Vietnam to kick off Lunar New Year break on Valentine's Day

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed off on a proposal that will have the upcoming Tet break start two days before Lunar New Year's Day, which falls on February 16, 2018.

This option is the first of the two seven-day options proposed by the labor ministry in September. Under the second option, the holiday will start on February 15, a day before Tet, and run until February 21, the sixth day of the New Year.

Schools and other businesses across the country usually follow the same break as government offices.

"The holiday would start on [December] 29 and people would go to work from [January] 6," Mai Tien Dung, Chairman of Office of the Government Office, said Thursday, referring to the dates in the lunar calendar. The holiday would accordingly be from February 14-20.

"We should not have a short break so public servants can visit their hometown, family, relatives and friends, but the break should not be too long either," Dung said.

The government's preferred option for the 7-day Lunar New Year break. Illustrated by VnExpress/Viet Chung.

The government approved a seven-day break last year.

Tet is a time for family reunions in Vietnam with droves of migrant workers flocking home before Lunar New Year's Eve.

The labor ministry has also submitted plans for other public holidays in 2018.

Accordingly, employees will have a total of 18 public holidays in 2018, including three days for New Year (December 30, 2017 to January 1, 2018), one day for the Hung Kings' Festival (April 25), four days for Reunification Day and Labor Day (April 28 to May 1), and three days for Independence Day (September 1-3).