The 2024 Lunar New Year, known as “Tết in Vietnam, began on Saturday, February 10. Tết is short for Tết Nguyên Đán” which, translates as, “Festival of the First Day”
One of the prettiest traditions for celebrating the Lunar New Year in Saigon is the proliferation of flower markets. All over the city, local florists set out thousands of pots of flowers and trees in city parks, and in pop-up shops along streets. Folks from the Mekong Delta bring boats of flowers up the Saigon River and dock in some of the canals creating “floating flower markets.” All pots and plants are for sale, and we regularly saw folks on motorbikes with huge pots of flowers or trees driving down the streets.
Celebrations for 2024 are in the rearview mirror and most of the vendors have taken whatever didn’t sell back to their shops. But I didn’t want to let the opportunity to showcase this beautiful tradition without posting some pictures, which, trust me, does not do it justice.
Enjoy!
Flower markets set up along streets and in parks all over Saigon, create a rainbow of color at every turn