Games filled with memories

Born and raised in the countryside or the city, everyone has a time of childhood. When talking about the sweet memories associated with that childhood, it is impossible not to mention games. Those are beautiful, sweet memories that follow each person throughout life. The same goes for the 7x generation. We had years of fun together, playing many folk games that we will remember forever when we grow up.

At that time, the country had just ended the war against America. Everything was very difficult. To have fun, in the countryside, every morning and every afternoon, the children in the neighborhood often gathered together to play all kinds of games, such as horse jumping, hopscotch, jump rope, hide and seek, marbles, tossing cans, tug of war, blindfolded goat catching, dragon snake up to the clouds; playing hopscotch, tossing rubber bands into shapes, planting buds, playing chuyen (playing with the broken pieces)... These were very fun folk games, sometimes older siblings joined the group to play, passed down, sometimes parents taught them. Games with few participants such as hopscotch, hopscotch... were often played on the porch or in the corner of the yard. But there were also games with more participants such as tug of war, playing ù, blindfolded goat catching... then we had to choose large areas of land or fields that had just been harvested to have fun.

Some folk games: Playing volleyball, hopscotch, hopscotch, and bean picking. Photo: NHAN TAM

Back then, rubber bands were something we really liked. In games that involved winning or losing, we often used this type of band as a commodity. Some kids got money from their parents and went to the market to buy them. Some kids won and gathered the rubber bands together and braided them into a long string as big as an adult’s big toe in various colors, green, red, and yellow, so that when they played, they would carry them around and look very impressive. Glass marbles were quite rare in the countryside, so if the boys had any, they would keep them carefully in their pockets and take them out to play with when needed.

Among the girls my age in the neighborhood, Hoa likes to play bud planting the most. This game has 4 people (if there are less, 3 people can play), divided into 2 groups, including the sitting group and the dancing group. When playing, the 2 girls in the sitting group will sit facing each other, 2 legs stretched out so that 2 feet are close together, then one person's foot will be placed on the top of the other person's standing foot. The girls in the dancing group will jump over and then jump back. After that, the girls in the sitting group continue to place 1 hand on the top of their friend's foot to make a bud for the dancing group to jump over. If the person in the dancing group touches the bud, it is considered a loss, and must sit instead of the other group. Hoa likes this game because her legs are high, so the buds rarely touch her.

As for playing volleyball, we have to mention Kim. This game requires quick hands and eyes, because when playing, you have to toss the ball, catch the ball, and pick up the broken sticks on the ground rhythmically, according to the rules without the ball falling. Not only that, from the parts of "watching", "bundling", "re", "pounding rice", "gently", "beating", to the part of "passing", in addition to flexibility, the player also has to sing. Kim plays well, sings well, her voice is clear and rhythmic in every part: "The one, the mai/The boy, the mussel/The spider spins a web/The apricot, the plum/The near, the two on the table/The two of us/The two of them/The two of dogs/The two of cats/The two rowing three/The three go far/The three come near/The three rows of celery/The one goes to the fourth/The fourth is taro/The fourth is garlic/The two ask the fifth/The fifth is lying down/The fifth is six...".

Not only did we play during our free time during the day, sometimes at night, some of the kids in the neighborhood would get together to organize some games. One time, on a moonlit night, a few other kids and I gathered in Aunt Tu’s yard at the beginning of the neighborhood to play hide and seek. In the group, there was little Hong, only seven years old, who kept asking to join. While we were playing enthusiastically, we suddenly heard her crying loudly in the straw pile at the foot of the jackfruit tree. We ran over and found out that little Hong was hiding right on a fire ant nest, so we quickly brought her into the house to wash her feet and apply oil. That time, the older kids in the group were scolded by Aunt Tu, but none of them dared to argue and quietly left.

There is another story that I always remember. One time, in the communal house yard, I saw some boys playing horse jumping, I also wanted to play, although this is not a game for girls. To play this game, one person will bend down so that the other person can hold their back from behind and jump over their head. Then, the person who just jumped will bend down to become the horse. Because I thought it was easy and wanted to have fun, when playing, I jumped too hard, fell down, my head hit the ground, and my forehead was swollen. When I got home, my parents scolded me, even a girl plays horse jumping!

Like many schools in other rural areas, the primary and secondary school in my commune at that time had a very large yard, and many trees were planted. During recess, students gathered in groups to play their favorite games. Here, girls jumped rope, threw pebbles, there, boys played marbles, hopped on the hopscotch… Many lunches, we even invited each other to come early to play before going to school. One time, in the class, there was a group of friends playing blindfolded goat catching. While Tuan - the one who was blindfolded was waving his arms looking for someone to catch, suddenly the homeroom teacher approached. Seeing that we were having fun, she signaled us to be quiet, telling Tuan not to let her know. Unexpectedly, Tuan came close, bumped into her, so he quickly hugged her, happily shouting “Caught the goat! Caught the goat!” making everyone laugh out loud. When he removed the blindfold, Tuan turned pale, apologizing profusely because he was scared. But the homeroom teacher said nothing, just smiled, and told us to continue playing…

Nowadays, life is developing with the birth of countless electronic devices and many different types of modern games. However, for us, every time we sit down to review old stories, we all remember the memories of the traditional games that have been with us. That is one of the sweet, colorful sources that nourish the souls of children.

MINH HUYEN

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