TL;DR: Saigon Tet formed in a city that gathered people from across the North, Centre and South, so it carries the shared spring spirit of the whole country rather than one region. Its most visible features are the flower markets that assemble along river and road routes: the Nguyen Hue flower market appeared in 1960, while the Nguyen Hue Flower Street debuted at Tet Giap Than 2004. Tet customs here are a coexistence of Vietnamese custom, the habits of the Hoa community in Cho Lon and the commercial rhythm of a large city.
What is Saigon Tet and when did it form?
Saigon Tet is the name for the Tet customs of the urban area of Saigon and Cho Lon, now the central area of Ho Chi Minh City, tied to a city that gathered people from across the North, Centre and South. Saigon was called a capital city from the 1950s; its population boomed, drawing people from all over the North, Centre and South, so from then until 1975 Saigon Tet carried the spring spirit of an entire nation rather than one region[1].
Two layers of time must be distinguished. The first is Vietnamese Tet custom in general, which is long-standing. Nationwide, no traditional festival is larger, older or more widely observed than Tet Nguyen Dan; it is bound to the wet-rice civilisation of the ancient Viet people[2]. The second layer is Saigon's own character, formed when the place became a major urban and commercial centre with a large Hoa population and migrants from the provinces.
In Viet Nam phong tuc, Phan Ke Binh recorded the general Tet picture of Vietnamese people in the early 20th century: half a month before Tet, every household was busy shopping for Tet, buying pictures and firecrackers, buying incense, votive paper, sugar, jam, cakes and fruit; fortune-tellers went to the market to write parallel sentences; traders or those working far away all stopped work to return home for Tet; a few days before Tet, people cleaned the house, washed the altar objects, pasted parallel sentences and hung pictures and banners[3]. That framework of custom followed migrants south and then changed according to the conditions of a commercial city.
Why is Saigon Tet so closely tied to flower markets?
Because Saigon is a trading hub with both river and road routes, Tet flowers from the Mekong Delta provinces converge here into centralised flower markets. A flower market is not only a place of trade but also a space for the whole city to enjoy Tet.
The Nguyen Hue flower market and the street named after an old canal
Nguyen Hue Street was originally a canal linking Bat Quai citadel with the Saigon River. Bat Quai citadel, also called Gia Dinh citadel, was built by Nguyen Anh in 1790. This canal was named Kinh Lon, popularly called Cho Vai because many Hoa merchants sold fabrics along its bank, and the French called it canal Grand[4].
After the French captured Saigon, in 1861 Admiral Charner issued regulations limiting the city boundaries, and Kinh Lon was renamed canal Charner. Because of severe pollution, in 1877 the French filled the canal and merged the two roads on either bank into Charner Avenue. Saigon people did not use the French name but called it by the popular name Kinh Lap. In 1956 Charner Avenue was renamed Nguyen Hue[4].
In 1960, each time spring came, a flower market appeared on Nguyen Hue Street. Following boats from the Mekong Delta, flowers from everywhere gathered at Bach Dang wharf, on the bank and stretching along the avenue[4]. This is an important milestone: the Nguyen Hue flower market was born before 1975 and became one of the Tet symbols of the city.
Ben Binh Dong flower market and the scene of boats on the river
Ben Binh Dong in former District 8 is another Saigon Tet flower market, where each Tet season the scene of sampans and boats bustling with flowers and fruit for city dwellers is recreated[5]. A 72-year-old overseas Vietnamese visiting for Tet recalled that about 20 years earlier, before the East-West Highway, now Vo Van Kiet Street, was opened, the scene here was bustling and crowded, buyers and sellers in droves, flowers and ornamental plants distinctive, and the stream of shoppers and sightseers so dense that many spots were jammed[5]. The same article says that Tet (2018) only about 30 boats from the Mekong Delta provinces came to sell flowers and buyers were sparse[5].
| Flower market | Location | Notable features |
|---|---|---|
| Nguyen Hue flower market | Nguyen Hue Avenue, former District 1 | Appeared in 1960, flowers followed Mekong Delta boats to Bach Dang wharf then stretched along the avenue[4] |
| Ben Binh Dong flower market | Ben Binh Dong, former District 8 | Scene of boats on the river, sampans carrying flowers and fruit from Mekong Delta provinces[5] |
| Nguyen Hue Flower Street | Nguyen Hue Square, former District 1 | Debuted at Tet Giap Than 2004, was the 20th flower street at Tet Quy Mao 2023[6] |
How does Nguyen Hue Flower Street differ from a traditional flower market?
Nguyen Hue Flower Street is a Tet cultural project organised by the city, different from a folk flower market in that it is designed, built and supervised like a construction project. The flower street first debuted at Tet Giap Than 2004; by Tet Quy Mao 2023 it was the 20th flower street held during traditional Tet in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City[6].
The construction process of the flower street is organised like that of a construction project, with supervision, evaluation and construction, and must comply with standards, but differs in that the project exists for only two weeks and then must be dismantled to return the space to the city[6]. This is the clearest distinction between a flower street and a flower market: a flower market serves trade, while a flower street serves enjoyment and creates a symbol.
The mascot at the gate is the focus many people await. In 20 years, a total of 8 mascots have come, gone and returned, including Than, Dau, Tuat, Hoi, Ty, Suu, Dan and Mao. The year Giap Than 2004 was the only year the flower street had no mascot image. In the years Binh Tuat 2006 and Dinh Hoi 2007, the flower street gate mascots were images of stone dogs and clay pigs, familiar images in daily life; in the remaining 17 years, the flower street gate mascots were specially designed[6].
How do Saigon people celebrate Tet?
Saigon Tet customs are a layering of Vietnamese custom, the habits of the Hoa community in Cho Lon and the rhythm of urban commercial life. These three layers are not separate but coexist in one city.
The Vietnamese custom layer
In memories of Tet in Saigon and Cho Lon, repainting doors and polishing bronze incense burners on the altar are seen as ways to beautify the home for Tet, beginning at the start of the twelfth lunar month. The author records the folk belief that to welcome fortune one must clean and beautify the home. In the author's neighbourhood, men took it on themselves to clean the doors, while beautifying the home was left to women: mothers and aunts go to market to buy paper pictures to hang at Tet[7].
According to that memoir, in Saigon there were no Dong Ho chicken and pig pictures; common instead are paintings by artists such as Le Trung, Hoang Luong, Le Minh, with Vietnamese captions, telling stories of Tam Cam, Luu Binh Duong Le, Thoai Khanh Chau Tuan, Te Thien Dai Thanh, Tiet Nhon Quy. In front of the house people paste characters such as Ngu Phuc Lam Mon, Hiep Gia Binh An, Phuoc Loc Tho written in gold powder on pink paper, bought from Hoa scholars sitting and writing calligraphy in the Cho Lon area in the days before Tet[7].
Another feature is the spring newspaper. Men buy a few spring newspapers with covers printed with girls beside apricot, chrysanthemum and marigold branches; the spring newspaper is placed solemnly on the tea table for the first guest to look at. Even if that year's Tet was poorer than previous years, many families still bought at least one spring newspaper[7].
The Hoa custom layer in Cho Lon
An article by an author from a Teochew family that has lived in Cho Lon for three generations says the family still keeps Teochew customs at festivals and Tet. According to it, the Hoa send the Kitchen God off on the morning of the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, unlike the Vietnamese who make offerings on the evening of the 23rd; on the 30th they put up new red couplets with gold characters and paste the characters for spring and fortune upside down; at the New Year's Eve offering they have tangerines, steamed buns and sticky rice cake alongside the Vietnamese five-fruit tray; on the first morning married daughters visit their mother's parents first; on the 7th day they eat seven kinds of greens; and Tet only truly ends on the fifteenth of the first month[8].
