'I miss my home when I go'

Hung was my friend, we went to the same class, herded buffaloes in the same fields, and when we grew up, we liked the same girl. Then Hung, a man who was more gallant and talented than me, quickly snatched the most beautiful girl in the village and took her all the way to Europe. In the blink of an eye, it has been several decades. Now, the “perfect couple” of that day has moved to settle down in Canada.

The farther apart we are, the stronger our friendship becomes. Besides texting each other quite regularly, every year,just before New Year's EveThe two of us called each other again to chat about everything under the sun for dozens of minutes. Our Nghe An-accented conversations often mingled with the cheers, singing and laughter of people half a world away. I still remember the year before Hung called me, the calendar that day printed a folk song:“When I go away, I miss my hometown/ I miss the morning glory soup, I miss the eggplant with soy sauce.”

Spring has come, suddenly remembering Hung's worried message this morning "Is Tet better in my hometown this year?". It seems like every year you ask me that question and it seems like every year I can't satisfy you with a few careless lines. Nghe An people are like that, no matter where they are, they always ache for their hometown.

Afternoon Lam - Quynh Bang commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Ho Long

I feel that the further away from home I am, the more Nghe An people become... Nghe An.

It is known that Nghe An is one of the localities with the largest number of people living and working abroad in the country. Not counting the number of settlers, not counting the number of students studying abroad, just exporting labor alone is already 62 thousand people. My friend is just one of hundreds of thousands of people.Artist"living and working everywhere on this beautiful and lovely planet. When asking my friends living abroad about the Tet of Nghe people there, I almost always receive a very happy answer: "Whatever is in Vietnam, we have it here."

This is indeed good news. In the 4.0 era, the interconnectedness of the market and cultural exchange combined with the explosive development of information technology have seemingly shortened the distances in space. The tangible geographical border has been overwhelmed by the "borderless" technology. No matter where you are, what you do, or what your position is, Nghe people are still Nghe people. I even feel that the farther away from home, the more Nghe people are... Nghe.

If Vietnamese communities abroad are being compared to miniature Vietnams, thenNghe people abroadIt is like a “Nghe An” mixed in there. Wherever they are, the Nghe people are connected to each other, sharing and supporting each other in life and business. Every Tet holiday is an occasion for the Nghe people to “hold a village festival”. In places with a large number of Nghe people, such as Kiev - the capital of Ukraine, there is also an association of Nghe compatriots. The association also has an executive committee, a chairman, and even “branches” of districts, cities, and towns.

Nghe An people in different countries often celebrate Tet in different time zones, but most people "follow" the "original" New Year's Eve in their hometown to connect. I have quite a few friends living abroad, so there is quite a lot of information about the Spring activities of Nghe An people living abroad. While I was writing this article, I received a message from Hien, a friend living in the US: "This afternoon I went to the Vietnamese Tet market and cried, I thought I was going to Hung Dung market".

Vietnamese students in France wrap Chung cakes to celebrate Tet. Photo: vietnamnet.vn

"Sitting by the pot of banh chung, the fragrant smell of dong leaves wafting throughout the house, I had the feeling of waiting for New Year's Eve and also setting off firecrackers... at that moment I felt like I was in Vietnam."

Ms. Maja Ta

Nguyen Kien Cuong (66 Nguyen Duy Trinh Street, Vinh City) who is living in France texted me: “We celebrate Tet here just like at home, except we can set off firecrackers freely. During the three days of Tet, we also burn incense, pay respect to our ancestors, visit each other’s houses, and go to pagodas to pray for good fortune. Some locals who know about Vietnamese Tet also come to congratulate and share the joy.” My status lines about Tet of Nghe people abroad on a Vinh City fanpage received hundreds of comments from Nghe people living all over the world. Everyone expressed their nostalgia, love for their homeland, and desire to return to their homeland, trying to have a truly rustic Tet. Ms. Maja Ta, a Nghe person living in France,settle in Polandjust replied to me: "We have everything, whether it's "Western" Tet or "Vietnamese" Tet, we still wrap banh chung ourselves. Wrapping banh chung on Tet feels quite interesting, sitting by the pot of banh chung, the fragrant smell of dong leaves wafts throughout the house, feeling like waiting for New Year's Eve and even setting off firecrackers... at that time I feel like I'm in Vietnam."

Thanh Hien, who lives in the Middle East block, Hung Dung ward, Vinh city, (currently residing in the US) confided: “Every time Tet comes, Spring returns, for those of us who are far away from home, we cannot help but feel sad, missing our homeland, our family, and our loved ones. Every year, on New Year's Eve in Vietnam (12 noon on the 29th in the US), we still have to go to work but take the opportunity to call home to wish them a Happy New Year... Knowing that we shouldn't cry at that moment, but tears just flowed because we missed home so much. Living in the US, our family still maintains Vietnamese culture and customs. On the 30th of Tet, no matter how busy, our children and grandchildren ask for leave to gather around the New Year's Eve dinner table and chat, waiting for the New Year's Eve moment. What makes me proud is that my children live in the US, and my son-in-law is of Filipino descent but still maintains the traditional Nghe An people, still happily and eagerly waiting for the Lunar New Year" (Thanh Hien, sent from Maryland, US).

So, wherever Nghe people are, they will always be Nghe people, wherever Nghe Tet is, it will always be Nghe Tet. Each country has a time zone, each time zone has a New Year's Eve, plus the "original" New Year's Eve in Vietnam, so the feelings are doubled, the homeland and the foreign land continue to interact, to converge, to gather together.

Warm atmosphere around the pot of Tet banh chung. Photo: Trung Ha

Traditional Tet is a time to turn to our roots. During the three days of Tet, we visit each other, look back at the results of a year of hard work, and from there, shape and create excitement for a new age to begin. Tet is also an occasion to turn to our ancestors, to seek moral values, and to seek out good traditions for thousands of years. Tet is the time when our hearts turn to the community. When we are warm inside and peaceful outside, when we make square Chung cakes and round Day cakes, there are still many pitiful situations and people who do not have Tet.

While we, Nghe An people, are celebrating New Year’s Eve, hundreds of thousands of Nghe An people living abroad are yearning for their homeland. Please do not forget those drops of blood from their distant homeland, nor forget the hundreds of millions of dollars in remittances sent home each year, nor forget the dozens of projects that “Nghe Kieu” are investing in Nghe An, contributing to enriching and beautifying their beloved homeland. Nghe An people living abroad are an inseparable part of Nghe An.

Each roll of dong leaves flows along the carts in all directions. The last calendar pages of the year Canh Ty are completing their mission of witnessing time. Tan Suu is coming, wishing for a new year with everything going as planned, wishing Nghe people all over the world a peaceful and healthy new spring. Suddenly, I think of the folk song "When I go, I miss my homeland/I miss the morning glory soup, I miss the eggplants with soy sauce".