Tet market in the countryside

These are the markets that take place in many rural areas of Vietnam during the last days of the lunar year, and have been for hundreds of years, becoming a part of Vietnamese "Tet culture".

Rural markets usually only operate for one session a day: morning markets or afternoon markets, but during Tet (Lunar New Year), due to increased demand, Tet markets in the countryside often last all day.

Unlike regular markets, the goods at the Tet market are not just produce from home gardens, grown and harvested by villagers and brought to the market for buying and selling. The Tet market also features products from nearby craft villages or items mostly produced in urban areas, such as: wine, tea, jams, cakes, and offerings. The Tet market also includes goods that only appear once a year, such as Tet paintings, couplets, handwritten or printed Han-Nom characters on red paper, votive offerings for ceremonies, and items for decorating and decorating homes. Especially noteworthy are the many flowers and fruits characteristic of spring, such as apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, and kumquats. People go to the Tet market not only to buy and sell, but also to admire the sights, to have fun, and to immerse themselves in the vibrant and bustling atmosphere of "welcoming Spring and Tet" after a year of hard work. Therefore, the Tet market is not just for adults dealing with buying and selling; there are also children following their parents to observe the people and the sights, to see the goods and treats they've always longed for: new clothes to wear for Tet, cute and funny toys displayed on stalls in front of the market, delicious snacks and sweets that have left their mark on childhood memories, and to enjoy the approaching Tet atmosphere in their peaceful countryside. The Tet market in the countryside also welcomes the elderly, those who go to the market not for buying and selling, but to meet and chat with fellow countrymen and contemporaries... searching for "a bygone era" still lingering in the market days, to share the joys and sorrows of the past year.

For generations, the Tet market in rural areas has not only been a normal economic activity but also a cultural event, an invisible thread connecting community spirit, and a special space and time for people to feel the harmony of heaven and earth, of all things, on the eve of spring.

For this reason, the image of the Tet market in the countryside has appeared in many works of poetry, including the poem "Tet Market" by Doan Van Cu, included in the collection "Vietnamese Poets" (by Hoai Thanh - Hoai Chan, Hoa Tien Publishing House, 1967). This is like a spring painting created with verses:

A band of white and red clouds gradually appeared over the mountain peak.

Pink and blue mist embraces the thatched roof.

On the white-bordered road along the green hillside

People from the villages excitedly head to the Tet market.

...

The little boys in red shirts were running around excitedly.

A few elderly people, leaning on canes, walked slowly.

The girl in the red bodice covered her lips and smiled silently.

The little boy nestled his head against his mother's chest.

Two villagers carrying pigs ran ahead.

The funny yellow cow chased after it.

...

A teacher hunched over a wooden plank.

With nimble hands, he busily writes spring poems.

The old Confucian scholar paused to stroke his beard.

He silently recited a few lines of the red couplet.

The old woman selling goods by the ancient temple.

The water used to wash my hair turned it completely white.

The flower boy had a brown headscarf.

Sitting and rearranging the pile of gold on the mat.

...

Today, despite the fast-paced, modern lifestyle and constant changes that are causing many traditional customs to fade, Tet markets in rural areas still exist. Even if these markets are no longer as complete as the Tet market described by poet Doan Van Cu, they remain full of cultural and humanistic values, like slow-motion film clips preserving for contemporary Vietnamese people the beauty of Tet in the countryside.

Source link: https://www.facebook.com/TapchiHeritagevn