Vietnamese New Year greeting cards are a must-have during Tet Nguyen Dan (Tet Festival), or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, one of Vietnam's most important holidays. 

Dragon and phoenix card designs are in demand as they are symbols of luck, wealth, and good fortune. Other designs, like flowers and fruits, are also popular choices.

You can choose from different types of Tet greeting cards, either simple and traditional or more modern and creative designs, like a video greeting card.

Personalize your Vietnamese New Year cards using an online greeting card generator. It allows you to add video messages of good luck and well-wishes for the New Year. 

In this ultimate guide, you'll learn standard Vietnamese New Year greetings, lucky Vietnamese tet gifts, and how to add personalized video messages to your greeting cards. 

What is Tet Nguyen Dan or Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Tet Nguyen Dan, also known as Vietnamese New Year, is a traditional holiday celebrated in Vietnam. It is usually celebrated on the first day of the first lunar month, between January and February, in the Gregorian calendar. 

Tet is a time for families to gather together, pay respects to ancestors, and celebrate the new year with food, decorations, and traditional customs. It is a time of renewal and is considered the most important holiday in Vietnam.

The celebrations typically last for several days and are marked by exchanging gifts, preparing special foods, and performing traditional rituals and ceremonies.

How do you wish someone a Happy Vietnamese New Year? 

Like any celebration, there are multiple ways to wish people a happy and prosperous year ahead. Here's a cool tip: Vietnamese locals say “Happy New Year” in two ways during Tet.

The most popular greetings are “Chúc mừng năm mới” and “Năm mới vui vẻ.” Both phrases translate to “Happy New Year.”

Chúc mừng năm mới 

Chúc mừng năm mới is a standard greeting exchanged during Tet, especially when visiting other people's homes. 

In Vietnamese, the word chúc means “to wish,” and mừng means “cheerful” or “joyous.” When combined, chúc mừng means “to congratulate.” 

While the word năm means “year,” and mới means “new.” When combined, they literally mean “new year.” 

This is a universal New Year's greeting that you can use to wish your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, or business associates a festive year ahead.

Năm mới vui vẻ 

Năm mới vui vẻ also means “Happy New Year” but in less fancy way than Chúc mừng năm mới. 

The phrase Năm mới means “new year,” and vui vẻ means “happy,” so when combined—you get it—the phrase means “Happy New Year.” 

Types of Vietnamese New Year greeting cards

No celebration is complete without greeting cards. Traditional paper greeting cards or something more modern, like a QR code with New Year's video messages on greeting cards, can make anyone cheerful this festive season.

Find a New Year's card that reflects your unique personality and charm. Here are the different types of Tet greeting cards you can choose from.

1. Classic red and gold paper greeting cards

In Vietnamese New Year traditions, red and yellow are considered lucky colors during Lunar New Year festivities. It signifies luck and happiness. 

You can go for traditional paper cards with red and gold. Flowers and plants are popular greeting card designs as they signify prosperity, health, and good fortune.

Classic greeting cards are universal. These are perfect for personal and professional acquaintances.

2. Personalized and DIY greeting cards

If you're the DIY type, you can create your own greeting cards using stationery materials.

Choose a lovely paper for your cards and embellish them with glitter, feathers, beads, or origami. You can also buy pre-made greeting cards to which you can add modifications.

Personalized cards show thoughts and efforts that special people in your life can appreciate. Gift these cards to your family and close friends. 

3. Video message greeting cards

So, do you want your cards to stand out? Reach a new level of personalization skills with video message greeting cards. You can give strangers, close friends, family, or workmates these cards to literally anyone! 

You can personalize your video message, and best of all, you can customize your cards.

For a modern touch, you can use a greeting card maker that embeds your video messages in a QR code for easy one-scan access. 

GiftLips creates FREE personalized video greeting card 

If you want to create a  video greeting card that's easy and, most importantly, *FREE*, try GiftLips.

GiftLips is an online greeting card generator that lets you add video messages to your greeting cards by embedding them in a QR code. 

No need to download apps, open websites, or type lengthy URLs. The videos will show with just one scan of a smartphone camera.

Tug at the heartstrings of everyone by adding sincere or fun video greetings for the new year. Greeting cards are more special when they are made with intention and effort. 

23 Greetings for your Vietnamese New Year cards

Any Lunar New Year celebration is only complete with wishes of good health, prosperity, wealth, and success.

Don't know what to say? Here are classic Vietnamese New Year card greetings you can try!

Common Vietnamese Spring Festival greetings you can use

Chúc mừng Năm Mới — Happy New Year

Cung chúc Tân Xuân — Best wishes for the coming of new spring

Năm mới, thắng lợi mới — New year, new victories (primarily heard in political speech)

Phát tài phát lộc — No money no honey (wish someone a good fortune)

Vạn sự như ý — May all your wishes become a reality

For kids

Chúc hay ăn chóng lớn — Eat a lot and grow up fast

Hay ăn chóng lớn — Eat frequently and grow quickly

Học hành tấn tới — Make excellent accomplishments in school

For prosperity and wealth

An khang thịnh vượng — Wishing you prosperity, security, and good health

Cung hỉ phát tài — Have a prosperous and happy new year 

Năm mới tấn tài tấn lộc — Wishing you a prosperous new year

Tiền vào nhu nước sông Đà, tiền ra nhỏ giọt như cà phê phin — May money come in like the water of the Da River, and come out in drips like filtered coffee

