 |
|
Day in the sun: Many pilgrims flock to Yen Tu site in the northern province of Quang Ninh to attend the spring festival and pray for good fortune in the new year. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Tran
 |
|
The sand flies: A wrestling competition in the traditional festival of Mai Dong Village, Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi, on the occasion of new year. — VNA/VNS Photo Nhat Anh | |
HCM CITY — Splendid displays of fireworks and traditional festivities animated the country during the first week of February to welcome Tet (Lunar New Year), which falls under the zodiac sign of the Cat.
On New Year's Eve, when the Cat takes over rule from the Tiger, fireworks lit up the sky across the country.
A 15-minute display of fireworks entertained various ethnic groups in the capital of the northernmost province of Ha Giang, while fireworks were accompanied by a count-down concert in Dien Bien Phu city in northwestern province of Dien Bien, which borders Laos.
Fireworks in Ha Giang were made possible with funding from local enterprises rather than from the provincial budget, according to Hung Thi Hong, a senior provincial official.
This year's Tet Holiday coincided with the 81st anniversary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and followed a successful Party Congress, the country's premier political event which takes place every five years.
Thousands of locals, including elderly people and children took to the streets in spite of chilly weather to view a fireworks display at the sports arena in northern Ninh Binh Province.
A fireworks display was also staged in Thu Dau Mot Town and every district of southern Binh Duong Province, while provincial party chief Mai The Trung headed a delegation to pay New Year's visits to soldiers, police officers and workers of state-owned enterprises.
Trees and houses lining downtown streets in northern Nam Dinh City, were decorated in red with thousands of flags and flower lanterns, and artists of traditional opera like cheo and cai luong performed classical dramas in colourful costumes during the New Year's Eve.
The sun finally emerged after many days of a severe cold spell.
Droves of people thronged into Buddhist pagodas and temples in Ha Noi to pray for a happy new year and the well-being of their families, and streets surrounding the Temple of Literature were lined with calligraphy stalls where calligraphy-painted Chinese characters representing "Luck" and "Happiness" were on sale.
In HCM City, downtown avenues like Nguyen Hue and Le Loi have become traditional magnets that drew thousands of revelers during Tet with colourful arrangement of flowers and decorations.
The city's Party leader Le Thanh Hai joined the revelers on the avenue on Sunday and tossed a coin into a lake to wish for peace and prosperity for citizens.
"I'm so glad that the city has made great changes in the past years," said Nguyen Van Dac, an overseas Vietnamese in the US who returned to the country for the first time after 15 years.
In the world heritage town of Hoi An in central Quang Nam Province, lanterns in various shapes of the cat made by local craftsmen, lit up both sides of the Hoai River that runs through the town.
Farmers in the Mekong Delta took to rice paddy fields on Saturday, the third day of Tet, in a symbolic deed to wish for good crops. — VNS