Tet past and present of teachers and students

At the end of the year, some colleagues who are teachers, having gone through various periods of study and teaching together, reminisced about the traditional Vietnamese New Year.

"Learning from the past to understand the present," the topic the teachers brought up was the difference between Tet (Vietnamese New Year) in the past and Tet today in schools.

The first difference is the classroom and school environment during the Lunar New Year. In the past, with most schools having rudimentary and outdated facilities, the school grounds received little attention during the Tet holiday. Nowadays, about one or two weeks before students go on Tet holiday, most schools, from kindergarten to high school, pay close attention to decorating the grounds beautifully, creating impressive Tet-themed displays that bring a vibrant and festive atmosphere.

Elementary school students enjoy the spring festival held at school in the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year).

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

Secondly, the New Year's celebrations in schools also vary greatly. In the past, when our generation was in high school, there weren't many activities to welcome the new year. The school mainly organized overnight camping trips in the schoolyard, combined with arts and sports competitions, and wall newspaper contests. Nowadays, schools organize many more diverse activities such as Tet camps, spring food fairs, musical performances, and competitions like wrapping and cooking banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), displaying fruit platters, and making greeting cards.

Teacher and students at the festival making banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes).

Photo: Jadeite

The way students used to wish their teachers a Happy New Year was different from today. In the past, "Tet for teachers" meant essential items like a kilogram of white sugar, a few cartons of milk, a bottle of shampoo... Nowadays, it's much more practical, with supermarket vouchers, bank transfers, etc.

In the old days, Tet greetings were only exchanged directly between students, or a few handwritten letters from former students to their teachers, sometimes not received until many days after Tet! Nowadays, Tet greetings are pre-made images from apps, sent instantly via mobile phone.

Students enjoy a spring festival organized at school before Tet (Lunar New Year).

A large-scale cultural and artistic program was organized in the high school before the students went on Tet holiday break.

Teachers' Day is less difficult these days than in the past, so social media has seen significantly fewer humorous images and poems lamenting the poverty of teachers celebrating the holiday. There are fewer instances of teachers having to celebrate the holiday far from home or staying in school dormitories due to travel difficulties and expenses.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tet-xua-va-tet-nay-cua-giao-vien-hoc-sinh-185250127151538009.htm