VIETNAM HOLIDAYS

HOLIDAYS
VIETNAM
1 January	International New Year's Day
January/ February	TET, Vietnamese traditional New Year's Day on the Lunar Calendar. The holiday varies each years in accordance with the Lunar Calendar; for 1999 TET is 16 February. Before TET was welcomed to the noisy sounds of firecrackers, but since the government's banning of fireworks several years ago due to the number of accidents which they caused, TET is welcomed in a peaceful silence. TET is a holiday for the family and close friends. Relatives will travel all over the world to join their families on these four important days. The first day of TET is reserved for family to visit family members; on the ensuing days visits will be made to close friends, teachers and others. Feasting and happiness are the order of the day along with a myriad; of superstitions which surround TET: the first person whom visits you is an omen for good things or bad things to happen during the New Year.
3 February	The founding of the Communist Party. Originally founded by Ho Chi Minh in Hong Kong in a soccer stadium on 3 February 1930.
March	Hai Ba Trung Day; a day in this month is set aside to celebrate the Hai Ba Trung (two Trung Sisters) whom in 48 AD led a rebellion against the occupying Chinese.
30 April	Liberation Day; the day which the armed forces of North Vietnam conquered and reunified the country.
1 May	International Labor Day.
19 May	Ho Chi Minh's Birthday.
28 May	Buddha's Birthday.
August	A day in August is set aside for the "Day of the Wandering Soul's" (Trung Nguyen.) This day will be greeted by generous offering of food for deceased relatives whom it is believed will wander into the homes of their offspring.
2 September	Independence Day, 2 September 1945, the Day which Ho Chi Minh declared independence from the French in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi; Ho began his declaration with the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed. . . ."
3 September	Commemorates the death of Ho Chi Minh in 1969.
September	The Mid-Autumn Festival (Trung Thu) where children parade following lanterns and generous portions of "Moon Cakes" (delicious Chinese pastries) are consumed.
November	Birthday of Confucius.