LSO Tet Holiday Song
The Tet (Lunar New Year) atmosphere in the family of Ms. Le Thi Hong, Block 6, Ky Lua Ward, always begins at her mother's house – where her siblings gather to wrap banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) to welcome the spring. As a member of the Tay ethnic group, Ms. Hong still maintains the tradition of wrapping banh chung according to age: square-shaped cakes, fragrant white sticky rice, mung bean filling, marinated pork belly, and carefully tied with bamboo strings.
What she cherishes most isn't whether the batch of cakes is full or small, but the fact that her children and grandchildren get to participate directly. Younger children are assigned tasks like washing leaves, rinsing rice, and picking strings; older children learn to wrap cakes under the guidance of their grandmother and mother. In the lively conversations around the fire, the Tet customs of the Tay people, such as ancestor worship, inviting grandparents to celebrate Tet, and refraining from sweeping the house on the first day of the Lunar New Year, are recalled in a simple and memorable way. Ms. Hong shared: "Nowadays, you can just order them online, but I still dedicate time to preparing ingredients for my children to make cakes, wrap spring rolls, and make decorations for the house... I just hope my children understand that Tet is about coming home, about reunion, and about remembering where they grew up."
With the desire to preserve a traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) experience for their children, the family of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, from Block 4, Na Duong Commune, chose to take their children to the market to shop for Tet. More than just shopping, each market day before spring is an opportunity for the children to clearly feel the Tet atmosphere of the Northeast region: the red of couplets, the green of banana leaves, the scent of incense, star anise, and cinnamon wafting in the breeze.
Back home, the whole family cleans and decorates the ancestral altar, arranges the five-fruit offering, and hangs some traditional Tay-Nung brocade patterns that are simple yet warm and cozy. Mr. Ngoc believes that these activities help his children understand that Tet (Lunar New Year) is not something distant, but is present in every corner of the house, in every moment the whole family works together to prepare.
From gathering around the fire to cook sticky rice cakes to bustling Tet markets, each young family chooses its own way of preserving the traditional Tet holiday. Whether simple or elaborate, the common thread is the proactive role of parents in passing on cultural values to the next generation, including the beauty of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups.
In modern life, where a phone call or a few clicks online can easily order ready-made meals, sticky rice cakes, pork sausage, and even complete house cleaning and decorating services, Tet has become much easier than before. The busy pace of life leads many families to choose convenient options to save time and effort. However, in this context, the fact that many young families still proactively make their own cakes, go shopping for Tet, and clean their houses themselves is all the more commendable. They understand that the value of Tet doesn't lie in lavish feasts or material abundance, but in the process of the whole family preparing, waiting, and sharing together. These seemingly arduous tasks are the "glue" that binds generations together, creates fond memories for children, and helps prevent traditional customs from fading in modern life. This choice between convenience and preservation demonstrates the cultural awareness of each family in maintaining the traditional Tet customs.
Preserving the traditional Lunar New Year in modern families is not just about maintaining customs, but about preserving roots, togetherness, and love. When these values are nurtured within each home, the traditional Lunar New Year will remain intact, continue to thrive in today's life, and endure through the years.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/giu-tet-co-trong-gia-dinh-tre-5077596.html
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