Comes March, comes grapefruit flower season. These days, grapefruit flower baskets appear on Hanoi’s streets.
For many years, this woman has sat in the corner of Hang Khoai Street to sell offering flowers.
The front yard of Ho’s house has bonsai, a miniature rock mountain and ornamental plants.
Two old houses of the Tran Family, which Located in the center of Thu Dau Mot Commune in Binh Duong Province, have existed for over 100 years. Both the cultural and architectural values have been kept intact. Therefore, these houses have been recognized as national historical and cultural relics.
Both houses were built and carved skillfully, reflecting the technique as well as the aesthetic tastes of people in the past. The house owned by Tran Cong Vang was built in 1889 with the architecture of a Ruong (wooden house). The house looks short from the outside but inside it is quite airy and spacious thanks to a system of high pillars and columns. All the feet of the pillars, the roof, furniture, horizontal lacquered boards, scrolls and four-season paintings were red lacquered and mother-of-pearl inlaid, giving the house a magnificent and solemn beauty.
Inside the ancient house owned by Tran Van Ho.
The house has a corridor around the worshipping hall that leads to a sitting room and bed rooms without going through the worshiping hall to ensure its solemnity. The remaining house of Tran Van Ho was built in 1890 in the shape of the Chinese letter “Dinh”. In the front yard are bonsai, rock-work and ornamental plants.
The house is roofed by yin and yang tiles imbued with the traditional architecture of the Vietnamese people. The most salient feature of the house is carved patterns like unicorns, leaves, phoenixes and creepers. The style of the interior decorations with parallels, couplets and a worshipping cupboard also highlights the ancient beauty of the house.
A wooden statue of Buddha displayed at the ancient house of Tran Cong Vang.
The main materials to build these houses were precious timber, such as Cam lai (Dalbergia bariaensis Pierre), Giang huong (Pterocarpus macrocarpus) and Sen (Madhuca pasquieri H.J.Lam). Over time, this wood has become a shiny black that has combined with the red and gold colour of parallels and couplets and the shiny silver of mother-of-pearl.
The worshipping-hall of Vang’s house.
They highlight the beauty of the houses and show the prosperity and aristocracy of the house owners from the past. More importantly, the former owners of these houses knew to combine all factors of the traditional architecture of the Vietnamese people, creating harmony between the house and its surrounding landscape.
Skillfully carved patterns in the ancient house of the Tran Family.
The anteroom in Vang’s house.
Besides the aesthetic and architectural values, these houses reflect the cultural, economic and social factors of the upper classes in the 19th century. For this reason, these houses are considered a type of unique heritage in Vietnam. According to Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi (the Essays on the United Great Vietnam), Binh Duong belonged to Phien An Town in the middle of the two districts of Binh Duong and Phuoc Long. With a dense popularity, it was once the most bustling and gaudy area of Gia Dinh and no place in the country could be compared to it.
Da Lat has been famous for love and flowers. This time is Da Lat Flower season – the best for tourists to observe its beauty. You should not forget to visit the three famous flower villages: Thai Phien, Ha Dong and Van Thanh.
Thai Phien Flower Village
Located in Ward 12, 7km from Da Lat’s center, Thai Phien has a fairly flat terrain, fertile soil and abundant water resources in compare with other areas in Da Lat, which are very favorable for growing flowers. In Thai Phien village, you will see dozens of flower varieties, both domestic and imported ones. You will also observe farming activities of local farmers.
During the harvest time, especially before the New Year holiday, the atmosphere in Thai Phien becomes extremely bustling. Flowers are harvested to transport to other provinces and to export to some neighboring countries. In the daylight, Thai Phien is brilliant with thousands of flowers. At night, the village is shimmering in yellow light. From above the village looks like a charming light city.
Ha Dong Flower Village
Formed 75 years ago by 35 households from Hanoi, Ha Dong flower village in Ward 8 is now regarded as the first flower village of Da Lat. Only 2km to the west Da Lat city, Ha Dong flower village is an attractive destination for tourists who want to see colorful flower gardens.
Three quarters of a century has passed but the marks of the village founders are still preserved, with the typical architecture of the north. Like Thai Phien flower village, Ha Dong is also formed on a beautiful location, has fertile soil and good water resources. The village mainly grows Vietnamese flower species.
