Hello there, everyone!
This week's topic for Lady of the Hive is:1️⃣ The holidays are all about tradition. What is your most cherished family holiday tradition? Tell us about it, how it came to be, and why it's special to you.
This is a subject that piques my attention. There are several holidays and New Year holidays in Vietnam throughout the year, but the Lunar New Year holiday is the one that everyone looks forward to.
The origin of the Lunar New Year.
I'm not sure when it originated, but our grandparents have been celebrating Tet since the beginning of time. The Lunar New Year is the transitional period between the new and old years. While Western countries celebrate Christmas and New Year according to the solar calendar, the Lunar New Year is calculated according to the lunar calendar in Vietnam and certain eastern countries, and usually falls in late January or early February on the solar calendar. Tet is a Vietnamese holiday that lasts about a week. People from big cities frequently return to their hometowns to reunite with their relatives.
In Vietnam, People say: "As joyous as Tet," , so what is there to be so pleased about Tet?
The Lunar New Year introduces the notion of reunion and reunion; children from overseas anticipate returning home after a year of hard work, getting together with the entire family to prepare for the New Year, and being able to gather with their loved ones makes them happier. Because the house has the most members, it's a happy Tet.
To welcome family members home for Tet, the house will be cleaned, painted, adorned, cleaned, and the ancestral altar will be cleaned. Almost every house has a plate of rice and socks at the end of the year. Invite ancestors to join you in celebrating Tet with your children and grandkids; this is a spiritual tradition that has been passed down for generations as a way to honor predecessors' accomplishments. Everyone will put on new clothes, exchange good wishes, and wish each other a peaceful and prosperous year. Many pleasant wishes have been received, so everyone is cheerful, and many of the troubles of the previous year have been forgotten.
The Tet market was bustling around the 20th of the 12th lunar month, with jams, fruits, meat rolls, and flowers of all types. Moms and dads purchase two or three fresh market meals, which are sufficient for the greatest Tet. In my hometown in the central region, a bowl of bitter melon soup, boiling chicken, boiled pig, braised fish, braised meat with duck seeds, and a plate of salted palanquin are always on the menu for New Year's Day. On New Year's Day, the fruit tray is also well-invested; typically, there will be five types of fruit: custard apple, coconut, papaya, mango, and figs, which represent new year's hopes, beneficial work, and good family expenditures. When Tet arrives in the spring, practically every house buys flowers to exhibit in front of the porch, the most common flowers being apricot bloom, peach blossom, chrysanthemum, dahlia, and sunflower.... Happy shopping atmosphere, bustling.
The pot of marigolds my grandfather planted to celebrate Tet 😍
To commemorate the new year, communities will decorate streets, banners, and slogans. Amusement parks are at full capacity, and mobile art troupes are authorized to operate in the countryside to serve the public. Folk games are also created for everyone to participate in a joyful and happy atmosphere
Children, in particular, are looking forward to Tet because it will provide them with a long school break, the opportunity to buy new clothes from their parents, the opportunity to eat jams, and to receive lucky money from adults with the meaning of increasing their age have a lot of fun.They will be taken to amusement parks, where they will be free to run and play and have a good time
For me, Tet is a lengthy holiday for me since it allows me to reconnect with my family and eat traditional delicacies prepared by my mother, such as bitter melon soup, Tet cake, and salted palanquin, as well as visit my mother's green vegetable garden and wish my grandfather added 1 year old to live a long time with her children. I will be able to witness my parents makes traditional cakes such as banh chung, banh tet, banh in... freely absorb the aroma of sticky rice flour, then sit and watch the fire fill up the pot of "banh tet" for dad. Thinking about that makes me happy...
With only two months till the Lunar New Year, I wish my friends and their families a happy Tet.
Thank you @Ladies of Hive for suggesting a great topic for everyone to focus on family and I'd like to invite to join me in the contest.
Thank you all for reading my post.
Photo taken by me and my friend Ngọc Diệu