Traditional New Year's greeting cards

Decades ago, when Tet (Vietnamese New Year) arrived, many people were delighted to receive a gift from friends and relatives. It was a small greeting card.

Some cards include additional messages wishing relatives health and prosperity. These New Year's greeting cards, sent to friends and relatives, convey heartfelt appreciation and affection. Friends who live far away can have them delivered by the post office , saving on postage costs. The recipients are also delighted and cherish them as beautiful mementos.

I remember a high school friend who, every Lunar New Year, would painstakingly buy roki paper and cut out about 50 small greeting cards. She would handwrite New Year's greetings on each card, sometimes in English. Then, she would carefully place them in small envelopes she also made herself and send them to her teachers and classmates.

I once asked my friend why she went through all the trouble of making her own, when she could just buy a pre-printed greeting card from a bookstore. She replied that making her own was more fun, and she could write personalized greetings, expressing her feelings more deeply. Especially since a handmade card couldn't be duplicated from a pre-printed one, friends, teachers, and relatives wouldn't mistake it for someone else's. She could also change the design, font, and artwork to reflect spring, depending on her inspiration and the recipient.

Illustration: Hung Dung

Then many other students also started making greeting cards to send to each other, sometimes using pages from their school notebooks as materials, and felt-tip pens as brushes to decorate them like their daily lessons. The envelopes were also made from recycled paper.

And I also used to write New Year's greetings to my relatives and friends. I also felt a lot of joy receiving such cards. Every year, as Tet (Lunar New Year) approached, I eagerly awaited the New Year's greeting cards. The postman near my house seemed to understand my feelings, so whenever there was a letter, he would stop by my house to deliver it. Those cards were always full of affection.

I have an uncle who graduated from the Gia Dinh School of Fine Arts (now the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts) in the 1960s. His modest salary made raising and educating his children in Saigon a difficult task. Knowing that many people send each other New Year's greeting cards, he came up with an idea.

My uncle bought thick paper and crayons to make envelopes. These greeting cards were usually half or a quarter the size of a student's notebook page. On the background of the cards, he drew branches of yellow apricot blossoms, red watermelons, and a few sticky rice cakes. Some cards had firecrackers and a little boy in a long robe with his arms crossed next to a couplet celebrating the New Year… The cards usually had the phrase "Happy New Year" written on the front cover, and the sender could add a suitable greeting to the recipient on the back page. Wishes like "peace and prosperity," "wealth and fortune," "good luck," "peace and safety," "success and fame," and "family happiness" were common themes found on the cards.

He also didn't forget to send some of these New Year's greeting cards to his relatives back home as a spring gift, so they could write messages on them to send to their friends. Making these New Year's greeting cards continued for many years, providing income for the family. His drawing skills became increasingly refined and admired.

Nowadays, to wish someone a Happy New Year, people simply copy a pre-written message from the internet, add an emoji, and send it to a list. It's incredibly convenient, but it seems to lack a bit of the warmth and spirit of springtime.

Throughout my years of teaching, I've received countless New Year's greetings from my students. Some cards were bought from bookstores, others were handmade. Some had beautiful handwriting, while others' cards weren't as perfect, but I could feel their affection. Their wishes for me to be safe, healthy, and happy in my teaching career touched me deeply, especially those from my former students.

It's been a long time since I last held a New Year's greeting card in my hands. Technology has advanced, and people's ways of expressing feelings have changed. However, I still believe in the dream of a new year filled with joy, peace, and happiness, as expressed in the messages and emails sent from afar by friends, relatives, and the students I once knew…

Nguyen Huu Nhan

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/van-hoa/202602/thiep-tet-xua-8e81ed0/