Despite the many changes in life, the beautiful and meaningful traditional cultural values of Tet (Lunar New Year) are still preserved, inherited, and promoted by each family here through many generations. From cleaning and decorating the house, pruning apricot blossoms, going to the Tet market, the custom of worshipping ancestors, arranging the five-fruit tray, wrapping banh tet (traditional rice cakes) for Tet, gathering together on New Year's Eve, visiting relatives to wish them a Happy New Year, giving lucky money, and going to the temple at the beginning of the year... many families still maintain these traditions.
People buy flowers to decorate their homes for Tet (Lunar New Year). Photo: TIEU DIEN
In the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), the atmosphere of preparing for the new year is evident in every family in Vinh Tuy commune. Tet here has a simple, rustic charm. Members of Mr. Thai Dac Thien's family, residing in Muoi Hung hamlet, spend time cleaning their house and buying new household items. In the yard, Mr. Thien trims the green hedge, tends to the yellow apricot blossom trees, and adds a touch of spring with pots of yellow and orange marigolds along the path leading to his house. In front of the house, Mr. Thien hangs colorful string lights and red lanterns to make the house more vibrant for the new year. Mr. Thien shared: "Every year, at the end of the year, my family arranges our work to whitewash and repaint the walls of the house to make it look fresher and warmer."
Deep in the rural road leading to Vinh Binh hamlet, the scent of kitchen smoke on the last evening of the year blends with the aroma of banh tet (Vietnamese sticky rice cake) carried by the spring breeze throughout the village. For many years, the family of Mrs. Tran Thi Tham in Vinh Binh hamlet has maintained a meaningful tradition: family members gather together to wrap banh tet to offer to their ancestors and give to relatives. Beforehand, Mrs. Tham makes a list of ingredients, buying sticky rice, beans, dried coconuts, banana leaves, and splitting bamboo strips for tying the cakes. On the morning of the 28th of Tet (Lunar New Year), from the early hours, everyone gathers under the eaves behind Mrs. Tham's house to wrap the cakes. This year, the cake-making session is even more joyful and lively because, in addition to Mrs. Tham's family, several neighbors also joined in.
Ms. Tham shared: “Even though there are places to buy ready-made banh tet (Vietnamese sticky rice cake), my family still maintains the custom of making banh tet for Tet. Every year, on the 28th day of the lunar month, my sisters and I gather at my house to make banh tet. This is also an opportunity for family members to bond, become closer, and strengthen community ties. The feeling of sitting by the crackling fire waiting for the cakes to cook, chatting together amidst the fragrant aroma of the cakes, sharing stories about the past year's work, and talking about plans for the new year is a simple yet meaningful joy.”
Meanwhile, in the small kitchen of Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoan, residing in Phuoc Minh hamlet, the last days of the year are more bustling than usual. The fragrant aroma of baked wafers and sponge cakes fills the air. Instead of buying cakes and sweets at the market, Ms. Ngoan and her family members usually gather to make them to offer to their ancestors and to entertain guests during Tet (Lunar New Year). With many sisters in the family, each makes a different type of cake and sweet. In this pineapple-growing region, pineapple jam is an indispensable part of the Tet cake platter. “My family gathers to make sponge cakes, wafers, ginger jam, banana jam, coconut jam, and tamarind jam to treat guests and give to relatives and friends. There’s nothing more joyful than sitting with family preparing these cakes and sweets,” Ms. Ngoan said.
In her house, decorated with the festive atmosphere of Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan carefully cleaned the ancestral altar and adjusted the flower vases before setting up the offering tray to welcome her ancestors on the afternoon of the 29th day of the lunar month. From early morning, Ms. Loan went to the market and, along with other family members, each took on a task in cooking and preparing the offering tray. Each cup of water, incense stick, and dish was neatly and meticulously arranged. Ms. Loan confided: “Although life has changed a lot now, the year-end offering tray to remember our ancestors is indispensable. This year, the offering on the afternoon of the 29th day of the lunar month will feature familiar dishes such as braised pork with eggs, bitter melon soup, pickled vegetables, and sticky rice cakes…”
The Lunar New Year of the Horse in 2026 has passed, but for many, the lingering feelings of kinship and the warm reunion with family in the spring still remain.
SMALL FIELD
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/lang-que-giu-nep-tet-a477935.html
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