Top 18 Festivals in Vietnam: A Guide to Cultural Celebrations
Vietnam’s festivals are not just events, they are living expressions of history, faith, and community. Each celebration opens a window into the nation’s identity, from ancestral worship to seasonal rituals and regional traditions. Below, MOTOGO Tours is pleased to introduce a curated journey through Vietnam’s most iconic traditional festivals, offering travelers the chance to experience the country’s culture at its most vibrant and authentic.
Iconic Traditional Festivals in Vietnam (Lunar Calendar)
Guided by the Lunar Calendar, Vietnam’s biggest festivals take place in early spring, when families and villages unite to honor ancestors, folk heroes, and local deities. The peak festival season runs from late January to April, when the country comes alive with ceremonies, pilgrimages, and cultural celebrations.
1. Tet Nguyen Dan: The Ultimate Family Reunion (Lunar New Year)
For anyone exploring Vietnam’s culture, Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) is the single most important festival to understand. It falls between late January and mid-February. Thus, it is the most important cultural celebration in the country. For weeks beforehand, the entire nation begins preparing. Everyone heads back to their ancestral homes, making Tết the ultimate reunion tradition.
During Tet, the streets and homes come alive with vibrant colors and festive rituals. The air is filled with the fragrance of peach and apricot blossoms. Families meticulously clean their houses to sweep away misfortune, resolve lingering conflicts, and honor their ancestors. It’s a season of renewal, hope, and joyful reunions that brings communities and families together.
Moreover, traditional foods take center stage during Tết. This includes bánh chưng and bánh tét simmering slowly over wood fires. Also present is the carefully arranged five-fruit tray symbolizing abundance and good fortune. Each dish is more than just a meal; instead, it’s a vessel of meaning. It reflects prosperity, respect, and family harmony. Loved ones gather to celebrate, honor their ancestors, and welcome the new year with hope and joy.
2. Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival, held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (September or October), is arguably the most beloved festival for children. Historically speaking, it was a time for parents to celebrate the harvest and spend time with their children after the busy farming season. However, today, it’s a night of magic: streets are filled with the sound of drums and cymbals for the dazzling Lion Dances, and similarly, children parade with brightly colored lanterns.
Additionally, the festive tray is always laden with sweet treats. The most iconic of these are the Mooncakes: dense pastries filled with lotus seed paste, mung bean, or various savory fillings. Each Mooncake is cut into sections and shared, symbolizing completeness and family reunion.
3. Hung Kings’ Temple Festival: Honoring the Ancestors
If you seek to witness the foundation of the Vietnamese nation in a single day, then you must attend the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival in Phu Tho province. It happens annually on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month. This national holiday remembers and honors the 18 Hung Kings. They were the legendary founders of the first Vietnamese state, Van Lang.
The festival requires deep contemplation and respect. Pilgrims travel to the temple for holy rites. In this way, they honor the monarchs. They seek blessings for peace and prosperity using incense offerings, prayers, and symbolic rites. Hundreds of thousands flock to the sacred Nghia Linh Mountain. From there, they attend solemn, state-level ceremonies. They witness the procession with offerings of Bánh Chưng and Bánh Giầy. Ultimately, it is a powerful statement of national unity. It serves as a collective reaffirmation of their shared heritage.
4. Vietnam Ghost Festival
Celebrated on the fifteenth day of the 7th lunar month, the Vietnam Ghost Festival, sometimes known as Lễ Vu Lan, honors ancestors and embraces the spirits of the dead. This Buddhist celebration consists in offerings and prayers meant to guarantee the serenity of the spirits. Families celebrate their ancestors by means of food, incense, and prayers at both house and temple throughout the celebration.
People erect altars and carry out ceremonies in rural places to call the spirits back home for a dinner. Many also pay sacrifices to the “hungry ghosts,” thought to be wandering spirits devoid of live family to remember them. The event celebrates family ties and reverence of the departed as well as a serious period for remembering.
Important Religious & Folk Festivals
Important Religious & Folk Festivals are deeply significant annual celebrations that form the foundation of a community’s spiritual life and cultural heritage. Rooted in ancient traditions, they serve to honor deities, ancestors, and seasonal cycles. These festivals promote social cohesion, preserve history, and attract cultural tourism, providing an essential connection to shared identity and belief systems.
5. Perfume Pagoda Festival
Starting on the 6th day of the 1st lunar month and often lasting until the end of the 3rd, the Perfume Pagoda Festival is the longest and one of the largest Buddhist pilgrimages in Vietnam. Pilgrims from across Vietnam travel by boat through the scenic Perfume Mountains to reach the pagoda, with the journey itself seen as a spiritual practice. Upon arrival, they offer prayers and incense, seeking blessings for health and prosperity.