Van Thanh Flower Village
Van Thanh is known as the largest flower village in Da Lat. It is about 3km from the city’s center. The village was formed by people from the northern province of Ha Nam several decades ago. Although its terrain is steep, Van Thanh is still the main source of flower supply for Da Lat, especially roses. The village has dozens of species of roses.
The unique festivals of all the 54 ethnic groups across Vietnam have been held at the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups on the outskirts of Hanoi. This special event featured the cultural characteristics of each ethnic group and the unity of the Vietnamese people.
A sorcerer of Lo Lo ethnicity from Ha Giang province was praying for rain for his villagers. This ceremony opened the grand festival of all Vietnamese ethnic groups this year. Director of the Ha Giang provincial Cultural Center Ho Viet Son said:“People of Lo Lo ethnicity and other groups in Ha Giang province live on stone plateaus with harsh weather. It rains very little at the beginning of the year so they have to pray for rain to have adequate water for farming and husbandry.”
Unlike that of the Lo Lo, the rain prayer ceremony of the Cor ethnic minorities in Quang Nam province was attended by patriarchs and other villagers. This sacred ceremony was accompanied by the echoing gongs. Duong Thi Thanh Lan was proud to introduce the cultural characteristics of her ethnic group to visitors: “I’m happy to meet people of other ethnic groups and tell them about our cultural traditions.”
In another corner, Brau people from Kon Tum province were placing some jars of wine, 3 chickens, 3 pigs, and a goat on banana tree leaves to prepare for the rice-growing ceremony.
Meanwhile, at the corner for Thai ethnic people, Mr. Mun Luong was saying prayers to ask heaven for permission to conduct a Cha festival to wish for luck and peace.
In addition to the sacred rituals, traditional dances and songs made the atmosphere even more joyful. Vuong Van Tien of Nung ethnicity from Cao Bang province said he was excited to attend such a festival: “I’m very glad to be here and learn about the cultures of other ethnic groups. I’m very interested in the costumes of the Pa Then in Ha Giang, particularly their scarves.” Apart from rituals and cultural traditions, a horse race, typical of H’mong people in Lao Cai province was also held at the festival.
16 horses were racing to the cheers of surrounding spectators. This was the first time that such a race was held in the capital. Vu Van Tien of Phuc Tho in Hanoi said:“The race was very exciting. If it was not held here, I would never have had a chance to see it.” Rider Vang Seo Huynh and horse 416 won the race.
Among the festival goers was a delegation of overseas Vietnamese, who made great contributions to the homeland. Bui Hung of Poland said: “This is the first time I’ve come here with other overseas Vietnamese. The festival gives us a sense of national unity and features the diverse cultures of Vietnamese ethnic groups.” The festival has become a venue for all Vietnamese ethnic groups to meet and contribute to national unity.
Viet Hai fishing village, a special destination on the tourist island of Cat Ba, is famous for the typical characters seen during local daily activities. The seventy six households there have a habit of opening their doors throughout the day because nobody steals furniture and Viet Hai’s residents are honest and always help each other. For this year’s Tet, villagers are expected to welcome more tourists who want to visit and experience the peaceful life of the island commune of Viet Hai.
The traditional lunar New Year, or Tet, in Viet Hai village is different to that in other northern provinces. There are only 300 people inhabiting simple houses in the island valley, which is the core area of Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve. It’s neither noisy nor has a festive atmosphere. Tet is a quiet time with echoes of wooden tocsins to pray for a peaceful life by the monks. In order to visit Viet Hai village, visitors must first take a boat to cruise Lan Ha Bay, and then go by road an additional 10 km, or choose to walk for up to 5 hours, through Cat Ba National Park. Despite the difficulties in traveling, the remote village is strangely attractive to foreign visitors. John, a British tourist, says “We live in the country but everything is different to my homeland in the UK. The time we crossed Lan Ha Bay by yesterday, it was magnificent. I mean the scenery, the mountains, the peace, and the quiet. And we’d love to come back as we want to explore more”.
Situated at the heart of the tourist island of Cat Ba, the Viet Hai people have become busier welcoming visitors whenever Tet comes. Some tourists decide to stay overnight in tents in the village for the experience. Nguyen Thi Ha, a local resident, says her family offer tourist services on top of their farming work. She notes: “during the Tet holiday, if there are visitors, we’ll invite them to taste traditional dishes including Chung cakes and Vietnamese jams. We also introduce them to Vietnamese customs during Tet. We began to offer the service a couple of years ago. Visitors are often glad to learn more about the daily life of Vietnamese people including those in Viet Hai village.”
