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State agencies resume operation since February 21
  • | VGP | February 21, 2018 09:16 AM
State employees and workers will return to work on February after a week-long lunar new year (Tet) holiday.

During the holiday, “Xong dat” (first footing) is a typical Tet tradition in Viet Nam that has been passing down through generations. The tradition has always been associated with hopes for a fruitful year ahead.

According to the tradition, the first guest to enter the house after midnight on the Lunar New Year’s Eve is believed to have a bearing on the family’s fortune throughout the year.

Many families ask a close friend or relative to carry out this New Year mission.

Vietnamese people often hand out red envelops with money inside. This is an indispensible custom on the occasion of the new year with desires that better things will happen in the future.

The elderly normally congratulate kids on becoming a year older by presenting them with brand new coins or small banknotes put in small red paper envelopes which symbolize luck and good fortune.

Vietnamese people often say best wishes to each other at their contacts and visits on the occasion and flock to tourist sites, including pagodas to wish for a better year.

According to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Management Board, more than 18,200 people, including 9,943 foreigners came to visit the Mausoleum in Ha Noi.

The number of tourists to the capital city of Ha Noi was estimated at 375,000, up 13% against the same period last year, the city’s tourism department has reported.

Of the above figure, over 10,000 people flocked to the Temple of Literature, which was considered the first national university in Viet Nam. The Temple was built in 1070 under the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054-1072) to the South of the Thang Long Citadel.

Meanwhile, the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho welcomed 700,000 visitors over the reviewed period, said Le Minh Son, Deputy Director of the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.

However, traffic accidents often rise during the lunar new year. According to the Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee, there were 202 traffic accidents in the first five days with the death toll of 155 while 149 others were injured.

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