In fact, the pilgrimage represents a journey toward spiritual growth. Pilgrims travel by boat along winding rivers. Lush green mountains frame these rivers. Visitors immerse themselves in the peaceful natural setting. The tranquil atmosphere encourages reflection. This allows visitors to connect deeply with their faith and the surrounding landscape.
>>> Explore Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi: Ultimate Guide to Vietnam’s Spiritual Haven
6. Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival
The Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival at Sam mountain in An Giang province (late 4th lunar month) is one of the largest and most influential Mekong Delta festivals. Above all, it honors the Goddess of the Realm (Ba Chua Xu). People believe she grants prosperity, good health, and success in business.
The central ritual involves the symbolic bathing and changing of the Goddess’s silk robes. This ceremony draws millions of pilgrims. The sheer volume of devotees and their fervent prayers is breathtaking. This phenomenon underscores folk religion’s vital role in Southern life. This is because Southerners often blend Buddhism, Taoism, and indigenous beliefs.
7. Giong Festival: Celebrating a Legendary Hero
Held yearly in Hanoi, the Giong Festival is one of Vietnam’s most unusual and fascinating celebrations. Participants represent the phases of Saint Giong’s life. They wear traditional costumes. They then form a great procession. Participants carry symbolic weapons, marching, and executing ancient martial arts. This helps to reenact Giong’s victory over the enemy, making the event most exciting.
The Giong Festival is celebrated in several locations in Hanoi. It is most famous at Phu Dong (on the 9th day of the 4th lunar month). Importantly, UNESCO recognizes this event. The festival is a dramatic, theatrical re-enactment of the battle. It is complete with flags, drum beats, and ritualistic dances. This display highlights the Vietnamese people’s enduring heroic tradition and fierce pride in their independence.
8. Lim Festival: A Symphony of “Quan Ho” Folk Songs
If you are a fan of traditional music, then the Lim Festival in Bac Ninh province is unmissable. It is held on the 13th day of the 1st lunar month. Furthermore, it is a vibrant celebration of Quan Ho. This sophisticated folk music form has UNESCO recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The main attraction involves male and female singers dressed in traditional, elaborate costumes, standing on small, dragon-headed boats or facing each other across a field, performing duets of witty, romantic, and often competitive songs. It’s an engaging, beautiful, and deeply moving art form that reflects the communal spirit and the romantic poetry woven into the local culture.
9. Ba Thu Bon Festival: River Goddess Worship in Quang Nam
For a taste of the spiritual heart of the Quang Nam region, you can’t miss the Ba Thu Bon Festival, held on the 12th day of the 2nd lunar month. This event, dedicated to the River Goddess Ba Thu Bon, is crucial for the local community, which heavily relies on the river and sea for their livelihoods.
The highlight is the ritualistic bathing of the Goddess’s statue and the enchanting, colorful procession of boats along the river. This festival beautifully illustrates the deep reverence Vietnamese people hold for the elements and the natural forces that sustain them.
Contemporary & Regional Cultural Events
Contemporary & Regional Cultural Events are dynamic showcases that blend modern artistry with local heritage, defining the cultural landscape of a specific area. These events are vital for tourism, creative exchange, and community identity. They offer a powerful lens into both global trends and unique local traditions.
10. Kate Festival: The Cham People’s New Year
Held in central Vietnam in October, the Kate Festival is the most significant religious and cultural celebration for the Cham ethnic group. The festival primarily emphasizes devotion to Cham gods. To this end, ancient Chăm temples host ceremonies. People make offerings of food, flowers, and incense. Revered sculptures are also displayed.
Furthermore, the festival involves colorful processions to the ancient Cham towers. They perform complex rituals there. The atmosphere is vibrant. It features traditional music played on the saranai (a type of clarinet). Also seen are displays of intricate Chsm costumes and dances. Overall, the festival powerfully preserves a distinctly non-Vietnamese indigenous culture.
11. Hue Festival
The Hue Festival is a biennial international event. It usually occurs in even-numbered years. As a result, the former imperial capital transforms into a cultural stage. For a whole week, the Imperial Citadel hosts parades and traditional dances. It also stages royal ceremonies and captivating court music performances.
The festival showcases both Vietnamese heritage and international arts. Therefore, it is your chance to see the royal robes and listen to the court music. You can feel the imperial gravity that once governed the country.
12. Hoi An Lantern Festival
Celebrated every month on the 14th day of the lunar calendar, the Hoi An Lantern Festival is among the most beautiful and very visually arresting celebrations in Vietnam. Hoi An’s streets come alive with vibrantly colored lanterns in all shapes and sizes as evening sets. Floating lanterns light the town’s rivers, producing a calm and enchanted environment. With lanterns representing optimism, peace, and good fortune, the Hoi An Lantern Festival is an honoring of light.
Apart from the lanterns, the celebration include exhibitions of the handcrafted goods from the town and customary events such dances and folk music. Both residents and guests engage in games including lantern manufacturing and decoration as well as sampling Hoi An’s unique cuisine including white rose dumplings. Apart from a visual extravaganza, the Hoi An Lantern Festival is a profound statement of Vietnamese culture, community, and future hopes.