To help the Viet Hai people and residents in Cat Hai island district in general to both maintain the Viet people’s cultural identities and develop their economy, the provincial authorities have attached great importance to communications for the owners of restaurants, hotels, and the locals. Bui Trung Nghia, Chairman of the Cat Hai People’s Committee in Hai Phong city, says: “since this year, the owners of restaurants and hotels have organized tours to help foreign tourists to learn about the traditional customs during Tet of the Vietnamese nation and the typical identities of our islanders. We have also held tours for visitors to experience Tet meals such as the New Year’s Eve party. Travel agents and local inhabitants have made careful preparations to welcome tourists to enjoy the local Tet holiday.”
Learning the life and scenery of Viet Hai village is an interesting experience for foreigners who visit Cat Hai island district. The wildness of the nature and the sincerity of the locals are something that stay with travellers.
Lunar New Year, the year of the horse, is approaching. Soldiers and military staff in the island district of Truong Sa or Spratly Archipelago, Khanh Hoa province, are busy preparing for the festival.
Soldiers in Nam Yet Island wrap ‘chung’ cakes. (Photo: Vinh Phong) |
Far from the mainland life is hard, but soldiers and residents of Truong Sa Island district expect to have a sufficient Tet thanks to the generosity of the government and mainlanders. Two weeks before the holiday, ships of Navy Zone 4 carried 80 tons of essential goods to islands in the district. These days, soldiers and military staff are repairing barracks decorating them with posters and hanging lights on square almond trees. O Son Ca Island, soldiers are gathering at the local Culture House to practice art performances and prepare a five-fruit tray for the New Year’s Eve party. Lieutenant-colonel Do The Tuyen, the Island’s commander, says:
“There are many differences between Tet on the Island and Tet on the mainland. We have to be ready to fight to ensure security for the mainlanders while preparing everything for Tet. Each soldier here has an assigned duty. We divide into teams tasked with, for example, decorating the barracks, logistics, or cooking Tet dishes. We also organize art performances to boost morale, especially among the recruits.”
Today, soldiers on Nam Yet Island, Sinh Ton commune, began to wrap pork-pies and ‘chung’ cakes. Preparations of sticky rice, green beans, pork, cat’s ears, and wrapping leaves were made a couple of days in advance. Although this year, many ‘dong’ leaves were sent from the mainland, soldiers here prefer to wrap ‘chung’ cakes in the leaves of square almond trees grown on the Island.
Lieutenant-colonel Nguyen Van Tam, commissar of Nam Yet Island, says: “Chung cakes wrapped in square almond leaves have a slightly acrid taste which is very typical of this species of tree. It’s more difficult to wrap chung cakes with square almond leaves because they are crisp. But the color is unique.”
Meanwhile, soldiers and military staff in Song Tu Tay commune are eagerly rehearsing songs about the homeland, the country, and Truong Sa Island for a performance on New Year’s Eve. Thanks to good husbandry last year, they are expected to have a sufficient Tet. Senior Lieutenant-colonel Nguyen Trong Binh, commissar of Song Tu Tay Island, says preparations have been completed. They will enjoy a warm Tet festival but at the same time, will heighten their vigilance to protect Vietnam’s sea and island territory. Binh comments: “This year we’ll create the coziest and most joyful atmosphere we can to make soldiers feel like they are at home on the mainland. We’ll call each soldier’s family to wish them a Happy New Year and tell them about the Tet atmosphere on the island so that their relatives won’t worry. This will increase the link between soldiers’ families and the unit, between the mainland and the island.”
Residents are cleaning their houses to welcome Tet. Many are even growing a traditional New Year’s tree as is the customs on the mainland. At Duong Thi Thu Thuy’s house, soldiers are helping Thuy’s family make apricot flower, peach flower, and sea shell decorations. Thuy says: “We have prepared confectionery and ginger jam, and bought some chickens and soft drinks for the children. Tet here becomes busier when the locals start wrapping ‘chung’ cakes. Tet on the island is not much different from on the mainland. We feel a cozy atmosphere because the soldiers are enthusiastic and pay much attention to island households.”
Growing vegetables to ensure enough vegetables for daily meals and Tet.
