Nguyen Van Hoc and his family live in Hanoi. But when Tet comes, they all return to their home village to celebrate the New Year. Before visiting their relatives, Hoc and his family members to the Nguyen clan worshipping house to pay tribute to their ancestors and also to honor their family tradition. Ngoc said: “Tet is a good opportunity for us to pay tribute to our ancestors and to learn more about our family traditions and the culture of the home village. I always return home with my wife and children to celebrate the Lunar New Year and to pray to our ancestors for happiness and good luck”.

In recent years, many family clans have upgraded or built their clan worshiping houses and compiled family records. Ancestor worshiping rituals have been practiced traditionally. They have also set up Clan Executive Committees to take care of promoting education and family tradition, and other activities within the family. Nguyen Van Thu, Head of the Nguyen Clan in Phu Tho said: “Vietnamese people honor their roots by worshipping their ancestors and treasuring family traditions. During the ancestors’ death anniversaries and traditional lunar New Year, standing in front of the ancestors’ altar, every Vietnamese person feels proud of their family”.

In the context of international cultural integration, preserving and promoting clan culture is a way to safeguard national tradition. Nguyen Van Hoc says promoting family tradition and clan culture will connect family members: “Each person should honor their clan and their family tradition so that they can be better aware of their nation. They should know about their ancestors. The Lunar New Year festival is a good occasion for family reunions”.

Clan culture is part of Vietnam’s rural culture. Tet is an occasion for these reunions and an occasion to honor and disseminate family tradition. For thousands of years, clan culture has been an important factor of village life and enriches Vietnamese cultural values.