13. Buffalo Stabbing Festival of the Tay Nguyen Highlanders
The Buffalo Stabbing Festival is a central ritual for several ethnic minority groups in the Tay Nguyen, though it is becoming increasingly rare and controversial. Historically, it was a profound ceremony of thanksgiving to the Gods for a bountiful harvest and good health.
The festival’s non-ceremonial elements are spectacular: communal drinking from large jars of rượu cần (rice wine), incredible displays of Gong Music, and rhythmic circle dancing that lasts for days. Understanding this festival requires appreciating the deep, animistic connections these cultures have to the land, their ancestors, and their spiritual prosperity.
14. Khau Vai Love Market Festival
Every year in late March or early April, the Khau Vai Love Market Festival is an intriguing gathering of single people from all ethnic backgrounds looking for possible mates or rekindling of previous relationships. For the residents, this is a chance to rekindle past ties and create fresh ones—often resulting in marriages.
People from many ethnic groups—including the Tay, H’mong, and Giay—dress in traditional attire and assemble in the Khau Vai valley during the celebration. There is singing, dancing, and floral and gift-exchanging activity in the market. While traditional activities and ceremonies take place across the village, couples may meet, converse, and communicate their emotions via music.
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15. Gau Tao Festival
The Gau Tao Festival is a vivid cultural event, celebrated by the Mongol people in the northern parts of Vietnam, especially in Ha Giang. The religious beliefs and practices of the Mong people define the Gau Tao Festival fundamentally. It entails customs to respect ancestors’ spirits, guarantee good health, and inspire a rich year. Along with prayers and chants, attendees of the celebration assemble at the village center to offer rice, pork, and fruit.
Apart from the religious features, the Gau Tao Festival provides an opportunity for the society to gather and honor their common culture. Along with music, dancing, and traditional activities, the festival features The “Gau Tao” dance, performed by the residents in traditional attire, stands as the highlight of the celebration. The dance is said to bless luck and show thanks to the spirits.
>>> Exploring the Buckwheat Flower Festival in Ha Giang: A Stunning Natural Experience
16. Phu Giay Festival
Celebrated yearly in Phu Giay Temple, in the northern province of Nam Dinh, the Phu Giay Festival is among Vietnam’s most cherished spiritual celebrations. This celebration honors Queen Thiên Tiên, the goddess of the Phu Giay Temple, who is thought to have safeguarded the local population and guaranteed wealth in the area. This festival is a major cultural and religious gathering attracting pilgrims and visitors all throughout the nation.
Deep respect surrounds Phu Giay Temple, connected with the veneration of Queen Thiên Tiên, regarded as an embodiment of the goddess of mercy. Devotees hold the goddess to have blessed them with good fortune, money, and health. The celebration is an opportunity for people to come pray for blessings, show thanks, and get direction for next year.
National Public Holidays (Gregorian Calendar)
National Public Holidays (Gregorian Calendar) are essential for national rest, celebration, and planning for businesses, travelers, and citizens alike.
17. Reunification Day: A Day of National Pride
Reunification Day, observed annually on April 30th, is a monumental national holiday in Vietnam, commemorating the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975. This event marked the reunification of the country, bringing North and South Vietnam under a single government. While it may not feature the ancient rituals of the Lunar Festivals, this day is profoundly significant, representing peace, independence, and national unity.
In Ho Chi Minh City, parades with the military, government groups, and students wind through streets decorated with Vietnamese flags, accompanied by concerts and fireworks. The celebrations honor the nation’s history, unity, and resilience, giving travelers a vivid glimpse of modern Vietnamese identity and patriotic spirit. For the traveler, it offers a fascinating glimpse into modern Vietnamese identity and the state’s deep respect for its military and political history. You’ll feel the palpable energy of patriotism and the forward-looking spirit of the nation.
18. Independence Day
Vietnam Independence Day is observed every year on September 2nd. This is perhaps the most crucial political holiday, as it marks the day in 1945 when President Hồ Chí Minh read the Declaration of Independence in Hanoi’s Ba Đinh Square, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This event signaled the nation’s break from colonial rule and the dawn of a sovereign, independent state.
Massive parades involving the military, various governmental organizations, and students snake through the central streets. The streets are festooned with Vietnamese flags. It’s a time for reflection on the country’s history and a proud celebration of its collective strength and future. For the traveler, it offers a fascinating glimpse into modern Vietnamese identity and the state’s deep respect for its military and political history.
Vietnamese festivals combine rich cultural legacy of the country with modern ideas by fusing social celebration with old customs. From the energetic Tet celebrations to the calm Perfume Pagoda Festival, these activities honor heritage, deepen ties within the community, and draw international guests to feel Vietnam’s character.
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