I remember a quote on the calendar collected by my grandfather that reads;
"People can leave their homeland but cannot take their homeland away from people".
Every Tet to spring comes the opportunity to gather with family and also to have reunion meals with their loved ones. My Tet holiday passed like many people in Vietnam in general and the people of the North in particular.
However, for me, this year's New Year was much more special, it not only simply means "international cleanup day" but it is also the happiness of reunion.
Yes, this is the first Tet I have been with my family after 2 years of separation. And it's been a long time since I've experienced such delight and impatient to Tet.
I reside or live in the North, but this year, I celebrated Tet in the South. This explains why you can see the picture of Plum Blossom tree below the video. Although I celebrated Tet in the South, my family still celebrated it according to the tradition of the Northern people. Before the night of 30th January, we mostly engage in various activities like; cleaning up the house, going to celebrate the New Year of grandparents, buying candies to burn incense and packing Chung cake.
In our hometown, every family chooses a day at the end of December or early January to cook meals in order to invite relatives, neighbors and friends to celebrate the traditional Tet holiday with. Prior to the meal, we normally prepare dishes to invite ancestors and local ancestors.
Firstly, Mr. Mo takes responsibility of inviting and introducing food placed on the table, prays for ancestors to bless the family, prays for the family business to run smoothly and abundance of good health.
The offering tray is usually occupied with chicken or fish, 4 bowls of soup, sticky rice, wine and a cup of water, toothpick and chopsticks. A special thing only in Tet, is that everyone who comes to the house of the host is warmly welcomed and can eat meals with their family including a stranger. On the first day of Lunar New Year, grandparents and parents give lucky money to their children. Typically, sweeping is impermissible in the house on such days. Activities are normally limited and we usually only go to the temple to pray (if any). Spring travel time begins on the 4th day. This year, the epidemic is still complicated, so my family is limited to going out and not traveling in spring.
Against all odds, I had a cozy Tet with my family. As the saying goes “every cloud has a silver lining”. In spite of Covid-19, we managed to celebrate it in our best possible ways. This means, we can always make the best of every situation. How about you?
Please share your Tet holiday story.
Happy New Year 2021
Ha Thi Thuong - K64ENGC