Vietnam is set to celebrate Tet, or the country’s Lunar New Year, on January 31 (the first day of the lunar calendar). Tet is the most important festival in Vietnamese culture. In the run-up to this celebration, let us take a look at how Tet was observed in Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, about a century ago.
Tet falls in late January or early February every year, and lasts from the first day of the first month of the Vietnamese lunar calendar to at least the third day.
According to Vietnamese tradition, each lunar year is associated with one of the animals: rat, water buffalo, tiger, cat, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig.
The upcoming Tet will mark the beginning of the Year of the Horse.
The following photos, taken in the early 20th century, depict Vietnam’s biggest economic hub during the festive days back then.
A Vietnamese mandarin is pictured sitting next to his wife during Tet. Between them are the French words Bonne Année (Happy New Year), a sign of colonial French rule, and a postmark displaying the year 1901. They are both dressed in hand-sewn traditional attire, with the man wearing a turban together with a gown and cloth shoes, while the woman dons an ao dai (Vietnamese national costume) and cloth shoes.
This photo, dated 1918, shows a human chess game organized by the French at what is currently Tao Dan Stadium in District 1.
Pedestrians walk along Charner Boulevard (now Nguyen Hue Street) in 1902.
Firecrackers are set off to celebrate Tet inside a pagoda in 1905. The pagoda is surrounded by walls and houses. Locals are seen gathering, most likely to trade Tet goods outside. This picture probably describes the Nhi Phu Temple at 264 Hai Thuong Lang Ong Street in District 5.