This Tet, there is only mother's love left.

Before going home for Tet, my mother called me and asked me what gift I wanted from her. My son said that celebrating the New Year with me was the most meaningful gift for me.

Your answer brought tears to my eyes because I felt that my son had grown up. I remember the previous springs when our family had all its members. My parents often took me from Hanoi to the countryside to celebrate Tet with my grandparents in the village at the foot of the mountain. There, I was happier when my feet were free to run around the large yard, my hands were free to release carp into the cool stream on the 23rd of December.

On the days before Tet, the whole family wraps banh chung together. The cakes are wrapped from green beans, sticky rice, dong leaves... The ingredients are from the garden and rice fields that my grandmother has taken care of all her life with her hard-working hands. Even the string to tie the cakes is split by my grandfather from a bamboo tree in the corner of the garden. My little hands also practice wrapping the small, pretty cakes following my father's instructions. When the pot of banh chung is placed on the tripod, I sit next to my parents and chirp a children's song about three candles. The candle in my song and the fire in the small kitchen light up a warm, family-friendly light.

Then Dad told Mom and me about his childhood memories in the kitchen with corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, and green rice grains after the harvest. Not only Dad's childhood, Mom's childhood was also filled with memories in the small kitchen. Those were the afternoons when we cooked rice with straw, dry leaves, the smoke stung our eyes, and our cheeks were covered with ash. Those were the cold winter days when boiled cassava, baked sweet potatoes, roasted corn... rustic country food filled the hungry stomachs of the children in the poor neighborhood.

Children born in modern life like you may be unfamiliar with the tripod and the dark pots and pans, but I will teach you to preserve traditional values starting from the small kitchen, associated with fairy tales and the custom of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao that has been passed down for thousands of years.

When you grow up, I will teach you to prepare traditional dishes to put on the New Year's Eve offering tray. In addition to the green Chung cake symbolizing the shape of the earth, there are also sticky rice with gac fruit, pickled onions, fried spring rolls... These dishes create the identity and beauty of Vietnamese Tet. I will teach all the delicious cooking secrets that I learned from my grandmother to my son. So that when you grow up, you can share the hardships of housework with the woman you love. Just like the way your parents care for, love and "are equal to each other", so that family life is always harmonious.

Mom remembers the first day of the year, when our family went to visit relatives and friends. Dad carried me across the slippery road after the rain in the forest. Dad's hands were familiar to me. Because when I was in the city, Mom was often busy with her work shifts. Those nights, Dad often held me and sang me a lullaby in the cramped rented room.

But before my father could teach me my first strokes, he left me and my mother in a work accident. When I was three years old, my father died, and I was too young to feel the pain of separation.

Because of my mother's work and my education, I suppressed my longing and sent my child to live with my maternal grandparents. There, my maternal family would take care of me and love me like my mother's childhood. That village also had mountains, rivers, rice fields, gardens... so that I could find joy in my childhood without my father's figure and warm hands.

Working far from home, I can only visit you on my days off and call you after work. I forget all my tiredness when I see the smile on your lips. I am happy when I hear you tell stories about school and brag about your grade 2 exam scores. I am happy when you say that you know how to help your grandparents with some small chores around the house...

This year, I didn't ask my mother to buy me a new toy or new clothes like every year.

You said that celebrating Tet with your mother is the most meaningful gift. Your words make me wish Tet would come quickly. So that I can come back and hold you in my arms, making up for the lack of affection during the months of separation. Although your hands are not as big and strong as your father's, they are still warm enough to protect you.

Tet holiday is a long time for me to be with you. I will take you to visit your relatives on both sides of the family. I will teach you more about cultural traditions, traditional customs, and filial piety in the saying "The first day of Tet is for Father, the second day of Tet is for Mother, the third day of Tet is for Teacher".

On Tet days of yesteryear, dad carried me across difficult roads. This Tet, even though dad is no longer in this world, mom will hold my hand and walk on the same old road with her love.

KIEU THI HUYEN TRANG

Chuong My District - Hanoi

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