Overseas workers remember Tet in their hometown

(Dan Tri) - Every spring, Vietnamese workers abroad miss the traditional Tet atmosphere of the nation. Although they cannot gather with their families, their hearts always turn to their homeland.

Lunar New Year 2025 is the 14th consecutive year that Mr. Doan Tuan Dat (residing in Quan Hau town, Quang Ninh district, Quang Binh province) cannot return to Vietnam to reunite with his family.

Mr. Dat worked in Russia for 9 years before. For the past 5 years, he has worked in Taiwan (China).

Mr. Doan Tien Dat (left) has not been able to celebrate Tet in Vietnam for many years due to work conditions (Photo: Character provided).

Every time Tet comes, Mr. Dat and many Vietnamese workers working abroad miss their homeland, miss the family reunion atmosphere, and crave the feeling of cleaning the house with their family and preparing the New Year's Eve offerings on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet.

"Seeing relatives and friends posting pictures on Facebook of Tet shopping, village roads and alleys filled with flags and flowers makes me sad. Being away from home on Tet, we can only call to ask about everyone's health and wish them a happy new year. Hearing the voices of our relatives makes us happy and helps ease our longing," Dat confided.

According to Mr. Dat, to make the Spring atmosphere more joyful and help those living far away from home to ease their homesickness, workers in Taiwan often contact each other to gather, creating a Vietnamese Tet space in a foreign land. They gather together, prepare food, wrap Chung cakes, and share joys and sorrows.

"In Taiwan, we have a Quang Binh association, where we support each other in work and life. In addition to organizing Tet activities to dispel homesickness, the association also regularly implements charity programs, focusing on the homeland, supporting compatriots in difficult circumstances," Mr. Dat added.

Vietnamese workers abroad always turn their hearts towards their homeland (Photo: Nhat Anh).

For Mr. Tran Vu Hoang (born 2000, residing in Quang Thuan ward, Ba Don town, Quang Binh province), every time Tet comes, the feeling of missing home, parents, and hometown arises again.

According to Mr. Hoang, in order to make a living, he had to work hard and go to Japan to work, just hoping to support his parents and have a better life. This is the third consecutive Tet that Mr. Hoang has not been able to reunite with his family.

"After many years of not returning home, I really miss the feeling of sitting by the fire with my mother watching the pot of banh chung, and on New Year's Eve, going around the neighborhood to wish everyone a happy new year. Here, we also buy ingredients to make traditional dishes, wrap banh chung, and some skillful girls also make jam to create a Tet atmosphere, to ease our homesickness," Hoang confided.

Mr. Hoang (2nd left) is working in Japan (Photo: Character provided).

Some workers in Japan said that because Japan does not celebrate the New Year according to the lunar calendar, businesses do not give workers time off. This year's New Year does not fall on Saturday or Sunday, so it is more difficult for Vietnamese workers to meet and gather to celebrate the New Year.

While spring is bustling all over the country, in faraway lands, many Vietnamese people are still working hard, saving every penny to send back home, striving for a better future.

For workers far from home like Mr. Dat and Mr. Hoang, although each person has their own life and circumstances, they share a common homesickness, always thinking about their homeland, working hard so that one day not far away they can celebrate Tet with their families.

According to statistics from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quang Binh province, this locality has about 30,000 people working, studying and working abroad. On average, each year, Quang Binh has about more than 5,000 people selected to work abroad for a limited period under contract.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/an-sinh/lao-dong-xa-xu-boi-hoi-nho-tet-que-20250124202033153.htm