in Vietnam. Celebrated on the first day of the first month in Lunar Calendar, Tet’s celebration is the longest holiday.

Tet Nguyen Dan - festival or Vietnamese New Year (it is at the same time as Chinese New Year). In the Vietnamese zodiac, the cat replaces the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. So, a child born in the Chinese year of the Rabbit will be born in the Vietnamese year of the Cat. The Vietnamese zodiac uses the same animals as the Chinese zodiac for the remaining 11 years, though the Ox of the Chinese zodiac is usually considered to be a water buffalo in the Vietnamese zodiac.

The Vietnamese will start their their celebration with preparing everything well in advance of the upcoming New Year. In an effort to get rid of the bad luck of the old year, people will spend a few days cleaning their homes, polishing every utensil, or even repaint and decorate the house with kumquat tree, branches of peach blossom, and many other colourful flowers. The ancestral altar is especially taken care of, with careful decoration of five kinds of fruits and votive papers, along with many religious rituals. Everybody, especially children, buy new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of New Year. People also try to pay all their pending debts and resolve all the arguments among colleagues, friends or members of family.

Festivities are organized such as parades, dragon dances, fireworks and flower parades, but mainly it is a family celebration. The Vietnamese people travel throughout the country to visit their families and eat special meals. The new beginning of the year also includes new clothes, homes are thoroughly cleaned and they refurbish the graves of the ancestors. Most shops and many restaurants are closed during Tet.
The festival is celebrated everywhere, but there are also crowded and lively markets in the villages. Everywhere is a special flower markets. The whole family will eat together and the house is nicely made and clean. Everyone says to each other a good wish. Sacrifices to the ancestors are made at an altar. Children receive gifts and new clothes. And do not forget 'lucky money'. Fortunately money is given in a beautifully decorated red bag. The children say a desire against their parents and then get the bag. Much food is prepared. Very tasty food.
On New Year Day the family usually goes to a pagoda. A kind of temple where they ask various gods for happiness for the new year. They also burn much incense. Then they eat in Vietnam a rice cake (Banh Chung). These are cakes of sticky rice stuffed with pork, fat, beans and onions and is the first dish served during the extensive lunch of seven different dishes. The drinks are mainly beer and water.

Years Corresponding to Vietnamese Zodiac Signs:

Rat	1900	1912	1924	1936	1948	1960	1972	1984	1996	2008	2020
Water Buffalo	1901	1913	1925	1937	1949	1961	1973	1985	1997	2009	2021
Tiger	1902	1914	1926	1938	1950	1962	1974	1986	1998	2010	2022
Cat	1903	1915	1927	1939	1951	1963	1975	1987	1999	2011	2023
Dragon	1904	1916	1928	1940	1952	1964	1976	1988	2000	2012	2024
Snake	1905	1917	1929	1941	1953	1965	1977	1989	2001	2013	2025
Horse	1906	1918	1930	1942	1954	1966	1978	1990	2002	2014	2026
Sheep	1907	1919	1931	1943	1955	1967	1979	1991	2003	2015	2027
Monkey	1908	1920	1932	1944	1956	1968	1980	1992	2004	2016	2028
Rooster	1909	1921	1933	1945	1957	1969	1981	1993	2005	2017	2029
Dog	1910	1922	1934	1946	1958	1970	1982	1994	2006	2018	2030
Boar	1911	1923	1935	1947	1959	1971	1983	1995	2007	2019	2031

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