My Lunar New Year (The Tet's Holiday)

To the Vietnamese people, Têt Nguyên Ðan (Lunar New Year's Day) is very sacred. The Têt season usually falls on either the second half of the first calendar month, or the early days of the second calendar month of the year. This is the time when family members together make food, fruit and incense offerings on the family altars to commemorate their ancestors. This is also the time for people to visit their neighbours, their friends and relatives. During the first three or four days of Têt, any visitor who is the first visitor to one's house to offer Têt greetings would be considered as the first visitor for the year (Xông ðât). Their good or bad luck would have a strong effect on the house owner's business success for the coming year. The belief of Xông ðât remains very strong nowadays, especially among business people. Têt days are always regarded as a perfect time for people to enjoy traditional food such as baình chýng, a square-shaped sticky rice cake, the fragrance of which alone could strongly provoke one's sense of nostalgia for Têt.

This year, although I am around 25 years old, make enough the most of 25 The Tet holidays, why I still feeling eager and bursting to enjoy a Tet as the feeling from the childhood?!

When I was a child, each time the Tet coming, my Mom bring back home materials for make square glutinous rice cake (filled with green bean paste and fat pork, four-cornered dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in rush or phrynium leaves and boiled). Normally, My Dad and my old brothers will bundle rice cakes; we, because too young, just cleanse phrynium for them to bundle cakes, or grind green bean.
I would like so much the feelings sit by a cooking fare whole night, waiting for the rice cake pot until cakes done to a turn, hear what Father tall about his chidlhood and the days he stayed Cambodia Battlefield, meanwhile hot air of the fare reek into my face, and I often sleep fitfully.

Now, We always buy square-shaped glutinous rice cakes from the market, it's easy and faster, also not so expensive. But I always remember the cosy feeling when sitting beside of rice cake pot from childhood...

I love so much the imagine of my Mom arrange carefully "Five Fruits" tray, with: bananas, oranges, kumquats, pomelos, finger citrons and some other fruits with a supernatural power wish: custard-apple (This is a word pronunce the same as "pray" in Vietnamese), Coconut (this word pronounce the same with "suitable"), Papaw ("enough") and Soai ("spend"), so 4 kinds of fruits become the sentence with mean: Pray for enough money to spend all a year. That time, my Mom selling fruits in Binh Thoi market, so fruits is easy enough to display in the Tet holiday.

Now, my Mom doesn't sell fruits no longer. But she often teach me the way to choose good fruits.

I love so much New Year's Eve (Giao Thua). Not only formerly, but also now, Giao Thua Night, with my and my family, is the most sacred time of the year, when earth and sky join together. Normally, at midnight, the Vietnamese people worship the ancestors both inside and outside the house. My family are Catholic, so we don't worship, at midnight (12:00 pm), my Mom with one of kids goes out to pick up a new tree branch, as a symbol of the new year. This is placed on the altar or put into a vase. This is called "picking young leaves at the beginning of spring " (hai loc dau xuan). If the branch is beautiful, it will bring good fortune in the new year. My Mom is the first visitor of the new year (xong dat), every year like this, because My Mom's characters are: nice, laborious, light hearted... She is A good-natured person who would harm anyone. She has 8 kids (us) and all of us are grown-up, have work and be useful people for social. We hope we will be like her.

After the Giao Thua Eve (to say prayers), the entire family gather to celebrate the New Year. We wish each other good health, wealth, luck and success. And I love so much....hihi...New Year Day's Present (lixi - 红包) from my Parents, old sisters and brothers. Until now, I am to work, get income, but why I still to feel my heart eager to waiting for New Year Day's present from My Parents and sisters, brothers. Although I know it's just a few of money.

I like Traditional New Year Dishes in Vietnam, when offerings are made to the ancestors and hopes are high for a happy and prosperous new year. My Parents are Northern people, we were born and grow up in South. Hence our traditional new year dishes is combination of new year dishes of North and South's: Banh Chung (Square-shaped glutinous rice cake), jellied meat - it is often served with banh chung and salted onions, and Pickled onions. Those specialy dishes typify New year Dishes in North as the proverb: "Fatty pork, pickled onion, red parallel sentences. Lunar new year pole, firecrackers and green square-shaped sticky cake". typify New year dishes of South have: Chinese braised pork and Bitter melon stuffed with ground pork- this dish is regarded as a Happy New Year Wish. The bitter flavor of this signifies that the bitterness of the old year will end before new year arrives with its store of good luck. And some other dishes.

I love so much the harmonious combination of colorful flowers and colorful spring clothes, the presence of the countryside and the festival asmosphere comebine well with the animaty of the city. I love traditional cultural activities on Lunar New Year of Vietnam, such as the calligrapher writing paralled sentences and the wrapping up and cooking of Rice cake (banh chung)....

With me, I have the image of my native country engraved upon my mind, sepcialy on Lunar New Year.

The Lunar New Year is fast approaching, the city streets are bustling. During Lunar New year, Vietnamese people try to return to their original homes to celebrate there. Nobody want to leave native country. Last day, one friend ask me: If you love a guy- a foreigner, and want to get married with him, can you leave your native, move to his country with him? I answered that: Can, if the love he give me is the true love.

Lunar new year is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam, for everyone, and me also. According to the Vietnamese people, this is now the time to say Goodbye to the old year, and welcome in the new year with many many wishes. I also have 3 wishes for new year:

1. Wish for My parents always healthy, happy.

2. Wish for all my sisters and brothers are healthy and luckily, always successful in their business, success beyond their expectations

3. Wish for all my nephews (total 8 until now) always healthy, dutiful and study