Vietnam
Vietnam observes 11 federal public holidays anchored on both the Gregorian and lunar calendars. Tet (Lunar New Year) is the heaviest observance cluster, with 5-6 official days off and de facto observance of 7-10 days. The Hung Kings Commemoration is the country's ancestral-founder festival and a unique fixed-date lunar observance on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month.
Federal public holidays (11)
- New Year's Day - January 1 (Gregorian)
- Tet (Lunar New Year) - 5 days, lunar
- Hung Kings Commemoration - 10th day, 3rd lunar month
- Reunification Day - April 30
- Labour Day - May 1
- National Day - September 2
How the Vietnamese holiday calendar works
Vietnam's federal holiday calendar is set by the Office of the Government under the Labour Code and revised periodically. The 11 gazetted days include 5 days for Tet, 1 day for Hung Kings, 1 day for New Year's Day, and 4 days for the Gregorian-civic observances (Reunification Day, Labour Day, National Day). The lunar dates shift earlier by 10-11 days each year. If a federal holiday falls on a weekend, the following Monday is typically designated as a substitute day off.
The cumulative federal total of 11 days is supplemented by employer practice, with many Vietnamese companies closing for the entire Tet week (typically 7 days) and the Reunification Day / Labour Day 4-day weekend. The Hung Kings Commemoration, when it falls mid-week, is a single paid day off but generates significant pilgrimage traffic to the Hung Kings Temple in Phu Tho province.
Tet and the lunar calendar
Tet (Tết Nguyên Đán) is the most important holiday of the Vietnamese calendar. The official 5-day public holiday is the day before Tet, the day of Tet, and 3 days after. De facto observance extends to 7-10 days as migrant workers return to family homes and offices close for the week. Tet features family reunions (the highest priority), ancestor veneration at home altars, the giving of lì xì (red envelopes of lucky money), and the preparation and consumption of banh tet (cylindrical sticky rice cakes) and banh chung (square sticky rice cakes). The first person to enter a house on Tet morning is regarded as the harbinger of the year's fortune.
Religious and secular composition
Vietnam is officially atheist or non-religious under the communist government's registration framework, but in practice the population is approximately 45% folk-religion (Viet traditional, ancestor veneration), 20% Buddhist, 8% Catholic, 1% Protestant, and the remainder unaffiliated (Government Committee for Religious Affairs estimates). The federal holiday calendar reflects this composition indirectly: ancestor veneration is the core of Tet, the Hung Kings Commemoration is a folk-religious observance, and the Gregorian-civic days (Reunification Day, Labour Day, National Day) are secular. There is no explicit religious-observance public holiday for Buddhism, Catholicism, or other organized religions.
Peak months and observance patterns
The heaviest single stretch is Tet, which falls in late January or February and produces 5-6 official days off plus 2-4 additional de facto days. The second cluster is the Hung Kings Commemoration in the 3rd lunar month (typically March-April), which is a single paid day off but generates significant pilgrimage to Phu Tho. The third cluster is the Reunification Day / Labour Day 4-day weekend on April 30 - May 1. The National Day observance on September 2 is a single paid day. The New Year's Day observance on January 1 is a single paid day but is dwarfed by the adjacent Tet cluster.
Where the holidays come from culturally
The Vietnamese holiday calendar reflects four historical layers. Layer 1 (pre-1945): the pre-colonial Vietnamese calendar was a Sino-Vietnamese lunar calendar with Tet as the principal observance and the Hung Kings Commemoration as the ancestral rite. Layer 2 (1945-1975): the post-independence Democratic Republic of Vietnam added Labour Day (May 1) as a federal holiday. Layer 3 (1975-present): the reunified Socialist Republic added Reunification Day (April 30) and consolidated the Tet and Hung Kings observances. Layer 4 (2007-present): the expanded holiday framework added the Hung Kings Commemoration as a federal holiday in 2007. The pattern is Sino-Vietnamese folk-religious base with communist-state civic overlay.
Work and pay rules
Under the Labour Code of Vietnam, federal employees receive paid time off for the 11 gazetted holidays. Private sector practice varies, with most large employers following the federal gazette. Working on a federal holiday requires 300% of the regular daily rate. The 11-day federal calendar is supplemented by 12 days of annual leave, plus the de facto Tet week closure, producing a typical time-off envelope of 20-25 days per year.
Comparison with neighboring countries
Compared with China's 7-11 public holidays (depending on Tet substitution), Vietnam has a similar count with a stronger emphasis on the Hung Kings ancestral observance. Compared with Thailand's 14-19 public holidays, Vietnam has fewer. Compared with Cambodia's 20+ public holidays, Vietnam has significantly fewer. Compared with Laos, Vietnam has more. The most distinctive Vietnamese feature is the Hung Kings Commemoration, which has no direct equivalent in any other Southeast Asian national calendar.
Calendar cycles 2026-2028
New Year's Day (January 1), Reunification Day (April 30), Labour Day (May 1), and National Day (September 2) are fixed-date. Tet shifts earlier by 10-11 days each year. In 2026, Tet falls on February 17 (Year of the Horse), so the public holiday is February 14-18. In 2027, Tet is February 6 (Year of the Goat), with the public holiday February 3-7. In 2028, Tet is January 27 (Year of the Monkey), with the public holiday January 24-28. The Hung Kings Commemoration shifts with the lunar calendar; in 2026 it is March 28, in 2027 March 17, and in 2028 March 5.
Major holiday briefs on this page
Each of the holidays discussed on this regional overview has a full standalone brief covering its origins, observance practices, and modern controversy:
- New Year's Day - January 1
- Tet / Lunar New Year
- Hung Kings Commemoration
- Reunification / Labour Day - April 30 / May 1
- National Day - September 2
- Mid-Autumn Festival