The Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka on Jan. 22 hosted a get-together to welcome the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival in the capital city of Colombo.

Most tourist sites in Ho Chi Minh City have hosted a wide range of activities with a view to bringing joy and happiness to visitors during the New Year.

The Dragon, in the Vietnamese belief system is a supernatural creature closely associated with Vietnamese people’s lives. 

Reporter: What was the main point of USAID – Vietnamese cooperation in 2011?

 The foreign non-governmental organisation (NGO) community in Vietnam pledges to continue working together with the country in its national development, said an NGO official.

Many Binh Duong people have been attracted by an over 100 year-old yellow apricot tree, being exhibited at Friendship Coffee Shop in Phu Cuong ward, Thu Dau Mot town. The ancient yellow apricot tree is from the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho and has been taken care by an artisan for over 60 years. The Friendship Coffee Shop’s owner is a yellow apricot-lover and annually arrives in Can Tho to contemplate this ancient yellow apricot tree. In this year’s Spring, the artisan grants the ancient yellow apricot tree to the coffee shop’s owner.

This statement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan at an inauguration meeting in Hanoi on January 17.

Cultural activities prior to and after Tet holiday will be held at the venue of Provincial Culture Center to meet entertaining and leisure time demands of people in the season.  A banner flies high as greeting on one street

In the afternoon of January 17, Mr. Pham Van Canh – Chairman of Fatherland Front Committee, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son – Director of Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and representatives from sectors and agencies visited heroic mother Nguyen Thi Thao, 87, residing at Chanh Nghia Ward, Thu Dau Mot Town who is mother to 3 martyrs in resistance war against US army and martyr’s mother Nguyen Thi Dinh, 82, residing at Phu My, Thu Dau Mot Town. Mr. Pham Van Canh offers gift to heroic mother Nguyen Thi Thao

TDM town’s Labor Union has always paid attention to taking care of laborers’ lives, especially on the traditional Tet holiday, aiming to help them keep their mind on work and have a strong attachment to businesses…

Provincial Red Cross Society and donors, on Jan.17, visited and presented around 400 Tet gifts worth VND150mln to blind people in Ben Cat district, poor people in TDM town’s Tuong Binh Hiep commune, Dinh Hoa ward and provincial Center for Lonely Elderly People.

On the occasion of the 2012 Tet (lunar New Year) holiday, Tan Uyen district visited and presented 967 gifts worth VND847.3mln together with 77 saving books of VND38.5mln to policy beneficiaries. The district also built 6 gratitude houses and donated 26 sets of TVs to these people. Binh Duong-based Vietcombank branch presenting Tet gifts to poor children in Tan Uyen district’s Lac An commune

To bring joy of traditional Tet holiday for privileged and poor families across the province, all level agencies and mass bodies have positively paid gift visits to the families.   significant gifts are given to the poor on Tet holiday.

The opening ceremony of the 2012 Spring Newspaper Festival took place at the provincial Library on Jan. 17. The festival 2012 has taken place from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7 with many plentiful activities such as newspaper exhibition, electric bulletins, legendary film presentation for children, book and photo exhibition and among others.  readers join in 2012 Spring Newspaper Festival.