Bitter Grounds Header

Bitter Grounds is now ad free

Consider a donation to help cover the costs of research and writing.

Buy me a coffee offers single donations + modest subscriptions.
You can also choose to pay using Stripe for a secure donation.

Tết Quý Mão – Vietnamese New Year 2023

by | Dec 5, 2022

Happy Tết Quý Mão to my Vietnamese readers! 2023 is the Year of the Cat, so time to celebrate because a person can never have too many cats in their life.  VNPost’s introduction to the set evokes a nostalgic sense of anticipation for the celebrations:

The weather in the North starts in winter with chilly winds, somewhere the whispers of passersby can be heard. The scent of incense wafts in the air, the voices of the women and girls are bustling. Tết is really coming!

Year of the Cat in Vietnam two stamps

 

The Vietnamese zodiac differs from the Chinese one, which celebrates the Year of the Rabbit in 2023. Instead a cat takes the rabbit’s place as the fourth animal in the cycle.  The cat should not be confused with the tiger, which appears in both the Vietnamese and Chinese calendars. 

 

Year of Tiger Vietnam  

Why a cat instead of a rabbit? Well, there are a number of theories relating to this, ranging from translation errors between words for cat and rabbit to an ancient tale about a fight between the cat and the rat. My grasp on the arguments surrounding possible mistranslations is not strong, so I’m going to pass on offering an explanation, because I don’t wish to misrepresent either cultures or languages.  

Tết begins on January 22, 2023 and runs to February 9, 2024.  The cat symbolises intelligence, ingenuity and agility (“là biểu tượng của sự thông minh, tài trí, nhanh nhẹn” VNPost | Tết Quý Mão 2023 trên tem bưu chính), which aptly describes the average cat.  

Designer Nguyễn Quang Vinh returns for his fourth Tết set. His tigers last year were nothing short of brilliant. His use of the  Vietnamese folk art style Hàng Trống created what could be considered the single most unique Year of the Tiger set of 2022.  The faces on the tigers are pure delight.  The  2023 cats revert to his previous design form with a gentler, more playful, and in VNPost’s own words, “modern style”. 

When you spread Nguyễn’s work out, you begin to see how vibrant and energetic his art is.  His Lunar New Year cycle is a masterpiece.

Year of rat two Year of rat one Year of the Ox Pink background with red oxVietnam Lunar New Year stamp 1 Yellow background with red ox 

Lunar New Year - Year of the Tiger Tết Nhâm Dần Lunar New Year - Year of the Tiger Tết Nhâm Dần Year of the Cat in Vietnam two stamps

The cats represent the family in two views. The first one is the gentle mother cat & kittens, and the second, the protective father. 

In the center of the first stamp is the image of the mother cat and two kittens cuddling and frolicking. Mother cats hug and carry kittens on their backs, … as so many mothers in life do: both tolerantly holding their children in their arms, protecting them from storms and turbulence… VNPost

The father cat is depicted as the lone protector of his family. He is “carrying the whole world on his back to protect the peace of his small family” (VNPost). To me, he looks content and happy.  The souvenir sheet pulls the family and celebrations together.  

Vietnamese Tet 2023 Year of the cat

 

Symbols of Tết can be seen in the series, especially in the sheet – traditional red envelopes hang among the peach blossoms and apricot flowers. The collection is rounded out with a set of FDCs and maxi cards, complete with more images of a happy family enjoying the celebrations. 

Tết Quý Mão - Vietnamese New Year 2023  Tết Quý Mão - Vietnamese New Year 2023 

Nguyễn weaves bright colours throughout the pieces, using blues, pinks and yellows to tie the series together.  Interestingly, the cat on the first maxi card echoes the Hàng Trống head positioning and style of the tiger issues, albeit with a modern feel. 

Tết Quý Mão - Vietnamese New Year 2023 Tết Quý Mão - Vietnamese New Year 2023

Nguyễn Quang Vinh should be back next year for the dragon, and in some ways, I can’t wait to see what he creates. In the meantime, have a peaceful, and happy New Year. 

Read about the 2022 Tigers here and 2021 Ox here. 
 

You can support Bitter Grounds and make help keep fresh articles rolling in with a donation or merch purchase. 


Buy Merch 

Visit my Redbubble store and score some great merchandise. T-shirts, mugs ‘n more! Each item helps keep this site running. 

Bitter Grounds Redbubble Store 

Donate & subscribe

Enjoying the content? Consider donating or signing up for a subscription.

Your contribution will help defray the costs of hosting the site and the time taken to research articles. Interested in sponsoring this page? Drop me a line contact @ bittergrounds.com

OR

PayPal.me for quick donations

And finally:

Check out the Patreon tiers & perks:   Become a Patron!

  • Instant Coffee $2 a month
  • Espresso Shot $5 month
  • Espresso & Stamps $10 per month
  • Deluxe Mocha & Box of Stamps tier – $25 per month. 

Support = more content & frequent updates

There are two ways you can support Bitter Grounds

a donation via Buy me a Coffee

or

You can also buy some fun t-shirts, stickers, magnets and totes at my Merchandise Emporium
Among the philately related images you can buy are unique Cinderella airmails I’ve been creating.

 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright
© 2025
Bitter Grounds Magazine
All Right Reserved

You can usually find me lurking on Bluesky along with a large number of great stamp lovers. 

Just look for Catpaw!

‪@bittergrounds.bsky.social‬ 

Diversity is a strength.

For everyone hanging in there with me.

I want to thank everyone who has dropped me a note and still visited the site, despite the lack of fun content. It's been a bit of a hard slog on this end and the double vision really makes things a bit rough. However, it looks like a diagnosis is on the horizon which means treatment. 

In the meantime, I'm going to try and write. If I get things a little wonky, just sigh with me. Its hard to take life seriously when everything is blurry and doubled. 

Thank you. Thank you so much. 
Catpaw

This will close in 30 seconds