Tran Van Phuoc, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Song Tu Tay commune, says: “During the past year, we worked hard to ensure that local residents would have enough pigs and chickens and vegetables for Tet. Islanders have ‘dong’ leaves, green beans, sticky rice, and organize the wrapping of ‘chung’ cakes. They have received gifts from the mainland.”
With the support and care of the mainland and their own effort to overcome difficulties, the lives of soldiers and local residents has greatly improved.
These days, Vietnamese people are celebrating the Lunar New Year completely with explosions, tradition and food. As follows are five popular Tet foods, all full of glutinous rice, mung beans, and banana leaves for you to try out. Is it a little work to eat? Yeah, and it might not be the healthiest thing either, but hey, you probably gave up on being leaner already, and you might as well get some good luck (and red envelops) for your hard work.
1. Bánh chưng (Sticky rice cake with pork and beans)
Bánh chưng, the ultimate Tết dish, is a square-shaped rice cake made out of glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork wrapped in banana leaves. The ingredients are soaked and wrapped carefully before being boiled for hours on end, resulting in a rice cake that’s soft, moist, stick and wonderful. The preparation’s a lot of work, but it’s New Years. To eat bánh chưng, you unwrap the banana leaves the way you would a gift (please, please, please remember to unwrap the banana leaves). From there on out, you can go to town, making your way through all three layers: the rice, the mung beans, and finally, the pork.
2. Xôi gấc (Sticky rice with baby jackfruit)
Xôi gấc is bright red, so obvious you should eat it for good luck. Want a good year? Eat xôi gấc. Want to fall in love with a hottie that’s sweet and smart? Eat xôi gấc. Want all forms of good fortune? You should probably eat xôi gấc.Xôi gấc is a sweet glutinous rice dish made with a fruit similar to jackfruit and appears at every joyful Vietnamese celebration. Tết (only the biggest Vietnamese celebration of them all) is, well, no exception. If sweet, chewy xôi is on the dinner table, you know something good is going on, which is all the more reason to celebrate by stuffing your face.
3. Chả lụa (Vietnamese sausage)
Chả lụa is a Vietnamese sausage with a cold-cut feel and sausage-like texture. Like banh chung, gio is wrapped in banana leaves and needs to be unwrapped before consumption (please unwrap it). Chả lụa is slightly salty, which makes it a perfect partner for banh chung and xoi gac, two lighter dishes.
4. Mứt Me (Vietnamese tamarind-flavored Gushers)
If you want to try anything remotely close to Vietnamese Gushers, try mut me. There are multiple candies to try from the Mứt Tray (a circular tray filled with Vietnamese Tet candies), but mut me is a unique, gushy candy, which is neither a seed or candied fruit, unlike the rest of the tray. The taste of the mut me is slightly sour and, when consumed, the tamarind flavor gushes out of the candy wrapper like, well, gushers.
5. Bánh tet chuối (Cylindrical banana rice cake)
Bánh tet chuối is a cylindrical-shaped banh chung filled with bananas instead of pork. Think of it like a sweet, chewy Vietnamese burrito with rice instead tortilla. Or maybe a chewy dessert egg roll. Like most forms of Tet food, you will have to, once again, unwrap the banana leaves to get to the content of your bánh Tết chuối. But hey, by now, you might just be getting the hang of it.
As the Tran family gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which starts this Friday, they will share wedges of thick, sticky rice filled with peppery pork and mashed mung beans (banh chung), slices of a cold cut made from chopped pig ears and snout (gio thu), pickled vegetables, and perhaps some fish in a caramelized kho sauce. When friends and relatives come by to visit over the next few days, there will be endless cups of tea, served with dried fruits and nutty sweets.
Giant painting at Oakland’s beloved Vietnamese restaurant Le Cheval (French for “Horse”) welcomes Year of the Horse
“Happy New Year” proclaims this box of nut and seed cookies, a traditional snack for the Vietnamese celebration of Tết
These traditional foods are specific to the Vietnamese observance of the Lunar New Year known as Tết. The ancient holiday shares the annual date with the Chinese New Year and both cultures cherish similar traditions of buying new clothes, decorating recently cleaned houses and giving gifts of money in red envelopes. Yet at the essential family get-togethers to honor ancestors and exchange wishes for luck and prosperity in the coming year, the treasured dishes enjoyed around the holiday table will vary considerably.
