Located in the heart of the capital, Ngoc Ha is one of the ancient villages that formed part of the Thap Tam Trai, the 13 traditional villages surrounding the imperial citadel of Thang Long. Despite rapid urbanisation, many long-time residents say the village’s Tet traditions remain deeply rooted in family life.
For Nguyen Ngoc Thang, who was born and raised in Ngoc Ha, preparations began after the Kitchen Gods’ Day on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. From then on, households gathered to wrap bánh chưng – Vietnam’s square sticky rice cake symbolising the earth – and prepare homemade dishes for the holiday.
The most cherished memories, he says, were the nights between the 25th and 27th of the lunar month, when relatives stayed up together to watch over the simmering pots. Stories of the past year were shared beside crackling firewood as children waited eagerly for the cakes to finish cooking after 14 hours over an open flame.
The cakes were made with care: premium sticky rice, carefully selected dong leaves and slow boiling to preserve flavour. They were served with braised pork or fish, alongside homemade biscuits baked in charcoal ovens. Every dish carried both culinary precision and spiritual meaning, prepared as offerings for ancestors.
Ngoc Ha’s Tet customs reflected long-standing Hanoi traditions. On Lunar New Year’s Eve, families conducted ancestral rites at home before walking to the communal house to pay respects to the village guardian deity. On the first morning of the new year, many visited Nui Nung in nearby Bach Thao Park (Botanical Garden) to offer incense at the temple dedicated to Huyen Thien Hac De, revered locally as the village’s tutelary god. The second day was reserved for visits to One Pillar Pagoda to pray for peace and prosperity.
Decoration is modest yet refined. With flower gardens once surrounding nearly every home, families simply brought fresh blooms indoors, filling ancestral altars with the colours of spring. Traditional Hanoi Tet feasts followed the “four bowls, eight plates” structure, requiring balance, subtle flavours and meticulous presentation.
Urban development has gradually replaced many of Ngoc Ha’s historic flower fields with modern housing. New residents have arrived, and the pace of city life has quickened. Yet long-time villagers say the essence of Tet has not disappeared.
For Thang, memories of washing leaves at public water pumps, receiving lucky money from grandparents and gathering for the first New Year’s greetings remain a treasured part of his identity. The sacred moment after midnight on Lunar New Year’s Eve, when extended families reunite before stepping out to welcome the spring air, continues to define the holiday.
Today, he teaches his children to prepare traditional Tet dishes by hand, emphasising that the holiday is a time for reunion and honouring ancestors rather than adopting Western culinary trends. “Tet is about returning to our roots,” he says. “That is what makes it truly Lunar New Year.”
As Hanoi continues to modernise, Ngoc Ha stands as a reminder that beyond the city’s rapid transformation, the quiet warmth of ancestral customs still shapes the spirit of Tet.
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