Can Tho Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Can Tho, Mekong Delta, Vietnam)

Most festivals and events in Can Tho take on a religious theme or celebrate the coming harvest, along with the honouring of dead ancestors. The city celebrates Chinese New Year along with the rest of Vietnam, while the main event is the Tet Festival, which offers plenty of things to do for tourists.

Other prominent Can Tho events and annual celebrations include the Buddha's Birthday in May and the Rice Festival each November. In addition, there is often a lot going on in other towns around the Mekong Delta, including both nearby Soc Trang and Chau Doc.

Can Tho Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Tet Nguyen Dan (Chinese New Year) - usually late January or early February, when the Chinese community come together to celebrate Chinese New Year, with three days of parades and fireworks. Tet Nguyen Dan is always a crowd pleaser and well worth timing your holiday around

February

• Tet Festival - early February, the annual Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is the biggest event of the year and has fun festivities that tourists can enjoy all around the city and beyond

March

• Cow Racing Festival - involving the racing of cows on the final day of the Khmer calendar. This fun event is staged in An Giang and is always watched by crowds of bemused onlookers of all ages

April

• Lang Ca Ong - this month-long event is celebrated by fisherman all over the Mekong Delta, with the thanking of whales
• Liberation Day - April 30th, this day marks the day Saigon fell to Ho Chi Minh in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. Expect to find lots of flag-waving and firework displays. Of note, Liberation Day is also often referred to as Reunification Day

May

• Buddha's Birthday - with Buddhist-related events held all over Vietnam. The Munirangsyaram Pagoda generally sees the best of the region's celebrations
• Labour Day - early May, celebrated around the city with feasting, parades and spectacular evening fireworks
• President Ho Chi Minh's Birthday - May 19th, remembers the former president's birthday and his part in forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

June

• International Children's Day - June 1st, a global holiday with many family themed activities
• Ba Chua Xu Festival - usually early June, with a large procession and dragon dancing to Sam Mountain, near Chau Doc
• Vietnamese Family Day - late June, a chance for local families to come together

July

• Summer Solstice Day - on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month, known locally as Tet Doan Ngo, with offerings to the spirit world for the prevention of evil and illness. This is also a time for remembering ancestors

August

• Trung Nguyen - the 'feast of the wandering souls and hungry ghosts' has parades to the pagodas of Can Tho, with locals honouring the dead with offerings of food. Trung Nguyen is the second largest festival of the year and not to be missed

September

• National Day of Vietnam - September 2nd, celebrates Ho Chi Minh's input into Vietnam's independence from the French, with lots of parading and partying
• Mid-Autumn Festival - mid-September, known as Tet Trung Thu and one of the big events of the year in Can Tho. This is very suitable for families with young children and involves the eating of sweets, along with colourful lanterns and processions

October

• Oc Om Boc Festival - this boating fest is for the Kho Me people in nearby Soc Trang and is all about the moon and boat racing. When the full moon arrives, locals honour the moon god with prayers and gifts
• Vietnamese Women's Day - mid-October, honours the women of Vietnam, with various activities and ceremonies

November

• Rice Festival - takes place in nearby Hau Giang, with a plethora of activities, and various opening and closing ceremonies, including workshops relating to the exporting of rice
• Ghe Ngo Festival - mid-November, an important day among the Khmers in both the city and all over the southern Mekong Delta region. This marks the year's end for these people, where the subsequent new year is heralded in

December

• Christmas Day - December 25th, celebrated all over Vietnam, with the small local Christian community attending midnight mass on Christmas Eve and enjoying a feast on Christmas Day. Hotels and shops are abuzz with tourists