Tet holiday - a national festival

Tet holiday is a special festival in Vietnam. It lasts about 3-4 days but often lasts until the first week of January.

Before New Year's Eve, we work around the clock to finish everything that is related to the past year. In my family, my grandma often goes to a market which is near our house to buy some flowers or fruits to decorate our house. My parents prepare some ingredients to cook Chung cake (sticky rice cake) which is a traditional cuisine in Tet. My siblings and I often help our parents to clean up our house and wash Dong leaves that use to wrap the Chung cake. 

If we want to make Chung cake, we need to purchase some Dong leaves, pork, beans, sticky rice, additives... The process of cooking Chung cake always reminds me of my childhood. I still remember that I would like to watch Chung cake with my father because I prefer the smell of Chung cake and the warm of fire around the pot "Chung cake". And we need to wait for about 10 to 12 hours in order to boil the Chung cakes. After boiling we put on these Chung cakes on the surface of the table to dry the water. And we put on our alter some Chung cake to worship our ancestor. 

On New Year's Eve, my father often lets off a big firework as a signal that the festival had started. And on the sky was alight with hundreds of fireworks. Sometimes we go to the center of our city to watch the firework. It was a fascinating moment, oohing and aahing with everyone else. That evening ended with a thrilling display of firework and I guess it's a memorable moment in every person.

Actually, I have been living far away from my family for 6 years. I really miss my family and the Tet holiday. I still remember that on the first day of January, we often wake up from the crack the dawn to wash our face and get lucky money from our grandparents and parents and then my parents also present the lucky money to our grandparent to bless them healthy, happy. After that, we go to our relatives to bless them with happiness, luck, and success in their life and work. And in these days all of the children get a lucky money from adults. This is a kind of tradition in Tet and people believe that this money will bring to their children the luck. 

Another traditional culture in Tet is called " choosing the first footer". All of the family hope to meet a person with good morality and success to step on the house to bring a lucky sign for that family. 

And during the Tet holiday, my grandma and mother go to pagodas to pray the blessing to our family. We also believe in "karma" that you "reap what you sow" or what comes around goes around". And going to pagodas or temples is the nice ritual to find inner peace in Tet holiday. It isn't superstitious. 

My sister and I (when I was 13-year-old)

In a second of Tet, we gather together to cook and eat our traditional cuisine like "nem ran, Vietnamese sausages, soup, sticky rice".... so on. To be honest, I haven't eaten these foods that made from my grandma and mother for a long time. 

And on this occasion, we also go to our old teachers who taught us in high school or primary school or elementary school. When we meet them there is a lot of emotion that brings back to our mind. It was a time we were students. 

In this holiday we have 10 days off. It's time for every people to get together to their family. Some families who like to have a getaway or in another word is a journey to go somewhere to let their hair down, get laid-back from nature or breathtaking landscapes. If I have a chance I also want to bring our family to go to DaLat which is a fascinating and beautiful place that people must see. And this things can make our family is more tight-knit. 

Well, actually there are lots of things to talk about the Tet holiday in Vietnam. I hope that in Tet holiday all of people in Vietnam can be in their family and get happy and lucky in New Year. 

I LOVE TET HOLIDAY AND MISS MY HOME SO MUCH.

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