Recreating the atmosphere of traditional Tet at Happy Tet 2024

On the evening of January 24th, the Hanoi Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Center (HPA), in collaboration with the Thang Long Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, held the opening ceremony of the "Happy Tet 2024 - Spreading the Traditional Tet Cultural Identity" program at Thang Long Imperial Citadel. The event will take place from January 24th to 28th, 2024. This also marks the beginning of a series of activities in 2024 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Hanoi.

"Happy Tet" has been held annually since 2021 during the Lunar New Year and has left many positive impressions on diplomatic agencies, international organizations, the people, and domestic and foreign tourists. Building on the success of previous years, Happy Tet 2024, with the theme "Spreading the Cultural Identity of Traditional Tet," will be the largest comprehensive promotional and marketing event to date, embodying creativity, uniqueness, and the rich cultural identity of Hanoi and other regions.

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duong - Director of the Hanoi Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center (HPA) shared: "Following the success of the 'Happy Tet' program held during the Lunar New Year in previous years, the Happy Tet 2024 program is a unique combination of the traditional Tet customs of the ancient Imperial Court with modern Tet culture, creating a vibrant, sacred and lively atmosphere."

Hanoi, the capital city with a thousand years of history and culture, is a place where countless unique cultural values ​​from all over the country converge and are distilled. Hanoi always harbors the "aspiration to become a dragon," embodying the image of a prosperous, civilized capital, along with many beautiful natural landscapes that attract tourists. We hope that Happy Tet 2024 will be an activity that helps tourism gradually become a key economic sector. Hanoi will be a destination that is "Safe - Friendly - High-Quality - Attractive"; Tourists come to Hanoi – and love will stay."

With an area of ​​3,500 m²²In front of the Đoan Môn Gate - Thang Long Imperial Citadel, spaces such as: "Homeland Train," "Old Hanoi House Space," "Central Vietnam Tet Space," "Southern Vietnam Tet Space," "Colorful Ethnic Tet Space," and "Food Promotion Space" are elaborately and creatively designed and decorated, introducing visitors to the unique combination of traditional ancient court Tet customs with contemporary Tet culture from various regions across the country.

The miniature landscapes showcase famous tourist destinations in Hanoi such as: Long Bien Bridge, Dong Xuan Market, Me Linh Flower Market, West Lake; stalls simulating the old houses of Hanoi in the past, recreating the bustling trading streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter; and a replica of the old house at 87 Ma May Street...

The "Homeland Train" space, featuring a train departing from Hanoi station, evokes memories of journeys home for Tet (Lunar New Year), allowing locals and tourists to admire vibrant spring flower gardens alongside the ancient Long Bien Bridge. The "Old Hanoi House Space" is a recreation of the heritage house at 87 Ma May Street. Here, locals and tourists can learn about a traditional Hanoi family preparing a Tet offering meal, gathering with relatives to wrap banh chung (traditional rice cakes) amidst the warm and comforting aroma of coriander water.

"The 'Central Vietnam Tet atmosphere' is depicted at the An Hien garden house in Hue, featuring a lotus pond in front of the house built according to traditional feng shui garden house architecture, along with miniature landscapes reflecting the characteristics of Tet in Central Vietnam."

"Southern Tet Space" recreates the vibrant and bustling atmosphere of Tet on a floating market, reflecting the unique charm of the orchards and waterways of Southern Vietnam.

"The 'Colorful Ethnic Tet Space' is depicted in a traditional Tay stilt house, telling the story of the ethnic people's life during Tet with rituals, customs, and cuisine that create a vibrant and colorful Tet scene."

The space showcasing Hanoi's Tet (Lunar New Year) cuisine and that of other regions is the heart of the event. Cuisine not only reflects the local culture of each region but also embodies the cultural essence of the nation, its philosophy of life, and the enduring, unique values ​​of Hanoi and the entire country. Each dish presented tells a story of identity, the intermingling of flavors, and highlights the distinctive features of Vietnamese Tet culture. Through the ups and downs of time, many famous dishes have been branded with the names of streets and places in the region, such as: Banh Cuon (steamed rice rolls) - Thanh Tri, Xoi Che (sticky rice with sweet soup) - Phu Thuong, Com Thom (fragrant green rice flakes) - Lang Vong, Banh Chung (sticky rice cake) - Lo Khe, Gio Cha (pork sausage) - Uoc Le, Hanoi Pho... From there, domestic and international tourists can experience the precious Vietnamese Tet culinary culture and the outstanding flavors from North to South.

At the booths promoting Tet (Lunar New Year) specialties, designed to resemble the traditional houses of Phai Street and Dong Xuan Market, localities showcased their potential, strengths, and brand image to tourists and international friends. Several districts in Hanoi invested heavily in professional promotion of local trade and tourism, for example: Ung Hoa district organized an experience of pounding traditional Van Dinh sticky rice cakes combined with a demonstration of incense stick making in Quang Phu Cau village; Son Tay town showcased unique products from Duong Lam lacquerware village and the distinctive cuisine of the Doai region...

"Happy Tet" 2024 is considered a festival of unique and captivating performances, showcasing the finest aspects of Hanoi's culture and contributing to the development of the capital's cultural industry. "Happy Tet" is also an opportunity for Hanoi to present to international friends a friendly image of Hanoi, rich in identity, an attractive and safe destination, allowing tourists to better understand and love Hanoi. This is how Hanoi promotes its image and contributes to spreading the traditional Tet cultural identity to every citizen and visitor to the capital as Tet approaches.

Here are some photos from the opening night of "Happy Tet" 2024 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel:

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Text and photos: Phuong Thao