Tet becomes a home away from home for international students

THE HANOI TIMES — Tet (the Lunar New Year) has unfolded as more than a family reunion for Vietnamese households, blossoming into a season of shared warmth and quiet belonging for many international students in Vietnam - a deeply personal journey into the country’s traditions, non-materials and sense of belonging.

From intimate family living rooms to university dormitories, the Lunar New Year has revealed itself in vivid colors and layered meanings, leaving lasting impressions on young people far from home.

Discovering the heart of Tet

For Patience Adefolahan Adesominu, a 21-year-old nursing student at VinUniversity, Tet holds a sacred meaning that goes far beyond being a public holiday, she told Hanoimoi.

Before coming to Vietnam, she had heard about Lunar New Year celebrations in some Asian countries, but she did not really understand the Vietnamese version or know that people call it “Tet.” At first, she thought it was just another New Year celebrated on a different calendar.

That perception shifted once she experienced it firsthand.

Through family gatherings, traditional rituals and community celebrations, Patience came to see Tet as a moment shaped by gratitude, remembrance and renewal. It was not only the turning of a calendar page but also a time when family bonds were reaffirmed and cultural traditions carefully preserved.

In her first year in Vietnam, she mostly observed from a distance, watching cities empty as people returned to their hometowns and seeing streets burst into color with flowers and festive decorations. By her second and third years, she began to participate more actively, gradually grasping the emotional depth behind the celebrations.

The university played a key role in that journey. Campus spaces were decorated in spring motifs, and international students were introduced to customs such as lucky money envelopes. However, the “VinUni Welcome Home” program is the most meaningful for Patience, as it allowed her to celebrate Tet with a Vietnamese host family.

It was in that home setting that she felt what she calls the “heart” of Tet - a living tradition passed down through generations.

While preparing for the holiday, she learned about the Kitchen Gods ceremony, ancestral offerings, and ritual prayers, and even took part in the symbolic burning of votive papers.

She also developed a taste for banh chung, gio lua and pickled onions, discovering that each dish carried not only distinctive flavors but also its own story and symbolism.

During Tet 2026, Patience once again spent time with her host family and joined crowds in central Hanoi to admire the spring atmosphere. Dressed in traditional attire, she embraced the celebration with confidence and reflection, expressing hopes for peace, fulfillment and progress in the year ahead.

Tet across regions and experiences

If Patience’s story centers on family immersion, Souphin’s Tet journey reflects a different path - one shaped by distance, resilience and exploration.

Souphin, an engineering student on water resources at Thuy Loi University, is spending her third Tet in Vietnam. However, this year, she is the only international student remaining in her dormitory during the holiday, a circumstance that has made the season feel more solitary.

In previous years, the university had presented her with traditional Tet gifts such as banh chung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake), gio (Vietnamese steamed pork sausage), candied fruits and lucky money.

For Souphin, these gestures represented more than seasonal offerings but expressions of care from lecturers and administrators toward students far from their families.

Her first Vietnamese Tet was in 2019, when she celebrated with a friend’s family in the northern province of Hung Yen. She still recalls the moment when relatives gathered for the New Year’s Eve meal, lowered the ancestral offerings and visited pagodas to pray for good fortune.

On the first morning of the new year, she accompanied her friend to visit extended family members, receiving warm welcomes and generous servings of traditional dishes. Those early impressions left a lasting mark on her.

In 2024, she and other Lao students who remained on campus visited Thay Pagoda on the outskirts of Hanoi, continuing to explore Vietnam’s cultural landscape. However, this year, with most friends having returned home, homesickness became more pronounced, especially since Laos celebrates its own New Year in April with water-splashing rituals and temple visits.

Determined not to let loneliness define the holiday, Souphin created her own Tet plan. She strolled through Thong Nhat Park, admired flower stalls and absorbed the festive energy of Hanoi’s streets. She also traveled to the central province of Nghe An to celebrate with a friend’s family, a journey that enriched her understanding of Tet in another region of the country.

Coming from a family of nine siblings in Laos and studying in Vietnam on a full scholarship, Souphin can only afford to return home once a year during summer break due to travel time and costs. Therefore, the attention she receives during Tet carries particular emotional weight.

After graduation, her memories of Tet in Vietnam will remain closely tied to the kindness she experienced.

Together, the stories of Patience and Souphin illustrate how Tet becomes, for international students, not simply a traditional holiday but an entry point into Vietnam’s cultural identity and social values.

Universities as cultural bridges

Recognizing that many students remain in Vietnam during the holiday, universities nationwide have organized programs to ensure they feel included in the celebrations.

At the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) under Vietnam National University (VNU - Hanoi), members of the Faculty of Vietnamese & Southeast Asian Language and Culture visited dormitories to extend New Year greetings and gifts to international students staying on campus.

The ULIS said on its website that many from Japan, South Korea, China and the United States chose to remain in Vietnam specifically to experience Tet firsthand. Teachers introduced the symbolism of the traditional holiday meal, creating conversations that bridged culinary traditions and cultural perspectives.

At Ho Chi Minh City Open University, students took part in the “Huong sac Tet Viet” music exchange at the Ao Dai Museum, where they learned about traditional dress, practiced calligraphy, crafted folk toys and engaged in cultural dialogue.

Volunteer activities such as supporting disadvantaged children and community tree planting further connected students to the spirit of sharing associated with the season.

Similar initiatives took place at Ton Duc Thang University and Hong Bang International University, where programs titled “Happy Tet Away from Home - Spring Binh Ngo 2026” provided opportunities for international students to gather, receive gifts and share year-end reflections in a warm setting.

The universities’ leaders emphasized that such events reflect an educational environment rooted in empathy and connection.

From family homes to lecture halls,  Tet in Vietnam has thus become a cultural bridge. For international students, it is no longer a distant tradition observed from afar, but a lived experience shaped by shared meals, rituals and human connection.

In that shared space, Tet reveals its quiet power, as it’s not only a celebration of spring but a season of understanding that transcends borders.