According to Vietnamese traditions, the first, second, and third days of Tết are reserved for one’s paternal family, maternal family, and teacher’s family, respectively.
This is perhaps the most typical Tết schedule for visitations for most Vietnamese. For my household, however, before we make the trek to my dad or mom’s family, there’s a ritual that we must complete — visiting 10 temples to pray for happiness on mùng một, the first day of the lunar new year.
I’m uncertain about where this yearly custom originated. When asked, my mother’s explanation is also quite vague: “I heard people say that visiting 10 temples on the first day is very good for a family’s peace in a new year.” Historical sources share that this tradition is called “du xuân thập tự,” with “du xuân” meaning “spring journey” while “thập tự” referring to the 10 temples. Every mùng một, it’s like we all have entered a race against time to squeeze in 10 temples in our outing, trying to meet a KPI set by the deities.
Historically, Vietnamese have placed great importance on the visitation of temples and pagodas at the beginning of the year to seek peace, good health, and prosperity for themselves and their families. These pilgrimages are also a great occasion to find inner peace, put aside worries, and focus on doing good deeds. Apart from lighting incense and providing offerings, Vietnamese people participate in festivities like asking for blessings, calligraphy, or plucking young tree buds.
Each year, to meet the quota of 10 temples, we always have to devise a meticulous itinerary right from the last days of lunar December. This planning stage is just as elaborate as mapping out a three-day, two-night trip. Usually, I am tasked with optimizing our journey. I am admittedly not that great at mathematics but am well-versed in Google Maps, so my mom entrusts me with these crucial steps: determining our starting time, the order of temples, time spent at each location, etc. Which temples to visit often depends on our personal preferences and the locations of our homes. My mom’s taste in temples is quite eclectic, ranging from majestic, historically significant temples to tiny, lesser-known shrines near where we live.
When mùng một comes, we dress up in our finest Tết garbs and make sure to complete all home-based rituals — like midnight altar offerings and well-wishing exchanges — before 8am, in hopes of finishing our itinerary before succumbing to the noon sun. Much of the trip is spent traveling from one stop to another, even though visitations usually don’t take more than 15 minutes each.
If I said I entirely revel in spending most of my mùng một morning under the heat as we ferret from one temple to another, I’d probably be lying. Still, I’m not against doing this with my family every year. After all, the typical Saigoneer’s Tết, my family's included, is relatively simple and doesn’t consist of large family gatherings, so I view this as a chance to travel and bond with my parents.
Sometimes I wonder if visiting all 10 temples would mean that my luck for the year would increase 10-fold, but at the end of the day, I don’t think I can ever be objective enough to test that hypothesis. After all, isn’t it human nature to remember bad times more than good times?
All told, if I ever have the chance to develop this tradition, passing it down to my own children and grandchildren, I will spread the temple visits evenly across the first three days instead of just one day, or even reduce the number of stops by only visiting the major temples. My mom often says: “Giàu sang tại số, phú quý tại trời” (Fortune is destined by fate, prosperity is the work of the heaven). So I’m comfortable with letting the gods determine my luck — having my fortune increase by just 5 times is more than enough.
To me, during these Tết days, being lucky simply means being able to celebrate a wholesome and eventless new year with my family, and having the chance to rest up to get ready for whatever the year ahead holds.
