Hanoi Flower Market

I read in the literature of the Self-Reliance Literary Group that they wrote that the custom of displaying ornamental flowers during Tet (Lunar New Year) had been popular in Hanoi since the early 20th century. The Tet flower market in Hanoi initially took place at Cau Dong Market, then moved to the area from the beginning of Hang Chao Street to Hang Cot Street, and later even extended to Hoan Kiem Lake.

Hanoi's flower market convenes from the morning of the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month until New Year's Eve. Flowers and ornamental plants, grown in villages around West Lake such as Ngoc Ha, Nghi Tam, Nhat Tan, Yen Phu, etc., converge in the inner city as Tet approaches.

The main types of flowers used for Tet (Lunar New Year) in Hanoi are peach blossoms, chrysanthemums, roses, peonies, azaleas, dahlias, and kumquats... However, the four most popular ornamental flowers in Hanoi for Tet are peach blossoms, chrysanthemums, daffodils, and kumquats.

Almost every household in Hanoi "acquires" a peach blossom branch to display in the living room during Tet. There are different shades of peach blossom, but the important thing is to know how to choose a branch with a beautiful shape, many buds, and to know how to "control" the blooming so that the flowers bloom precisely during the Lunar New Year and fully blossom throughout the spring days.

Some people also like to display chrysanthemums. These are potted flowers that can be placed in front of the door or in the living room, depending on the homeowner's preference and aesthetic sense. In Chinese culture, chrysanthemums symbolize autumn, which is why ancient Chinese texts refer to September as "Chrysanthemum Month." However, for Vietnamese people, chrysanthemums symbolize purity and humility, so Confucian scholars in the past often chose them to display in their study. For many others, the multi-layered, multi-petaled chrysanthemums symbolize togetherness, so they choose them for Tet (Lunar New Year) with the wish for family reunion.

The Chinese have a custom of giving each other large tangerines during the Lunar New Year. In Chinese, the word for large tangerine is 大橘 (dà guǔ), pronounced daju, which sounds similar to 大吉 (dà gǔ), meaning "great fortune" or daji. Perhaps this has also influenced the Vietnamese tradition of displaying tangerines during Tet. However, for the Vietnamese, a tangerine tree laden with ripe yellow fruit displayed in the living room symbolizes wealth and prosperity. It's what they hope for in the new year.

However, daffodils are the most luxurious flower in Hanoi's Tet flower-growing tradition. From the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, daffodil connoisseurs flock to Hang Buom Street to buy daffodil bulbs, trim them, soak them in clear crystal vases, and then anxiously wait until the morning of the first day of Tet to admire the clusters of pure white flowers, their gentle fragrance spreading softly in the cozy atmosphere of old houses in the ancient quarter. Growing daffodils is an elegant pastime, a sophisticated art of flower appreciation, requiring the grower to know the secrets of soaking, trimming, and shaping to create the perfect daffodil arrangement to welcome spring.

Heritage Magazine