Tet

The most important holiday in Vietnam is Tet, the celebration of the coming year. The Vietnamese believe that the spirits of their ancestors are linked to the living and the unborn like a chain. During the two days of Tet the past, present and future are celebrated.
We were in Vietnam the week before Tet and the significance of the coming celebration was everywhere. Above you see all sorts of Tet items being sold on a block that was solely about selling those items.
( In Hanoi, you find what you are looking for on one specific block. For example if you are looking for a cooking pot you go to one street block where every store on that street sells cooking pots. We saw blocks exclusively for tin, auto parts, wedding gowns, shoes and on and on.)
During Tet Vietnam roars with fireworks and intense celebration. We were told that no real cooking goes on then. People eat food they have made or purchased earlier and they eat more or less when and where they want. The big dinner occurs the day after Tet and the special holiday foods are made.
Vietnamese food is light and can be wonderfully artistic. We will long remember one of our last meals in Saigon where we wanted to take pictures of every dish.