Spreading the cultural values of Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) to students.
(Baonghean.vn) - Tet markets and displays showcasing the spirit of Spring are providing students with a Vietnamese Tet experience in the days leading up to the new year. This activity is also being implemented by schools across the country these days.
Vietnamese Tet (Lunar New Year) for international students.
The festival of wrapping and cooking banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) at Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 lasted for two days and took place during the last days of the Year of the Rabbit.
In addition to over 700 students from ethnic minority groups, the program also included 31 others.Lao studentsStudents studying at the school and officers and soldiers from the 654th Transport Brigade, Logistics Department of Military Region IV, a unit affiliated with the school, participated. In addition to the traditional exchange program, the transport soldiers also acted as teachers, guiding the students in cooking and wrapping banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) according to the customs of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
Before the traditional Vietnamese rice cake wrapping and cooking festival began, Souklthida, a Lao student from Savanakhet province, had already gone online to learn about the Vietnamese Tet holiday. This was also one of the topics in the Vietnamese language assignment given to the class by their teachers, aiming to help the students better understand Vietnamese customs and traditions.
When Souklthida first encountered the concepts of "banh chung" and "banh tet," she was quite surprised because she had never eaten or seen a proper banh chung or banh tet before. But after an afternoon of experiencing and being guided by the soldiers of the 654th Transport Brigade, this female student was truly delighted.
"The Lao New Year mainly consists of the custom of splashing water and hardly any distinctive cakes. But banh chung and banh tet are closely associated with the Vietnamese New Year and are indispensable for every family. Today I made my own banh chung and I'm really looking forward to the results of my first attempt."
Before coming to Vietnam to study at the No. 2 Ethnic Minority Boarding High School, Soullthida was quite shy, didn't speak Vietnamese, and worried about not being able to integrate into the new environment.
The young girl couldn't believe that, after just over three months of learning Vietnamese, she could communicate fluently and become one of the best-performing international students in her class. During her time studying and experiencing life in Nghe An province, Soulthida said she fell in love with the land and the way Vietnamese people celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year). Her love for the country has also spread to her parents, and before the two-week Tet holiday, her whole family will travel to Vietnam to experience the Tet atmosphere in Nghe An.
Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 has over 90% of its students from ethnic minority groups, coming from 10 mountainous districts of the province. Each student brings with them unique customs, traditions, and cultural characteristics. This multicultural and multi-ethnic environment is clearly reflected in the New Year's celebrations, including a bonfire, a cooking competition for traditional New Year's meals, making traditional cakes, and cultural performances.
Mr. Mai Van Dat, Secretary of the school's Youth Union, said: "We aim to promote traditional cultural values in our activities celebrating the Lunar New Year. Through this, we want to strengthen unity and camaraderie, and also help students better understand the beautiful traditions of the Vietnamese people and the cultural diversity of the ethnic groups in Nghe An province."
Preserving traditional values
From mid-December of the lunar calendar, schools throughout the province simultaneously organized various activities to welcome the new year 2024. This year, one of the main themes implemented by the schools was the traditional Tet holiday of the nation, with spring markets and display areas designed to evoke memories of the past.Tet in the old days.
The traditional Lunar New Year also holds profound humanitarian value as it is an opportunity for schools, teachers, and students to show concern for poor students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, demonstrating mutual support and compassion so that everyone can have a fulfilling and happy New Year.
At Cua Nam 1 Primary School (Vinh City), the Tet celebration program was extended with a series of meaningful activities. Among them, the "Warm Spring - Loving Tet" event was organized for all students to learn about the origins of the Vietnamese Tet holiday and to give Tet gifts to underprivileged students who have overcome difficulties.
Nearly a month before Tet (Lunar New Year), the teachers and students of the school organized a painting and handwritten letter activity to send best wishes to their parents and grandparents for the New Year. In January, the school's student union also held a flag-raising ceremony with the theme "Greeting Spring 2024," featuring many spring-themed performances by third-grade students.
Specifically, as part of the 2023-2024 school year's professional development plan, in the last week of the old year, during the 5th grade Local Education class, the school organized a connecting lesson with Binh Chuan Primary School (Con Cuong) and Quynh Nghia Primary School (Quynh Luu) on the theme "Traditional Vietnamese Tet". In this lesson, through online means, students from the three schools learned about traditional Tet customs, performed a play about the legend of banh chung and banh day (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), and shared about Tet in their local areas and Tet celebrations for those living abroad; they also experienced making greeting cards, decorating peach blossom branches, and writing Tet couplets.
"Although our school is located in the city center, we have a large number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including 35 students with particularly difficult circumstances. