Tet Nguyen Dan (Chinese New Year): is the most important festival in Vietnam and is celebrated all over the country with especially big celebrations in Ho Chi Minh City. The event signifies the coming of the new lunar year and celebrations go on for three days and include fireworks extravaganzas.
Thanh Minh: features ancestor worship and the cleaning of graves. Residents of the city typically make offerings to graves on this day and pay their respects to deceased ancestors.
Liberation Day: marks the time when Ho Chi Minh City (then known as Saigon) fell to the North in 1975, signifying the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of the reunification process.
A Chua Xu Festival: is held at Ba Chua Xu Lady Temple on Sam Mountain near the town of Chau Doc in An Giang province, which is directly accessible from Ho Chi Minh City. Various religious gatherings are held over the four-day festival.
Le Van Duyet Tomb Festival: takes place at the end of July at Le Van Duyet Tomb in Binh Thanh district and marks the death of the military dignitary of the Nguyen Dynasty. People pray for good weather, their crops, happiness, and the safety of their country. Games and singing are all part of the event.
Trung Nguyen: meaning ‘feast of the wandering souls and hungry ghosts’, Trung Nguyen sees congregations to the city’s temples where people put food out for the dead. This is to ensure the ghosts are well-fed.
National Day: held in early September, National Day marks Vietnam’s independence from France and features parades, fireworks, and lots of music and dancing. It is an amazing sight for newcomers to Vietnam and presents remarkable photo opportunities.
Tet Nguyen Tieu (Lantern Festival): is mainly aimed at the Chinese community of Ho Chi Minh City with lanterns galore. Lantern parades go though the streets of town and youngsters are generally allowed out late for matchmaking.
Thanksgiving to the Moon and Boat Competition: is a bit of a peculiar Khmer festival held all over South Vietnam in the middle of October. Food ceremonies with offerings of fried rice and a boating competition are all part of the fun.
Thien Ho Duong/Doc Binh Kieu Day: is a colourful festival to celebrate these two national heroes who led the people against French aggressors in the mid-19th century.
Christmas Day: is always a good time to be in Ho Chi Minh City, especially for Christians, when Christmas trees line city squares. Christmas carols are played in the malls and the atmosphere is special.
We have traveled to france, england, australia,italy and asia. the best hotel we stayed in was sheraton saigon hotel & towers and expect to stay again in 2yrs...
