Vietnamese New Year starts the Year of the Cat. Here's what that means

Vietnamese New Year is upon us. Technically, the Vietnamese New Year, aka Tết, is January 22 but Seattle's Vietnamese community is hosting a celebration this weekend.

Seattle's Tết will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Seattle Center, Jan. 14-15. Expect to see food, vendors, live music, crafts, and a spelling bee. There will also be appearances by singers Ánh Minh and Hà Thanh Xuân.

Admission is free. This is the 27th year that Seattle has celebrated Tết. More information here.

Tết is similar to the Chinese New Year in that it is based on a lunar calendar, which is why it occurs on a different date each year. Vietnamese culture has its own zodiac, too, that differs from the Chinese zodiac with a few different creatures. This January marks the start of the Year of the Cat in the Vietnamese zodiac (we are exiting the 2022 Year of the Tiger). Next Tết in 2024 will start the Year of the Dragon.

Other years of the cat include 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, and 2011. If you're born in a year of the cat, you're said to be realistic, sensitive, peaceful, intelligent, and artistic.

There are some traditions associated with the holiday, such as having a big festival, games, fireworks, and meeting up with friends and family. Some folks go vegetarian for Tết, which is said to be good luck.