The Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival kicked off in Gia Vien district of the northern mountainous province of Ninh Binh on January 30, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyễn Thiễn Nhân has extended best wishes to religious dignitaries and followers in the city on the occasion of the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which starts this weekend (January 25).

The Ho Chi Minh City authorities held a ceremony on January 21 to offer the traditional banh Tet (round glutinous rice cake) to Hung Kings, the legendary founders of the nation, at Thuong (Upper) Temple at the National Historical and Cultural Park.

Tay Ninh provincial Commission for Mass Mobilization hosted on January 20 a visiting delegation from the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECVN) led by Pastor Vice President of the church Nguyễn Hữu Bình ahead of Lunar New Year (Tet) 2020.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Committee in Bac Ninh province and the provincial Committee for Religious Affairs organized a charitable program for disadvantaged people in the province on January 13-16, ahead of the traditional Lunar New Year 2020.

Chairman of Gia Lai provincial Committee for Religious Affairs Hồ Hải Tần received on January 17 a delegation from the management board of An Khe Catholic parish ahead of the traditional New Year (Tet) 2020.

A delegation of over 100 overseas Vietnamese (OVs) offered incense to Kings of the Ly Dynasty at the Do temple in Tu Son township, the northern province of Bac Ninh on January 18, as part of the “Homeland Spring 2020” programme.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and a delegation of incumbent and former Party and State leaders offered incense at a temple dedicated to late President Ho Chi Minh on Ba Vi mountain in Hanoi on January 18.

Minister of Home Affairs Lê Vĩnh Tân hosted a reception of policy benefitiaries under the home affairs ministry on occasion of the Vietnam’s traditional New Year (Tet) 2020.

Visiting pagodas during the traditional New Year is a popular practice of majority of Vietnamese people. However, the press and public opinion have recently pointed out some activities that have gone beyond the limit.

A delegation of the executive committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s chapter in Kien Giang visited the provincial Party Committee on occasion of the traditional New Year of the Rat 2020.

The executive board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s chapter in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan District reviewed its Buddhist affairs 2019 and outlined working programs for 2020 at a meeting held on January 15 in Long Thanh Temple.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) should contribute to strengthening the national unity and making Vietnam a greater nation in the coming time, said Head of the Party Central Committee’s Mass Mobilisation Commission Trương Thị Mai on January 16.

The Hue Imperial Citadel in the central province of Thua-Thien Hue will be glowing with the atmosphere of traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet) from January 17 – 31.

Dignitaries of reliogious organizations, together with outstanding artists and intellectuals in Hanoi, have participated in an exchange meeting held by the municipal government of Hanoi on January 9 ahead of the traditional New Year 2020.