A festive bundle of banh chung, the quintessential Vietnamese Lunar New Year dish. Photo: Anna Mindess
In the Bay Area, with its large Chinese population and their early arrival as immigrants, Tết, (as well as Lunar New Year celebrations in the Korean, Singaporean and Indonesian communities) seems to get eclipsed by the older and more well known Chinese New Year parade and events.
Owner of Oakland’s Le Cheval, Son Tan, was born in the Year of the Horse. Photo: Anna Mindess
What better place to honor the lively equine spirit of the coming Year of the Horse than Oakland’s Le Cheval Vietnamese restaurant? I recently met with owner Son Tran, who was born in the year of the Horse and started the restaurant with his mother and other members of their large family. When they were trying to decide on a name for their restaurant more than twenty years ago, Tran told me, they thought a Vietnamese word would be too hard to pronounce, English would sound too American, and finally agreed that French, the language of the older generation and an artifact of France’s almost century of colonial rule, could convey just the right tone. Son’s astrological sign became the moniker of his family’s popular restaurant, which was sealed by his lucky find of a huge painting of stampeding stallions that defines the proud spirit of this beloved, downtown Oakland restaurant.
Since the “Horse is a highly intuitive animal,” says astrologer Susan Levitt, “people born in Horse year follow their hunches. Their keen judgment and natural intuition often help them make the right decisions throughout their life.” The Horse personality has also been noted for its independence, stubbornness and refusal to accept failure. These traits undoubtedly helped Son Tran meet the challenges that came his family’s way when, in 2010, after 20 years as a prize-winning, neighborhood institution, Le Cheval lost its lease, was forced to close and had to lay off 70 workers due to a clash with their contentious landlord (who was later found guilty of massive wage fraud and other crimes).
When the building went into foreclosure and then auction, the Trans’ luck finally turned around and they were asked back by the new owner. In 2012, Le Cheval re-opened to the acclaim of neighborhood regulars who couldn’t wait to once more enjoy their bowls of pho, clay pot rice, calamari salad, succulent beef cubes and complimentary creamy carrot soup in the same cavernous space on Clay Street beneath the soulful stares of its iconic herd of horses.
Sweetened dried lotus seeds are another popular snack for Tết.
Tran explained to me the story behind the most ubiquitous Tết dish, banh chung, hefty brick-like packages of pork and rice. In the Vietnam of olden times, shops and businesses would close for at least the first three days of the New Year, so townsfolk needed food to last them till the markets reopened. These blocks or cylinders of stuffed rice, were wrapped with banana leaves, neatly tied up, and then boiled for upwards of eight hours. Although some people made them at home, their labor-intensiveness compelled most families to stock up on premade bundles to enjoy for at least three days, either freshly cut or fried until crispy.
Many Chinese New Year dishes represent good luck by their shapes. A whole chicken, for example, symbolizes family togetherness and dumplings resemble golden ingots. Others take advantage of sound puns. The word for fish “yu” can also sound like “surplus” which portends prosperity in the coming year.
The same principle operates in the Vietnamese language. Tran tells me it is important to have a Tết display in the home with budding flowers and the following fruits: mangosteen, coconut, papaya and mango, because their names also sound like other words that convey a message. For the answer to this riddle, I turned to Professor Dzuong Nguyen, who teaches Vietnamese language courses at Stanford University.
He revealed that:
So this fruit quartet conveys the concept of “Wishing to earn just enough to spend” (or “Here’s hoping you make enough to cover all your household expenses”).
Award-winning cookbook author and cooking teacher Andrea Nguyen, describes many traditional festive foods like banh chung and kho, (simmered meat or fish cooked in a caramelized sauce of sugar and fish sauce) that are prepared ahead of time and preserve well “…because during Tet, you’re supposed to be out having fun not slaving away in the kitchen!” Son Tran told me about other festive foods, including a kind of sausage made from chopped pig ear and nose, formed into cylinders by packing tightly in cans. Pickled vegetables, such as mustard greens, daikon radish, carrot and cabbage, help with digestion of the fatty meats.
Since an essential element of Lunar New Year celebration involves visiting friends’ and relatives’ homes, one must have an array of sweets on hand to serve the parade of guests. Nuts and seeds figure in many of these because, Professor Nguyen ventures, in old Vietnam, nuts were seen as a luxury item, so treating your guests to them was a special gift.
