TL;DR: The Tet market is a market session held in the final days of the twelfth lunar month and also on the first and second days of Tet, where Vietnamese people buy offerings, food, flowers and fruit, and it is also an occasion to meet and seek good luck at the start of the year. Each region has its own character: the North still has old periodic markets held on lunar dates such as Bưởi market, the Central region has markets that open right on Tet such as Gò market, and the South is heavy on flower markets and floating markets. Going to the Tet market is not only about buying and selling, it is also a social and spiritual ritual, sending out the wish for a full and prosperous new year.
What is a Tet market and when did it begin?
A Tet market is a special market session held in the final days of the twelfth lunar month and continuing into the first and second days of Tet, serving the needs of Vietnamese people for shopping, offerings and springtime enjoyment. Unlike a regular periodic market, a Tet market is not only a place to exchange goods but also a cultural space where people meet, exchange wishes and entrust their hopes for the new year[3].
Tet Nguyen Dan, according to researcher Tran Ngoc Them, originates from the wet-rice civilisation of the ancient Vietnamese, carrying the meaning of celebrating the rice harvest after a year of hard planting[4]. The Tet market came into being in step with that rhythm: before Tet, people need to buy offerings, food, clothes, firecracker pictures and votive paper; after Tet, many places still maintain a first-of-year market session to pick auspicious luck and pray for love. The writer Phan Ke Binh, in the book Việt Nam phong tục (1915), recorded the scene half a month before Tet, when every household was busy shopping for Tet, people buying pictures, firecrackers, incense, votive paper, sugar and jam, cakes and fruit; the scholar of Chinese characters went out to the market to write parallel sentences; distant traders all stopped work and returned home to celebrate Tet[1]. That is the picture of traditional Tet shopping as the book records it.
In the Central region, the scholar Toan Anh in an article published in Tạp chí Bách Khoa mentioned special markets during Tet, such as the pork market of My Loi commune (Vinh Loc district, former Thua Thien province), held on the 29th and 30th of the twelfth lunar month at tall huts erected on the empty ground at the head of the market[5]. Tet markets in the Central region thus take very distinctive forms.
What do Tet markets in the three regions sell?
Each region has its own specialities and shopping habits, creating a distinctive character for the year-end market session.
The North: periodic markets, flower markets and offering markets
The North is famous for traditional periodic markets such as Buoi market (Hanoi), held on the 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th and 29th days of the lunar month. The writer To Hoai in Chuyện cũ Hà Nội recounts that Buoi market on the 19th of the twelfth lunar month was the "market of people with money", while the 29th was the "market of the poor"[2]. This is where people from the surrounding villages brought their produce to sell: lĩnh silk from Bai An and Trich Sai, malt candy from Nghia Do, plants and flowers from Quang Ba and Nhat Tan, farm tools from Xuan La and Xuan Dinh[2]. Dong Xuan market in Hanoi, according to the writer Thach Lam in Hà Nội băm sáu phố phường (1943), is the market of city people, whose main market day opens from three in the morning, with baskets of vegetables and fruit carried in[9]. Thach Lam describes the bustling, noisy, colourful scene of Dong Xuan market on market day, quite different from a rural market and from Ben Thanh market in Saigon; it is an ordinary-day scene, not specific to Tet[9].
The Central region: markets held right on Tet day and Con market
The Central region has very special market sessions, held not only before Tet but also on the first and second days themselves. Go market in Phong Thanh hamlet, Tuy Phuoc commune (formerly Binh Dinh, now part of Gia Lai province) is one example. According to Gia Lai newspaper, Go market is held right on the morning of the first day of Tet, when people buy a small offering of young green areca nuts, five betel leaves with their stems intact, along with a little salt and rice, with the wish for a new year of plenty and harmony[6]. This is the first-of-year luck-seeking market session, where people do not place much weight on buying and selling but mainly gather to meet, exchange wishes and pick auspicious luck.
In Thua Thien (now Hue city under central administration), the scholar Toan Anh recorded the custom of holding Con market of Vinh My commune on the first and second days of Tet, on a white sand dune about 1,500 metres from the village. The villagers explained that the commune market on Tet days had spirits coming to gather, so the living had to return the market to them and hold theirs at Con market[5]. This is the explanation given by the villagers of Vinh My, as told by their elders, not a custom of the whole Central region.
The South: flower markets, floating markets and riverside rural markets
In the South, especially the Southwest, the Tet market is deeply imbued with the character of the waterways. According to Pháp Luật Việt Nam newspaper, rural markets in the Southwest during Tet are always noisy, bustling and distinctive, rich in the local culture, customs and cuisine[7]. The Tet market in each locality has its own features, closely linked to the source of materials and specialities of the area: Ben Tre has many products from coconut, Dong Thap is famous for flowers, while Bac Lieu, Kien Giang and Ca Mau have plenty of shrimp and fish[7].
Beside fixed markets, the Southwest also has spontaneous market sessions that spring up on riverbanks and under trees, selling a few things for decorating the home, household items, and "home-made" items such as vegetables and flowers from the garden, bánh tét, bánh cốm and pickled scallions[7]. When Tet comes, those market sessions disperse, and only the following year do they gather again[7].
Flower markets in the South are also a distinctive feature. Besides Da Lat and a number of neighbouring districts, the Southwest is also a large flower-growing area, supplying ochna, chrysanthemums, marigolds and bougainvillea to the Tet market[7].
Why go to the Tet market?
Going to the Tet market is not only about shopping. It is also a cultural ritual, an occasion for people to feel the Tet atmosphere, meet friends and relatives, and entrust their wishes.
According to Tien Phong newspaper, the Tet market from past to present is not only a place for trade and exchange but also a picture that recreates the colourful culture of the Vietnamese through the generations[3]. The Tet market evokes old memories for the generation of grandparents and parents and educates children in traditional values[3]. In rural areas, from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month onwards, markets are not held by session but run all day; sellers do not overprice and buyers do not haggle, what they exchange is joy, warmth and sincerity[3].
For women, the Tet market is also where their natural role is expressed. There may be a little jostling and a little noise, but both buyers and sellers carry in their hearts a sacred, reverent feeling when buying and selling a branch of flowers, a few areca nuts, a few betel leaves, a few sticks of incense, meat, rice, glutinous rice, fish sauce, salt and dong leaves[3]. The quantity may not be large, but that buying and selling lets people find much spiritual meaning in preparing material things[3].
Many people who have gone far away and returned enjoy going to the market simply to feel the familiar Tet atmosphere from their childhood[3]. The Tet market is also an occasion for children in the village to follow their mother shopping for clothes and toys, which makes it all the more colourful and lively[3].
Special Tet markets in the three regions
Below are some special Tet market sessions recorded in the source materials.
| Market name | Location | Time held | Main features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buoi market | Hanoi | 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th, 29th days of the lunar month | Ancient periodic market, the 19th is the "market of people with money", the 29th is the "market of the poor"[2] |
| Go market | Tuy Phuoc commune, Binh Dinh (former, now Gia Lai) | Morning of the first day of Tet | Buying a small offering of betel and areca, salt and rice to seek luck[6] |
| Con market | Vinh My commune, Thua Thien (former) | First and second days of Tet | Held on a sand dune, tied to the belief of "returning the market to the spirits"[5] |
| My Loi pork market | My Loi commune, Vinh Loc, Thua Thien (former) | 29th, 30th of the twelfth lunar month | Held at tall huts, selling pork, afterwards becoming huts for playing cards to enjoy spring[5] |
| Dong market of Yen Do village | Ha Nam (former) | 24th of the twelfth lunar month | Held on the fields, with poetry contests and Tet wine tasting[5] |
| Cưới market | Tam Long village, Binh Xuyen, Vinh Yen (former) | 25th of the twelfth lunar month | Market of the mountain-dwelling people, where young men and women meet and arrange marriages[5] |
Why does the Tet market still hold its appeal?
Today, the pace of urbanisation and digital life has helped homemakers shop online. However, that convenience is only favoured in everyday life. The Tet market, with its traditional ways of living, still has a strange appeal[3]. Most mothers and sisters look forward to Tet so they can go to the market and buy things. Going to the Tet market is a need in itself, it lies deep in the consciousness so that when the month, the day, the colour of that space arrives, it naturally rises up[3].
Even in modern urban areas, Tet markets are organised with a diverse range of goods, such as the Tet market at Ciputra Hanoi Urban Area[3]. This shows that the Tet market is not only about buying and selling but is also part of the cultural space of Vietnamese Tet, where people return to traditional values amid the pace of modern life.
In 1934 Phan Khoi called Tet pointless yet held that it could not yet be abandoned, because Tet gave the poor a meal with meat and helped the sale of local produce and the circulation of goods[8]. Nearly a century later, the Tet market still exists and still has its own vitality, perhaps because it is not only about shopping but also about meeting, about memory, about community.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestions: how to make the most of a Tet market visit?
If you want to fully feel the atmosphere of the Tet market, you can try the following suggestions. First, go to the Tet market in the early morning, when the air is still chilly and the sellers have just set out their goods, and you will see the market session starting up. Second, do not just shop, take time to stop by the snack and drink stalls, listen to the sellers tell stories, because the Tet market is where community memory is kept. Third, if you can, try a Tet market in a region different from where you live, because each region has its own character, and going to a Tet market in a new land is a way to understand more about Vietnamese culture.
The suggestions above are Nhật Nguyệt's interpretation, not mandatory advice. Everyone has their own way of celebrating Tet and going to the Tet market, and the important thing is that you feel comfortable and happy.
