How do Vietnamese people celebrate Halloween?

In the weeks before 31 October, shops, cafés and bars put up pumpkin lanterns, skeletons and spider webs, and streets in the city centers take on a spooky look.

Do Vietnamese People Celebrate Halloween?

Many do, but mostly younger people in cities. The local version is lighthearted: a night for teenagers and adults to put on a costume and relax, rather than children going door to door for candy. Families with children also join in.

Halloween has no roots in Vietnamese tradition. Its popularity has grown mainly among urban youth and in tourist areas, helped by shops and venues that sell costumes and decorations.

Where Halloween Is Celebrated in Vietnam

In Hanoi, Hang Ma Street in the Old Quarter is where people shop for Halloween. In October 2024, pumpkin lanterns there sold for VND 50,000 to 100,000 each, and cafés, restaurants and fashion shops bought decorations weeks ahead. Prices change from year to year.

Young people in costumes, from popular characters to mythical figures, walk the streets.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Hue Walking Street and Bui Vien Walking Street are the main gathering points. Nguyen Hue is pedestrian only, so visitors can walk, take photos and join people in costume. In 2025, face-painting stalls there charged VND 50,000 to 100,000 per face.

Bui Vien is a major draw for foreign visitors. On Halloween night 2025, thousands of young locals and visitors filled the street, with music from around 7:30 pm and crowds growing denser by about 9:30 pm. Some families brought children in costumes.

Bars, cafés and restaurants along the street were decorated for the night, and some hotels and rooftop bars advertised their own parties. Check each venue’s page or social media for dates, tickets and entry rules.

Halloween is not part of Vietnam’s old customs, but it has become a modern celebration, usually enjoyed with a light-hearted spirit.

Families, friends and strangers mix in the same streets. In 2025, foreign visitors posed for photos with costumed children on Nguyen Hue.

Costumes on Bui Vien in 2025 ranged from witches, vampires and zombies to skeletons and blood-spattered ghosts, alongside characters from film and anime such as the No-Face costume above.

When Is Halloween in Vietnam in 2026?

Halloween in Vietnam falls on Saturday, 31 October 2026, the same date as everywhere else. In 2025 it fell on a Friday, and the weekend timing drew more visitors to nightlife areas. As of 14 October 2026, we have not found an official 2026 program.

If you plan to go, arrive before 9:30 pm for a lighter crowd. With children, go in the early evening, because Bui Vien is a nightlife street and gets louder later. Keep your phone and wallet secure, agree on a meeting point, and use a ride-hailing app for the way back. For wider planning, see our Vietnam with family guide.

What Is the Difference Between Halloween and Vietnam’s Ghost Festival?

Halloween is a modern costume celebration held on 31 October. Vietnam’s own ghost festival, Tết Trung Nguyên, falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which was 27 August in 2026. It is a quiet occasion for offerings to ancestors and wandering spirits, with no costumes or parties.

The seventh lunar month is often called tháng cô hồn, the month of wandering ghosts, and Vu Lan, the Buddhist day for honoring parents, falls on the same date. So when a Vietnamese friend mentions “ghost month”, they are not talking about Halloween.