New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the Gregorian opening of the year and a statutory paid public holiday under Viet Nam's Labour Code. It is smaller in cultural scale than Tết Nguyên Đán, the lunar new year, but it still offers a nationwide pause after year-end celebrations and a practical reset before the working year begins.

The distinction between the two new-year holidays matters for visitors and employers. January 1 follows the international civil calendar, whereas Tết moves each year and carries the longer, more family-centred travel season. Public offices close on the legal holiday, while private services set their own opening hours.

For 2026, January 1 fell on Thursday. The Government later approved a four-day break from January 1 through 4 for civil servants and public employees, but the additional days were an administrative work-calendar arrangement rather than four new statutory holidays. Enterprises, shops, banks, transport operators and essential services followed their own lawful schedules. Article 112 also gives foreign employees working in Viet Nam additional paid leave for one traditional holiday and one national day of their home country; those entitlements do not replace New Year's Day or the Vietnamese holidays.