Tet Nguyen Dan , or simply Tet ("festival"), is Vietnam's most important annual event; it lasts for seven days and falls sometime between the last week of January and the third week of February, on the night of the new moon. This is a time when families get together to celebrate renewal and hope for the new year, when ancestral spirits are welcomed back to the household, and when everyone in Vietnam becomes a year older - age is reckoned by the new year and not by individual birthdays. Everyone cleans their house from top to bottom, pays off debts, and makes offerings to Ong Tau, the Taoist god of the hearth. The eve of Tet explodes into a cacophony of drums and percussion and the subsequent week is marked by feasting on special foods. For tourists, Tet can be a great time to visit Vietnam, but it pays to note that not only does most of Vietnam close down for the week after the new year, but either side of the holiday local transport services are stretched to the limit.

Festivals of interest to tourists include the Water Puppet Festival held at Thay Pagoda, west of Hanoi (Feb ); the two-week Buddhist full moon festival at the Perfume Pagoda , west of Hanoi (March-April ); Tet Doan Ngo , the summer solstice, which is marked by festivities and dragon boat races (late May to early June); and Trung Thu, also known as Children's Day, when dragon dances take place and children are given lanterns in the shape of stars, carp or dragons (Sept-Oct).