Tiền vô như nước — May money come in like water

For health

Dồi dào sức khỏe — Wishing you good health

Năm mới dồi dào sức khỏe — Wishing you good health and strength this new year

Năm mới toàn gia bình an — May the coming year bring good health and peace to all your family

Sống lâu trăm tuổi — Live a long life (used by children for elders)

Sức khỏe dồi dào — Wishing good health and strength

Tăng phúc tăng thọ — May you have more blessings and longevity

For success

Làm ăn phát tài — Wishing you prosperity for your business 

Làm ăn tấn tới — Wishing you success at work

Năm mới thăng quan tiến chức — Wishing for your New Year’s work promotion

For love

Chúc mau chóng tìm được người yêu — New love will come for you in the new year (for single people)

8 Lucky gift ideas you can pair with your video Tet greeting cards 

Gift-giving during Tet Nguyen Dan is one of the highlights of the celebration each year. People of all ages look forward to receiving presents, big or small. 

Your Vietnamese Spring Festival greeting cards will bring more luck when you pair them with lucky gifts. 

Still trying to figure out what Tet gifts to give? Try these 8 lucky gift ideas!

1. Lucky money

Traditional lucky money completes any Lunar New Year celebration.

Insert a few bills along with your greeting card in a red envelope. You can also choose designs like golden cats since 2023 is the year of the cat in the Vietnamese zodiac. Classic designs like golden plants and flowers are also popular.

2. Fruit basket

Another popular Vietnamese New Year gift idea is a fruit basket. They're colorful, healthy, and lucky! People give them as a symbol of renewal after the harsh winter and signify abundance in food, health, and wealth.

You can buy pre-made fruit baskets at department stores or make your own fruit baskets. Put lucky fruits like apples, pears, grapes, kiwis, oranges, pineapples, watermelons, melons, pomelo, and pineapples in a basket. Tie it with a red bow, and don't forget to add your personalized Tet greeting card.

3. Mut Tet tray

Tray of Mut Tet is a multi-cell tray, box, or container filled with candies, sugar-preserved fruits and vegetables, seeds, and nuts. You can buy an empty platter and let the recipient select their own treats or fill it with your choices of treats.

Mut Tet favorites include banana candy with ginger and peanuts, candied coconut meat strips, sugar-preserved tamarind, dried watermelon seeds, candied wax gourd, and candied ginger.

4. Feng shui lucky items

Feng shui is a traditional practice from Chinese culture that involves arranging objects in a way that is believed to promote positive energy, or chi, in a space.

You can opt for crystal ornaments, a water fountain, lucky bamboo plants, chimes, or Tibetan singing bowls. It's essential to consider the preferences and interests of the recipient when choosing an appropriate gift.

5. Coffee, tea, or wine

Enjoying hot tea with sweet treats or drinking wine while eating delicious foods on special occasions has been a tradition of the Vietnamese people. On the other hand, coffee was brought by the French to Vietnam. Today, the country is one of the top coffee producers.

You can give different choices of tea ranging from tea leaves, root, and flower teas. You can opt for locally produced or imported wines and spirits as gifts. Lastly, the best coffee gift choices are packs of coffee or roasted coffee beans.

6. Herbal products

Giving herbal and medicinal products during Spring Festival symbolizes wishes for good health and longevity. As the Vietnamese saying goes, “health is gold.” 

Some herbal products you can give are lingzhi mushrooms, ginsengs, dried abalones, salanganes, dried sea cucumbers, etc. These products come as drinks, tonics, tea, wine, alcohol, or dried preserves. 

7. Plants or flowers

Plants and flowers are also common gifts during Tet Festival. Yellow or golden flowers or trees like peach apricot trees, kumquat trees, pots of Tagetes, and other flowers should be brought to receivers' houses before Tet. 

During Tet, givers can opt for lighter and handier flowers like orchids. However, bunches or boxes of flowers are not recommended as gifts for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. You can choose artificial flowers instead, as receivers can use them for a long time.

8. Snacks and treats

Treats would make suitable gifts for Vietnamese New Year or Tet Nguyen Dan, like Banh chung, a savory cake made from glutinous rice, pork, and beans wrapped in banana leaves. Mooncakes are sweet or savory round pastries filled with lotus seed paste, red bean paste, or meat.

Traditional Vietnamese sweets such as dried fruit, coconut candies, and sesame candies are often given as gifts during Tet. In addition to these classic treats, consider giving more modern sweets such as chocolates, cookies, or cakes.

How to make free Vietnamese Lunar New Year greeting cards with video messages

You can make free Vietnamese Lunar New Year greeting cards in different ways. One way is to use a greeting card generator like GiftLips. Follow these steps to generate your own card for free.

1. Sign in to your GiftLips account or create a new one.

2. Choose a card design and write your message.

3. Click the Next Step button

4. Then, upload or add your video greetings to your card

5. Click Invite Friends to ask your friends to collaborate. This is optional.

6. Then, click Done and check the preview of your card before downloading

7. Finally, save and download your card

Note: You can print and mail your cards, send them via email, or chat online.

Send your Tet Nguyen Dan gits with a video greeting card 

Vietnamese New Year greeting cards have always been part of the Tet Nguyen Dan celebration. You can choose a simple text greeting card or a multimedia greeting card—like a video greeting card.

Send your gifts and wish your recipients good health, good fortune, and great success for the coming year through video messages with GiftLips!