With Generation Z growing up in a digital society, the way they express and preserve national cultural traditions like Teacher's Day has also changed significantly.
Generation Z has many creative ways to express their feelings and gratitude to their teachers (Illustrative image).
This year's Tet (Lunar New Year) is also the first Tet for Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong ( from Hai Duong ) as a university student. A week before Tet, Duong and her friends' online chat groups were buzzing with plans to visit and wish their high school and university teachers a Happy New Year.
"For university teachers who live far away, I will send messages or call to wish them a Happy New Year. As for high school teachers, my class had already planned to go and wish them a Happy New Year before Tet."
As is customary, every year my friends and I visit our teachers on the third day of the Lunar New Year. For me, this year's Teacher's Day is even more special than in previous years as I officially begin a new level of education. This transition would not have been possible without the guidance, teaching, and companionship of our teachers throughout our high school years. This is also an opportunity for us to express our feelings and gratitude to our teachers.”
Thuy Duong shared that, in addition to wishing teachers a Happy New Year in person, she and her friends also have many unique and creative ways to wish their teachers a Happy New Year online, while still expressing their affection. (Photo: Provided by the interviewee)
As a true Gen Z, Thuy Duong believes that, whether in the past or present, the custom of celebrating Teachers' Day remains a beautiful cultural tradition, educating generations of students about gratitude, respect for teachers, and remembering one's roots. Growing up in a digital society with advanced information technology, the way Gen Z, like Duong, celebrates Tet (Vietnamese New Year), is also different from previous generations.
"Besides visiting our teachers in person, we also often send messages and emails to wish them a Happy New Year. This method is not only convenient but also makes it easy to express the feelings we usually hesitate to say to our teachers."
Additionally, we can create short, creative videos containing New Year's greetings, memorable moments from our studies, or even sing a New Year's song to send to our teachers. Or, instead of buying ready-made New Year's greeting cards, we can also make our own online New Year's cards or handmade cards to send to our teachers.
"I think that with just a smartphone, we can send our sincere feelings to our teachers in the most authentic way possible," Duong shared.
On the second day of Tet (Lunar New Year), after returning to her maternal grandparents' home in Hanoi with her parents to wish them a happy new year, Bao Anh (born in 2006) still managed to find time to make a short TikTok video featuring images of herself and her homeroom teacher from the past year to send to her on the third day of Tet.
"Every year on the third day of Tet (Lunar New Year), our class makes plans to visit our teachers to wish them a happy new year. Since we don't have the financial means to buy expensive gifts, we usually bring flowers, small fruit baskets, or handmade items. Sometimes it's online gifts like short TikTok clips capturing memorable moments of our teachers and us, or simply online greetings via Facebook or Zalo."
"These holidays are an opportunity for us to express our feelings and gratitude to the teachers who have guided and taught us throughout the past year," Bao Anh shared.
For Nguyen Tri Thanh (a 12th-grade student in Hanoi), Teacher's Day is a special day, when teachers and students don't have to worry about homework, tests, or exams, and can freely share everyday stories.
"Every time we visit our teachers, we're very happy. All the pressure of studying is relieved, and many of their stories inspire us to study harder. My homeroom teacher is quite young; unlike his strictness in class, he's very relaxed and youthful at home."
There were years when, during Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations, the teacher would invite the whole group out for bubble tea, or hot pot and barbecue, so they could have more time to talk and share their thoughts. From there, the teacher and students understood each other better, and the teaching and learning process improved.
Many people believe that the more modern society becomes, the more "dull" Tet becomes, but for me, Tet is still the most special holiday of the year. It's a time when everyone gets to return home, gather with family and loved ones, and express the most loving wishes, sincere thanks, and gratitude that we sometimes hesitate to say," Thanh shared.
Nguyen Trang (VOV.VN)
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