HCMC gets busy with welcome party for Lunar New Year

Major downtown streets like Le Duan, Nguyen Hue, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Pham Ngoc Thach streets in District 1 will be artistically festooned with lights from now until February 28.

From 8 p.m. on February 11 (Lunar New Year’s Eve), residents and visitors can enjoy a lighting show using 3D mapping techniques at the headquarters of Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee at 86 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.

A unique floating flower market on the Binh Dong Wharf in District 8 will feature dozens of boats filled with flowers and plants from the Mekong Delta provinces from January 27 until the afternoon of February 11.

Vietnamese traditionally display vividly red and yellow flower pots in front of their homes to signify their wishes for a lucky and prosperous year, thus fertilizing the “lucky Tet tree” business.

The annual spring flower festival at Tao Dan Park in Saigon’s District 1 will open February 6-17.

One of the most popular features of Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations in Ho Chi Minh City is the transformation of Nguyen Hue – a popular pedestrian street – into a floral bonanza. This year’s flower street will open to tourists starting 7:00 p.m. February 9 until 9:00 p.m. February 15. The first day of the coming Year of the Buffalo falls on February 12.

A total of 26 buffalo mascots styled with traditional materials including rattan, bamboo, maleleuca bark and lotus leaves will be featured on the flower street to celebrate the Year of the Buffalo.

A book street at the intersection of Mac Dinh Chi, Nguyen Hue and Ngo Duc Ke streets will open at the same time as the flower street.

As usual, HCMC will set off firecrackers on Lunar New Year’s Eve at seven locations: the Saigon River Tunnel in District 2, Vietnam’s tallest building Landmark 81 in Binh Thanh District, Dam Sen Theme Park in District 11, the Ethnic History-Culture Park in District 9, Ben Duoc Memorial Temple in Cu Chi District, Can Gio Stadium in Can Gio District, and the Nha Be District Administrative Center.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a seven-day Lunar New Year break starting February 10.

Tet is the biggest and most important festival in Vietnam. It is a time when millions of migrant workers return to their homes in the countryside from major cities to mark the coming of the Lunar New Year with loved ones. The Lunar New Year is also celebrated by several other Asian communities around the world.