A few days before the Lunar New Year (Tet), the streets in Ha Noi have become much more animated as local inhabitants are busy preparing for the celebrations of the important festival.

 Hanoi's Old Quarter antique shops have thrown their doors open for Tet, offering discounts on rare and unique items to celebrate the Lunar New Year in an annual event that brings them much profit.

Calligraphers are showing their beautiful writings in both Chinese and Vietnamese characters on the 'Street of Calligraphers' (Pham Ngoc Thach), as gifts with best wishes for prosperity and happiness in the upcoming new Year of the Monkey.

 The ancient town of Hoi An inaugurates a ‘Spring Festival Fair' at the junction of Nguyen Hue and Tran Hung Dao, near Hoi An Market, today.

 Surrounded by a crowd in a corner of the Centre of the Old Quarter's Culture Exchange, artisan Nguyen Dang Giap spreads colours carefully on different woodblocks to create a Dong Ho folk painting.

 For most Vietnamese, Tet (Lunar New Year festival) has actually begun with the “Ong Cong - Ong Tao” (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods) ceremony on the 23rd of the last month of the lunar year, which falls on February 1 this year.

  Phuong Nam Art Theater in HCMC will be putting on circus performances by six artists from Mongolia, Russia, the Czech Republic and Vietnam between February 8 and 21 at Gia Dinh Park in Phu Nhuan District, Tuoi Tre newspaper reports.

An exhibition recounting a traditional Tet celebration of Vietnamese people in the old days opened at Thang Long Royal Citadel in Hanoi on January 29 as an event to greet the Lunar New Year 2016.

 Students from schools in Ha Noi will learn about the traditional new year customs and rituals during a programme called Discovering Tet held yesterday at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology.

 Villagers in Thuy Tram Village in Phu Tho Province are rolling up their sleeves to harvest carp fish for sale in time for the Kitchen God worshiping ritual which takes place on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month, which falls on Monday next week.

 A spring festival kicked off at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi on January 29 as part of the activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year and the 86th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

  Youngsters will once again be indulged at the Japan-like cherry blossom festival Shinnen 2016 – Lunar New Year Festival at Savico Megamall Long Bien centre on January 30 and January 31.

 The Hanoi cultural department will organise the 2016 Calligraphy Writing Festival at the Literature Lake in Hanoi's Temple of Literature from February 2-15.

Super-model Hoang Thuy, the winner of the Vietnam’s Next Top Model 2011, was featured in Elle UK magazine in the January publication.

 Tet – what a wonderful time to spend long and cozy holidays with your family! But first, drop by the following Tet celebration events in Hanoi and see what amazing things they’ve got to offer:

Johnny Kongo and Ryan Woodcrutch, members of the Jesus&Johnny band from the US, will perform at May Coffee&Bar on Sunday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Cong Tri, a well-known fashion designer in Vietnam, will launch his haute couture designs in a collection called No.9 at the Tokyo Fashion Week this March.

  A string of entertainment activities and arts programmes will be held in the capital city of Hanoi from January 29 to February 13 to welcome the lunar New Year festival (Tet).

HCM City’s Spring Flower Festival 2016 will open at Tao Dan Park in District 1 and Cong Truong Quoc Te Street, near Turtle Lake roundabout in District 3 on February 3 and run until 14, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Green Trees and Park Company.

 "Back to Origins" is the theme of this year's Tet calligraphy exhibition at the Temple of Literature from February 2-15.