Tet Vietnamese New Year at Home: Altar, Food and Seating

Tet Nguyen Dan is the Vietnamese New Year, and it is the biggest holiday of the year for many families. It follows the lunar calendar, so it falls on the same day as Lunar New Year and Seollal, on Feb 6, 2027. In Chicago, Argyle Street in Uptown is the place many Vietnamese families shop for flowers, food and gifts before Tet. The holiday asks a lot of a house, because many relatives arrive and each custom needs its place.

Traditions differ by family and by region, between the north, center and south of Vietnam. Treat this as a starting point and ask your elders.

The ancestor altar table

Many families set up an altar to honor ancestors, and offerings are renewed through Tet. A typical altar includes:

• Photos of ancestors, and a small incense holder
• A tray of five fruits, called mam ngu qua, with the selection chosen by family and region
• Fresh flowers, often chrysanthemums, and in some families peach or apricot blossoms
• Candles, tea, rice and sometimes banh chung
• A white or red cloth, and a small table or shelf

A sturdy small table, about 30 inches high, on a stable surface works. A floor-length cloth hides the base, and a tray keeps the offerings neat. Candles and incense need care. Keep them away from curtains and cloth edges, and check your building's rules on open flame and incense if you live in a condo. See candles at venues and fire code rules.

The main table and banh chung

Banh chung is a square sticky rice cake with mung bean and pork, wrapped in green leaves and boiled for many hours. Banh tet is the cylinder version common in the south. Many families make them together in the days before Tet, and buy extras from Argyle Street shops. Other common dishes include pickled mustard greens, braised pork with eggs, spring rolls, boiled chicken, sweet soup and candied fruit, but menus vary by family and region.

Plan the table by the way you eat. Many families serve shared dishes family style, in the middle, so you need room for platters. A 72-inch round seats 10, and a long table of two 8-foot tables seats 16 to 18. See Lunar New Year banquet tables for a table count and family style serving ware.

Li xi and the first visitor

Li xi is lucky money, given in a red envelope to children and often to elders, with good wishes for the year. Keep a small table by the door with a tray of envelopes, and have a way to hold gifts and shoes. Crisp new bills are the custom in many families. Do not make the envelope table a large fuss. Keep it simple and visible.

Many families also care about the first person to enter on New Year, who is thought to bring luck to the house. Some pick a person for this, and some families avoid certain visitors on the first morning. This differs by family, so ask your elders.

Visiting order

A common saying is that the first day of Tet is for the father's side, the second day for the mother's side, and the third day for teachers. Many Chicago families fit this around work and school. Feb 6, 2027 is a Saturday, so the first day lands on a weekend, and the following days fall on Sunday and Monday.

What most hosts find out too late

• Many people come and go. Plan a small table with snacks, candied fruit and tea that always stays full, plus chairs for older relatives who stay a while.
• Rental dates are busy around the first week of February. Lunar New Year, Tet and Seollal share a date, so book tables and chairs early. We check the date with the rental companies.
• Snow and shoes. Many homes take shoes off at the door. Plan a shoe rack or a mat, and a coat rack. See coat racks for winter events.

Plan your Tet gathering

Get a quote for tables, chairs and linens, or book a free 15-minute planning call. One call covers the whole rental list from /rentals/tables to /rentals/linens, and /events/holiday-parties has more ideas.