The Vietnamese Lunar New or “Tet” as we call it in Vietnam is the most important traditional holiday in Vietnam. This year, we bid goodbye to the Year of the Tiger and welcome the Year of the Cat.
The name “Tet” is an abbreviation of Tet Nguyen Dan, which means “the first morning of the first day of the new period.” Tet marks the beginning of a New Year on the lunar calendar and the beginning of the spring.
Kinderland International Preschool also aimed to bring this joyous and warm atmosphere of the TET celebrations to our children. Preparations and activities were carefully planned to allow our children to enjoy this joyous celebration with their teachers and friends.
The TET celebration allowed our children to be engaged in different activities such as storytelling, crafts, music and movement. The children also stride through a fashion parade in their lovely traditional Vietnamese costumes. Children learned about the festival through a pictorial showcase of TET celebrations at different homes and in the communities.
Our Kindergarten Two children posing happily in their traditional costumes
Our Kindergarten One child at work on her TET greeting card
Our children also made Banh Chung, an essential Lunar New Year dish. Celebrating the Lunar New Year would not be complete without these delicious savoury cakes. They are made of mung bean and pork filling encased in glutinous rice, wrapped in banana leaves and artfully tied with colourful string. Every child had the opportunity to make their very own Banh Chung and bringing it home to share.
Hard at work making her Bang Chung
In the spirit of Tet, Kinderland also had a mini donation drive where to collect books, clothes and shoes, toys and, etc. Our children also help drive fund donations by selling their TET-themed artworks. All proceeds were used to purchase food essentials. Together with the items collected, all donations were presented to a nearby orphanage.
Hand painted t-shirt sold by our nursery children to raise money for the orphanage.
Ms Aliza our Marketing manager with the Abess of the Orphanage and the donations from Kinderland
It was such a lovely Tet celebration in our school. The halls were filled with bright colors with children looking fabulous in their beautiful traditional wear. It was wonderful to see the laughter and excitement among our staff and children during the celebrations and we look forward to many more celebrations with our staff and children.