Basic HTML Version
timeout
8
V
o Tong Xuan, former dean of
An Giang University, was one
of the first scholars to float the
idea of shifting Tet seven years
ago. He believes doing so has many ad-
vantages for people and that Tet takes
up too much time: “Vietnam should use
every minute to catch up with other
countries and achieve a higher living
standard,” he said.
He also points out that while Vi-
etnamese people are enjoying their
drawn-out Tet holiday, the stock mar-
kets of Tokyo, New York and London
are in operation.
If Vietnamese people celebrate the
New Year with the West, Xuan argues
that all of the activities would take
place at the same time and everything
would go back to normal afterwards in
a timely manner.
“In the international market, min-
utes make a difference and bring gold-
en opportunities. That’s why we should
consider this,” added Xuan.
Professor Nguyen Anh Tri of the
National Institute of Hematology and
Blood Transfusion agrees that the
change offers benefits, with no loss of
Tet’s traditional characteristics.
He points out that while the west-
ern New Year is celebrated for just
one day, the traditional Tet holiday
runs for around 10 days. “In order to
be in line with the world, we should
enjoy the western New Year for seven
days from Christmas until New Year,
and only take three days for Tet,”
he suggested.
There are calls from some quarters for Vietnam to celebrate its most treasured
festival, Tet, at the same time as the Gregorian New Year.
Bich Ngoc
spoke to a
range of leading scholars to canvass opinion on the potential change.
BREAKING SACRED
TRADITION
SOCIETY AT LARGE