When it comes to spring flowers, we are no longer unfamiliar with the bright pink of peach blossoms in the North, the bright yellow of apricot blossoms in the South. But if we go back to the old days, especially in the Ke Cho area (another name for Thang Long - old Hanoi ), there is also a color with a pure white color, which is the narcissus flower, a flower that is likened to a clock signaling the New Year's Eve. Indeed, the name "narcissus" - "water fairy" alone says it all. Every part of the plant such as tubers, roots, leaves, and flowers is imbued with a noble and elegant quality. The white petals, small, pretty yellow pistils with a sweet fragrance, spreading throughout the space are likened to "jade plates, golden cups".
Ms. Do Thi Phu ( Hoa Binh City) takes care of daffodils to display during the traditional Tet holiday.
In the old days, every time Tet came, Spring came, people, especially Ke Cho people, told each other to go find and buy narcissus bulbs to trim and considered it an elegant hobby of well-off families at that time. Owning a good narcissus bulb was one thing, but to "play" with narcissus flowers was a complicated and elaborate task. Right from the 11th lunar month, flower players were busy choosing large narcissus bulbs with beautiful shapes, trimming them, soaking them in bowls, pots or glasses of clean water and then trimming them so that the green flowers and leaves had the desired shape. Connoisseurs had to know how to take good care of them, change the clean water regularly, clean the bulbs, leaves and roots every day, avoid negative effects of the weather, stimulate and slow down so that the flowers can bloom at the most important moment (usually around New Year's Eve until the morning of the first day of Tet).
In today's life, narcissus is somewhat closer to everyone, partly because of its affordable price, partly because narcissus is no longer confined to Hanoi, but has followed the children of the capital to disperse to all provinces and cities. Ms. Do Thi Phu is originally from Hanoi, living and working in Hoa Binh City since 1970. Every year at the beginning of December, she looks for and buys a few Chuong Chau narcissus bulbs to display during Tet.
According to Ms. Phu, the most important thing when pruning narcissus is not to damage the flower sheath, causing the flower to not bloom. The preferred type of narcissus is the single-flower bulb (flower with 1 layer of petals). Explaining this, Ms. Phu said: "The ancients, especially at the beginning of the New Year, always wanted everything to "rise up", to be equal to 5 or 10 years old, but the narcissus bulb that produces double flowers bows its head down, not raising it high like the single flower, the ancients thought that it was not complete. In terms of fragrance, the single flower has a light fragrance, blending with the incense and the atmosphere of Tet, giving people a feeling of relaxation and comfort, in contrast to the double flower which also has a fragrance but is somewhat heavier, more "harsh", not suitable for the Vietnamese character who prefers gentleness and freshness".
Because it is a noble hobby, the steps of pruning daffodils are also called by beautiful names such as leaf trimming, jade pruning (using a pruning tool to trim 2/3 of the leaf edges so that the leaves grow twisted and cut off part of the leaf's growth buds so that the leaves do not grow too high). In recent years, this hobby has gradually become known to the people of Hoa Binh and daffodils have been introduced as a flower to play on Tet holiday. Many of these items have appeared in nursery shops in Hoa Binh city. On the days before Tet, Ms. Mai Thi Hao, owner of Mai Hao nursery shop, imported a large number of daffodil bulbs to serve the needs of people during Tet. At the end of 2024, Ms. Hao imported 3 batches of daffodil bulbs, she said that there was still a shortage because there were customers ordering more.
The hobby of growing narcissus has been present in Vietnam since the beginning of the 20th century and appeared in many literary works such as "Old Vietnamese Tet" by scholar Nguyen Tien Lang, or in the memoir "Flower Sheet" by writer Nguyen Tuan, he wrote: "About half a century ago, I still saw our ancestors measuring time with flowers. At that time, time really had a scent. The narcissus was peeled on a December day, exposed to the sun and dew and held under a lamp in a certain way, so that it would fully bloom right at New Year's Eve. Just like the hour and minute hands announcing the end of the year, the flowers bloomed all the way to welcome the new year, waiting at the half-open door of the communal house. Every year, Bach Ma communal house holds a narcissus contest at the end of the year, whoever's flower blooms right at New Year's Eve will receive a prize of ten square meters of pink flowers, five mortars of firecrackers, a jar of tin-bag tea...".
It can be said that, thanks to the inherent good meaning associated with Tet and the increasingly improved material and spiritual life of the people, the hobby of growing daffodils still has a lasting vitality, gradually becoming popular and spreading more and more strongly.
La Hung
Source: http://www.baohoabinh.com.vn/16/197595/Doc-dao-thu-choi-hoa-thuy-tien-vao-dip-Tet-co-truyen.htm
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