The weather in Hanoi during Tet is often cold with some drizzle. According to the lunar calendar, the last night of the year is the darkest. New Year’s Eve is believed to be the meeting time of Yin and Yang when every Vietnamese family prepares a feast to worship and pay gratitude to genies and ancestors.

No one wants to miss the family gathering on the last day of the lunar year.

For many years, everyone in painter Dinh Tien Hai’s family in Hanoi has returned home for a year-end party. While the women cook, the men clean and decorate the house. Hai says Vietnamese fine traditions and customs are practiced during Tet: “Hanoians celebrate Tet at home and hold family reunion parties. Wherever they are, they all want to return home during Tet. The year-end party is of great importance to them.”

At the party, everyone in the family reviews their activities, puts aside all worries, and shares resolutions for the New Year. After the party, they go outside to wait for the New Year to come. Hoan Kiem lake is one of Hanoi’s most popular venues to welcome the New Year with fireworks. On New Year’s Eve, greetings are extended and problems of the previous year seem to be erased. Nguyen Thi Men of Hang Buom street shared her New Year wishes: “In the New Year, I wish my family members peace and luck in their life and work. I wish happiness for, my daughter, and everybody else.”