Watermelon seeds made even more lucky by red coloring. Photo: Anna Mindess
Both the flesh of the watermelon and its seeds are eaten, for their lucky red color. Dried fruits are also traditional snacks to be shared with visitors over a cup of tea. “Sweet foods are important for this holiday,” Professor Nguyen explains, “ because we are always wishing each other a sweet and happy life.”
This “Sweet Fortune Snack Tray” contains candied winter melon, carrots, yam, kumquats and soursop. Photo: Anna Mindess
Le Cheval will host their annual Lunar New Year celebration on Sunday February 9 at 7pm with Lion Dancers and Martial artists entertaining guests inside the restaurant. Reservations are recommended: 510-763-8495
Le Cheval
Address: Map
1007 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 510-763-8495
Facebook: Le Cheval
Events:
To Vietnamese, the last day of the lunar year seems to be the most important day. People are trying to complete all the necessary remaining duty of the last year and prepare for a new year. The more carefully those works are done on the day, the more lucky family will get in a New Year. Below are five most common activities Vietnamese people often do on the last day of a Lunar New Year.
1. Cleaning and decorating house
Sweeping house on the first few days of Lunar New Year is avoided at all cost by Vietnamese people because traditional belief considers this action a way of driving away “Thần Tài”. Thần Tài is the God of Luck who brings financial fortunes to families in a New Year so if he is expelled, the family would suffer from lots of financial difficulties. Therefore, although people are extremely busy as the year comes to end, everyone manages to clean ones’ house on the last day of the year.
Houses are then re-decorated with Tet’s trees and flowers and tiny red ornaments as symbol of Tet. This is pretty similar to the way Western people decorating Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve.
2. Cleaning ancestor altar and setting “mâm ngũ quả”
While women in the family are busy with cleaning house or cooking, men, especially the father in his family are usually in charge of cleaning ancestor altar. In any Vietnamese heart, there is a strong spiritual relationship between deceased people and alive people; and ancestor altar is like a home or portal of them to come back to this world when worshiped. Due to this, cleaning ancestor altar is a way for Vietnamese to show respect to ancestors. The work is done in the most careful and meticulous way as well as using most fresh and clean water and sweeping tools.
An indispensible decoration for ancestor altar in Tet is “mâm ngũ quả” (the tray of five fruits). The five fruits in five colors represent five natural elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth; each element also covers a meaning or can be said a wish for the New Year like wealthiness, luxurious, long-lived, healthiness and peace.
3. Tất Niên Meal – Year end gathering
The last meal of the year is also the most important one when every member of a family unites no matter how busy they are. During the cozy meal, the sentiment of the family is strengthened while members share all the feeling and experiences gained through the whole year together, from sadness to happiness. All the stresses seem to be dismissed in after the meal that the family is full of energy and happiness to welcome the New Year. The dinner is also the most delicious meal of the year thanks to lots of care and sentiment of mothers and sisters in the family are hidden inside a wide variety of Vietnamese traditional food.
4. Watching TV shows
Entertaining TV shows are well designed by many Medias to encourage spirit of people as well as reducing waiting time to the New Year’s Eve. Besides special music shows or art show, the comedy show “Gặp nhau cuối năm” is highly appreciated by Vietnamese in which famous comedians play as kitchen gods explaining events of the year to the Jade Emperor in sarcastic way to bring meaningful laughs to people.
5. Praying on the Tet’s Eve
At the moment when the old year pass and replaced by a new year, an indispensible tradition of every Vietnamese do is to pray in front of the family altar. This meaningful tradition is to call forth deceased spirit to unite with the family to welcome the New Year together. Most also take this opportunity to silently voice their wishes for a new year full of health, luck and joy. As the year turns, many families also gather around firework launching area to count down and celebrate the new year moment with freshly made friends.
Fireworks to celebrate Tet in Vietnam
The ancient saying that “The first day of Lunar New Year is Father’s Tet; the second is Mother’s Tet; the third is Teacher’s Tet” is one of the most popular idioms of the Vietnamese about Tet. Traditionally, the Tet, especially the first day of Lunar New Year, is always a special occasion for family gathering. No matter where they are, what financial condition they are in, most of Vietnamese wish to return to their homes, burning concern to commemorate the ancestors, offering the best wishes to the family’s members. It’s cultural beauty of the Vietnamese on Tet days, which have been still maintained by many families across the country.
