Spring air is rushing to knock on the door of each house, creeping into everywhere in the country. Tet comes, all regions are eager and bustling to welcome the turn of heaven and earth. Each region and ethnic group has different ways to celebrate Tet. Here, let’s explore the unique New Year customs in Ha Giang with Compass Vietnam Travel! Will definitely bring you many surprises!
The door is tightly closed to welcome the new year: the unique Tet welcoming custom in Ha Giang of the Pa Then people
The unique New Year’s custom in Ha Giang is to close the door tightly and firmly at the time of welcoming the New Year’s Eve of the Pa Then people. This ethnic people has a very strange custom that is to worship a bowl of cold water to keep all year round on the family altar.
This water bowl must be covered, not to dry out. During the year, at the end of June, the new owner is allowed to open the lid to see if there is plenty of water to fill the bowl until Tet.
The Pa Then have the custom of worshiping a bowl of water
On the night of December 30 in the lunar calendar, all houses were closed, bolted. Main doors, windows, back doors, armpits, backdoors and open spaces must all be covered. After the doorways have been sealed, the homeowner will pick up the bowl of water on the altar to clean, scrub it clean and change to new water. After those steps, the New Year’s ritual was carried out.
On that same New Year’s Eve, the woman in the house will secretly cook a pot of chicken porridge for the whole family to enjoy. After eating chicken porridge, the owner will hold a ceremony to ask for new water to add to the worshiping bowl. Note that actions will have to be kept confidential, not exposed. According to the beliefs of the Pa Then, if the above job is revealed, the family will find it difficult to work for the whole year, and the children will be sick.
On the morning of the 1st of Tet, family members will carry a pistol in the side door, the back door will go to the yard to shoot 3 shots. When the explosion stopped, the people in the house opened all the doors to welcome the new year.
Ganh “silver water, golden water” to bless the new year in Ha Giang
The next unique Tet celebration in Ha Giang that we want to share with you is Ganh “silver water, golden water” of the Pu Peo ethnic group’s luck. This is an ethnic minority with the least population living in Ha Giang, currently just over 600 people. The Pu Peo people are most concentrated in Pho La (Dong Van), Sung Trang, and Phu Lung (Yen Minh) communes. There are a few communities living in Yen Cuong commune, Bac Me.
According to the memories of the elderly and some conceptions of the Pu Peo people, all human life and death in the world are determined by the gods of the high heavens. On the afternoon of January 30 of the lunar calendar, the Pu Peo ethnic group will perform a seance ceremony for family members.
They think that, after a year of hard work and a lot of traveling, the soul will be dispersed in many places. Therefore, before the end of the year, we will need to gather our souls to gather for New Year’s Eve and pray for a better new year. 
The Pu Peo ethnic group
In addition to the gods, the spirits of ancestors will also have a profound impact on the lives of families. Therefore, Pu Peo people are obliged to worship their ancestors in the house. On the altar, many people will not place god or god but will place small jars, one that will symbolize an ancestral life.
When conducting the rituals, the Pu Peo people always prepare 2 worshiping trays, one for the outer ghost, the lower one, and the other for the ancestors. The offerings will be offered twice, once before meat, once after cooking.
Especially in the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, women of Pu Peo ethnic group will join each other to carry “silver water, golden water” to pray for rain, good luck and good crops. During the 3 days of Tet, they will prohibit washing dishes and chopsticks when they are finished eating but will use paper to wipe them because if the Tet holiday, the dishes and chopsticks are washed, the whole year will not eat.
Black and white banh chung for the old and the new year
The ethnic Pu Peo Ha Giang also has a rather strange Tet celebration. According to their conception, banh chung and spring water are two extremely sacred things, indispensable in Tet celebrations. Their Tet ceremony will usually take place in 3 days: 29, 30 and 1st. On the following days, they will go to celebrate and visit.
On the evening of the 29th Tet, the Pu Peo ethnic people will sit together and pack the black banh chung to worship the old year. The cake still includes sticky rice, dong leaves, and bean paste, but will be dyed in black soaked in forest leaves.
The cake will have black beans, black sesame. The cake is cooked in the night to worship the old year on the morning of the 30th New Year, when the chicken crows. Because they believe that will remove all the bad luck of the old year. 
Black banh chung
On the night of the 30th Tet, people eagerly wrapped the white banh chung, including green beans, white beans, white sticky rice. The banh chung is boiled and picked out at the time when the chicken crows to worship the ancestors to welcome a new year. Pu Peo people believe that the white banh chung will bring a lot of luck and longevity for the whole year. 
Ethnic people in Ha Giang pack white banh chung
Robbing chicken voice on New Year’s day of the Pu Peo people
The unique New Year’s custom in Ha Giang cannot help but learn that it is the voice of a chicken crowing. The Pu Peo Ha Giang people on Tet’s day think that the sound of a chicken crowing is a sacred, beautiful sound.
Therefore, on New Year’s Day, they will watch the rooster when preparing to the back of the cage, they will use a cannon to throw at the chicken coop, startling them and race to crowing. At this time, many people will shout loudly in order to drown out the lucky chicken crowing. If anyone can scream to overwhelm the chicken, there will be a lot of luck and happiness in the new year. 
Customs robbed of chickens
Men of Ha Giang Mong have to get up early to cook rice on Tet
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the man in the Hmong in Ha Giang will have to wake up very early to cook rice and clean the house because women have been doing this for a year. Mong people believe that a son is the fulcrum of the whole family, so all housework must have the highest responsibility. However, one thing to note is that when you wake up early, you will not be called to each other because if you do, it will wake up the insects to destroy the crops. 
On the morning of the first day of the new year, Mong men have to get up early to cook and do housework
The unique New Year’s custom in Ha Giang is indispensable to “clap the butt on Tet”
Butt-clapping seems to be quite an indecent act, but this is a unique Tet-welcoming custom in Ha Giang . In the bustling spring air, every street is filled with flowers and colorful dresses. According to ancient custom, the boys and girls of the Mong ethnic group will eagerly go to find the empty land at the foot of the mountain to confide and have fun.
They will usually follow a large group of people, meet to greet and praise. Strong boys dressed in colorful clothes show their manly bravery through activities such as dancing, tug of war, pushing sticks, … Highland girls will be shy to sing charming songs. .
Clap on New Year’s Day
When glances found the other, the girls automatically split the crowd waiting for their loved one. At that time, the boys will approach, clap the girls’ buttocks with their hands and let out sweet words. If the girl agrees, she will pat the boy’s butt again. Just like that, the boys and girls just went out and slapped each other back and forth, exchanging words of love until 9 times, the two sides agreed to love each other. After that, the couples will hold hands to find a place to date, send love and promise.
This is a unique way of confession of ethnic people in Ha Giang
If you are traveling during the Lunar New Year in Dong Van rocky plateau , learn a little about the unique New Year’s customs in Ha Giang so that you can easily integrate and make your spring trip so complete. perfect and complete.