Lunar New Year 2027 (Tết): Date, Holidays and Customs

Key dates around Tết 2027

Lunar dates follow the Vietnamese calendar (UTC+7). Explore any day in the lunar calendar.

Public holiday in Vietnam

Civil servants and public employees are off for seven days in a row, from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027 — from the 28th day of the last lunar month to the 5th day of the new year. That is the five statutory Tết days plus two compensatory days for the Saturday and Sunday that fall inside the holiday, as announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Private-sector employees receive five days of paid Tết leave, plus compensatory days when a weekly rest day overlaps the holiday. Employers choose one of three splits — one day before Tết and four after, two before and three after, or three before and two after — and must tell staff in advance. Many companies simply mirror the public-sector schedule, but they are not required to.

Tết customs, explained

Seeing off the Kitchen Gods

A week before Tết, on the 23rd day of the twelfth month, families make an offering to the three Kitchen Gods, who travel to heaven to report on the household’s year. Live carp are released into a lake or river as the gods’ mounts. It is also the signal to start cleaning, decorating and paying off debts.

New Year’s Eve and ancestor offerings

On the last afternoon of the year, families gather for a year-end meal and set out an offering of square bánh chưng or cylindrical bánh tét rice cakes, a five-fruit tray and incense to welcome their ancestors home for the holiday. At midnight a short ceremony marks Giao thừa, the hand-over between the old and new year.

The first-footer (xông đất)

The first visitor to cross the threshold after midnight is believed to set the tone for the household’s year, so families often invite a specific guest rather than leave it to chance: someone cheerful, successful and born in a year compatible with the host and with the year’s animal. Our Vietnamese first-footer finder (xông đất) scores every birth year for a given host.

Lucky money and New Year wishes

Children and elders receive lucky money (lì xì, or mừng tuổi — literally “celebrating a new year of age”) in small red envelopes, along with wishes for health, success and peace. The amount matters less than the crisp new notes and the words that go with them. The first three days are traditionally spent visiting the father’s family, the mother’s family and then teachers.

Peach blossom, apricot blossom and kumquats

Northern homes display pink peach blossom, southern homes yellow apricot (mai) blossom, and kumquat trees heavy with fruit stand for abundance across the country. On the third day many families make a farewell offering and burn votive paper as the ancestors depart; the season closes with the first full moon, when temples are at their busiest.

Plan your Goat year

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Frequently asked questions

Holiday schedule as announced by Vietnam’s Ministry of Home Affairs for Tết 2027; private-sector rules follow the 2019 Labour Code. Vietnamese version: Tết 2027 là ngày nào.