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‘One’ is a number that is given priority in every culture; so, the first day of any event across the world is commemorated with much fan fare. No different is the festival of the Lunar New Year in Hoi An in Vietnam. Though the town of Hoi An is a small central Vietnam location, it celebrates all its festivals rather grandly. Hoi An too, like the rest of Vietnam, celebrates the Lunar New Year very grandly. The Lunar New Year in Hoi An, which is also called “Nguyen-Dan” and popularly referred to as the “Tet” is the Vietnamese New Year. The Vietnamese traditional calendar follows lunar patterns, unlike the west. So the “Tet”, which in Vietnamese translates as ‘first morning of New Year’, falls on the first day of the first lunar month. There is a huge amount of preparation that follows the “Nguyen-Dan” or Lunar New Year in Hoi An. The run up to D-day involves splurging on food, clothes, decorations and, very importantly, flowers. The occasion in itself lasts for span of 7 days; the official holiday, however, is for three days. The week long festivities will see people turning out in colorful costumes to watch parades, waving flags and hopping form stall to stall in the various fairs that are held. While food is a sure draw for visitors during the Lunar New Year in Hoi An, the week also hosts several cultural programs of traditional music, dance and drama. Some of the most famous of these are the Fournoble-animal dance, the Unicorn dance and the Dragon dance. During this time you will also be able to choose from a wide display of traditional Vietnamese arts and crafts. However, amidst this fanfare, people remember to pay homage to their god at the several Shrines and Pagodas. Aside of Buddha, Tao Quan the ‘earth God’ is interceded to. At night fire works are displayed and drums and gongs are used to ward off the evil Na A and his evil wife.
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