These are the customs of one Teochew family. The same article notes that Cantonese families add pork trotters and lettuce to the New Year's Eve offering, so the above should not be taken as the rule for all Hoa in Cho Lon[8].
The commercial life layer
Saigon is a commercial city, so Tet here is tied to shopping and Tet preparations. According to a memoir in Nhan Dan newspaper, going to the Ben Thanh Tet market was almost a habit of old Saigon people, and before going there people stopped by the flower market along Nguyen Hue Street to buy apricot blossoms and chrysanthemums[7]. Tuoi Tre newspaper describes the pre-1975 Ben Thanh Tet market as packed with Tet goods, from jams and sweets, wine and tea to cloth flowers and altar decorations[1].
How does Saigon Tet differ from Tet in other regions?
The difference lies in the fact that Saigon is a gathering place, so Tet here is not purely one region. From the 1950s to 1975, Saigon Tet carried the spring spirit of an entire nation rather than one region[1]. This means that besides banh chung, banh tet, apricot and peach blossoms, one could also encounter the customs of the Hoa and the Mekong Delta provinces.
It can be said that Saigon Tet is a special case of Vietnamese Tet custom: it does not deny regional Tet customs but layers on top an urban layer and a Hoa layer. This is Nhat Nguyet's understanding, based on the data cited above.
Changes in Saigon Tet over time
At least three major changes have taken place.
First, the shift of flower market space. The Nguyen Hue flower market appeared in 1960 and was tied to Bach Dang wharf, where Mekong Delta boats gathered flowers[4]. In the late 1990s the Nguyen Hue flower market moved to the 23/9 park; in 2004 the flower market returned to Nguyen Hue Street in a new form, no longer for trade but arranged for visitors to enjoy, and was officially renamed Nguyen Hue Flower Street[4]. At Ben Binh Dong, according to the 2018 article, the scene of boats on the river was much sparser than in the recollection of a visitor from before the East-West Highway opened[5].
Second, the birth of the flower street as a cultural project. From 2004, Nguyen Hue Flower Street became an annual Tet rendezvous, and by 2023 it had been held 20 times[6]. This is a step from a trading flower market to a flower street for enjoyment.
Third, the change of urban space. Nguyen Hue Square today faces the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, attracting thousands of visitors daily, especially at night, on weekends and during festivals. It is considered the most beautiful street in the city, but few know this area was originally a canal bringing water from the Saigon River into Gia Dinh citadel[4].
| Period | Notable features |
|---|---|
| Before 1960 | Nguyen Hue Street was Charner Avenue (renamed in 1956); the flower market had not yet appeared[4] |
| 1960 to 1975 | Nguyen Hue flower market formed; Saigon Tet carried the shared spirit of the whole country[1][4] |
| 2004 to present | Nguyen Hue Flower Street was born, becoming an annual Tet cultural project[6] |
Frequently asked questions
When did Saigon Tet begin?
There is no single milestone. Vietnamese Tet custom in general is long-standing, tied to the wet-rice civilisation[2]. Saigon's own character formed when the place became a capital city from the 1950s[1]. The Nguyen Hue flower market appeared in 1960[4], while Nguyen Hue Flower Street debuted at Tet Giap Than 2004[6].
Why do Saigon people often visit flower markets and flower streets?
Because these are the city's two characteristic Tet spaces. A flower market is where people buy flowers for Tet and also enjoy the scene; a flower street is a project organised by the city for sightseeing and photography. The flower street is built like a construction project, existing for only two weeks then dismantled[6].
How does the Tet of the Hoa in Cho Lon differ from the Tet of the Vietnamese?
According to an article by a Teochew family in Cho Lon, the Hoa send the Kitchen God off on the morning of the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, offer tangerines, steamed buns and sticky rice cake on New Year's Eve, visit the wife's parents first on the first morning, and end Tet on the fifteenth of the first month rather than on the seventh day as the Vietnamese do[8]. This is one family's custom, interwoven with the Tet of the Vietnamese in the same city.
