Vietnamese festival calendar

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What kinds of Vietnamese festivals are there?

Traditional celebrations such as Tết Nguyên Đán, Trung Thu, Vu Lan and Đoan Ngọ follow the lunar calendar, so they fall on a different solar date each year. Modern days such as National Day and Vietnamese Teachers' Day follow the solar calendar and keep the same date.

The calendar sorts festivals into three levels. Official holidays are the paid days off under the Labour Code: New Year's Day, Tết Nguyên Đán, the Hùng Kings' Commemoration, 30 April, 1 May and 2 September. Major festivals are days nearly everyone knows and marks even without a day off, such as Trung Thu. Festivals are the rest, usually tied to a region, a village or an ethnic group.

The festivals of the Kinh and of the 53 ethnic minorities have their own calendars and meanings. The Khmer Chôl Chnăm Thmây, for example, follows the Khmer Buddhist calendar and does not coincide with Tết Nguyên Đán. Each festival on the calendar lists its other names, where it is held with a map, and an article where the site has one.

Lunar festivals are already converted to the solar dates of the year you are viewing. Festivals whose dates are set by organisers, such as festivals held every year or two, only show dates once an official announcement exists. Arrangements can change by year and place, so check the organiser's announcement before travelling.

The lunar calendar still plays a large part in Vietnamese religious life, even though the solar calendar has long been used in administration. Under the monarchy, the Khâm Thiên Giám prepared a new calendar each year and the court issued it to the provinces; people used it to know Tết and the new and full moon days for worship and village festivals.