Tet trade goods Check-in point in my grandparents' time

In recent days, the Old Tet Festival and Gift Market held for the first time in Hoa Lu Ancient Town have attracted thousands of tourists and locals to experience shopping and take photos. The impression left in the hearts of tourists is probably the memory of a time when "ration stamps" still linger somewhere through collected items such as lunch boxes, cassette players, Thong Nhat bicycles and the loudspeaker sound "this is the voice of Vietnam...".

With more than 80 booths displaying and selling food , drinks, Tet flowers, handicrafts, decorations, gift products, souvenirs and OCOP products of Ninh Binh province, the Old Tet Festival and gift market have brought visitors many meaningful experiences such as: wrapping banh chung, playing folk games, attending talk shows shared by sellers, checking in with a colorful space, full of Tet flavor.

Tet trade goodsCheck-in point in my grandparents' time — Traditional Tet gift baskets are sold at the old Tet market.

The most attractive and impressive booth at the Old Tet Festival is probably the "BAV Trading Store". Here, the young people of the 9X and 2K generations of BAV Media Company have painstakingly collected and decorated a space to display Tet goods and a check-in space imbued with the essence of the subsidy period. Vu Minh Trang, Head of Marketing Department of BAV Media Company, shared: This is the first time we have had the idea of displaying an old Tet space. Our biggest wish is to bring to the young people of the 9X and 2K generations an experience of the life of their fathers and grandfathers in the subsidy period not only through objects such as a black and white TV, a tea cabinet, a peacock blanket, a bicycle frame... but also to give young people real experiences such as buying goods with stamps, Tet goods of the 70s and 80s of the last century. As for the ladies, they can immerse themselves in the old Tet atmosphere through the sounds and images of the subsidy period...

Nguyen Hai Nam, an 11th grade student in Ninh Binh city, said that coming to the "Trade Store", he saw and heard very meaningful activities of the traditional Tet holiday of his grandparents' time. There were items here that he had only heard about but had never seen before. In addition, we got to line up and buy goods with coupons, which also brought a very interesting experience.

The old markets are likened to films going back to the past, to preserve part of the soul of the countryside, memories of childhood and a place containing many emotions hidden deep in each person's soul. It is also a lively space reflecting the life of each family, of the community and of the people in a bygone era. Ms. Hoang Thi Nham, Ninh Xuan commune, Hoa Lu shared: Coming to the old town today, I feel like I am lost in the Tet space of the 70s of the last century. Although the stalls here are mostly owned by young people, they have put a lot of effort into thinking, arranging, searching for items, decorating the space, so that viewers have the opportunity to reminisce about the past.

In particular, while walking in the market, I was attracted by the loudspeaker saying "This is the voice of Vietnam, broadcasting from Hanoi ...". This is a familiar sound to our 6X generation. In the past, there were no telephones or color TVs like today, so just hearing the sound "This is the voice of Vietnam" was enough for us to know the time, without having to look at the clock. Coming to the "trading store", the image of the stamps, the lunch box, the table and chair set, the peacock blanket... brought back memories of a time of poverty. My family members and I took photos here as souvenirs.

Coming to the old Tet space in Hoa Lu Ancient Town, Ms. Le Thi Thanh, Ninh Binh city also confided: When we were young, everyone just wanted Tet to come quickly so that we could go to the market with our mother and grandmother. For us 8x, 9x children, the gifts and Tet market items in the countryside are very ordinary but not trivial. Because its flavor is the flavor of childhood, of memories of the homeland. The Tet market in the old countryside becomes an unforgettable nostalgia every time Tet comes, spring returns. Especially for children in the countryside, the Tet market is a colorful world, a dream space with many interesting things that seem near but far. Hopefully, activities like the Old Tet Festival will be held annually so that generations of Vietnamese people will always remember the flavor of traditional Tet. For our generation, there is not only an opportunity to experience and reminisce about Tet holidays imbued with national identity, but also the love of mothers and the hardships of fathers when selling tons of rice and pigs to buy their children new sandals and clothes.

The Old Tet Festival and Gift Market will take place from January 19 to February 14, 2024 (the 5th day of the Lunar New Year). This is the opening event of a series of events celebrating the 10th anniversary of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex being recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Nguyen Thom - Anh Tuan

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