The Lantern Festival, or Tet Nguyen Tieu, has turned Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinese Vietnamese community area into a living tapestry. This year, a lively mix of old traditions and new ideas brought thousands of people onto the streets. The “Anh Vu Ca” dance company and a symbolic “Cavalry” procession added a lively, modern touch to the festival, which was more than just the usual glow of lanterns.
Tet Nguyen Tieu is famed for its beautiful decorations, but there is also an unexpected layer of innovation that brought fresh life to the tradition. Anh Vu Ca, made up of lively young men and women in bright costumes, brought new energy to the stage. Their faces were painted to look like famous people like Guan Yu or funny parrots, and their dance moves flowed into spiritual space. At the same time, the Cavalry marched with fake horses. This was a smart and artistic way to commemorate the zodiac animal of the year without getting in the way of the busy lives of people in cities.
The Chinese Vietnamese community, which is largely made up of ethnic Chinese people from Guangdong in China, brought their culture and traditions to this southern part of the country. This year’s festival, which took place from the 13th to the 15th day of the first lunar month (March 1 to 3), was more than just a time to pray for peace. It was an important link between generations. It is a time when descendants remember their ancestors in the middle of the fast-paced life of the city.
The crowds around the Ba Thien Hau Temple, Nghia An Assembly Hall, and Tue Thanh Assembly Hall were larger than in previous years. From dawn to sunset, the loud sound of dance drums mixed with the loud laughing of residents and an increasing number of tourists from around the world.
This year, Anh Vu Ca went beyond the stiff, martial-arts-inspired steps of traditional dances and brought choreography full of life that was nonetheless polished enough to show respect for the temples.
The performers wore beautiful costumes and painted their faces to look like cultural icons, from the majestic, red-faced Guan Yu to the playful, brilliantly colored parrots. They moved in time with a “folk-electronica” soundtrack, twirling feather fans and brandishing prop Green Dragon Crescent Blades. Then they switched to the funny “chattering” gestures of parrots.
Gen Z fans were especially active, filming clips for TikTok or YouTube. The crowd cheered loudly.
The Cavalry procession was another amazing part. Since this is the Year of the Horse, the organizers wanted to honor the zodiac sign in most of Asia without having to deal with the hassle of importing live animals into the little space of former District 5 of HCMC.
The answer was clever: “Cavalrymen” wore complex, handmade horse frames made of synthetic materials that let them “ride” while they walked. Some of these fake horses were also put on slow-moving vehicles in the parade, making for a beautiful display. The warriors wore scarlet armor with gold thread embroidery and carried long spears. Their “mounts” were over a meter tall and had tails that waved in the breeze. The procession took over the middle of the road and went on for hundreds of meters.
Even with these new things, the event still has its old character. The palanquin parade, which had thousands of people in traditional dress, was still the main event. There was a lot of noise from drums and gongs as ornate altars were moved from different gathering halls to the Ba Thien Hau Temple.
The “Thinh chu vi” ceremony, a call for gods to come to the celebrations and bless the community and the country, was done with care. Offering fruit, cakes, and flowers was a sign of piety because they were carefully made. The ritual leader yelled orders in Chinese while everyone else knelt at the same time.
Tet Nguyen Tieu is not an old event anymore; it is a modern festival where old and new come together. People from other countries who posted about their “Lantern Festival” experiences on social media have helped turn this hidden jewel into a global attraction, where the past, present, and future all come together in a bright light.
