The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed a nine-day break for the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2, which includes two weekends and starts four days before the Lunar New Year begins.
This proposal has been submitted to 16 government agencies for feedback before being sent to the prime minister for final approval.
This process happens annually, causing people to anxiously await the official timeline before they can finalize their travel, shopping, and celebration plans for the year’s biggest holiday. It seems unnecessary to repeat this ritual every year.
I doubt the labor ministry is eager to seek the input of 16 agencies each year just to finalize the Tet holiday dates. However, they are required to do so because the Labor Law 2019 only specifies that Vietnamese workers are entitled to five official days off for Tet, without determining when the holiday should begin.
In practice, the Tet holiday has been extended beyond the five-day limit in recent years, with additional time added to account for weekends. Even so, five days is often too short for many people, as it doesn't account for travel time—whether to visit family or take a vacation.
It would be more practical to fix the Tet holiday period, both in terms of its length and its start and end dates. For example, the break could consistently begin several days before the Lunar New Year. A fixed schedule would relieve people of the yearly anxiety over planning and allow for better organization of this important cultural celebration.
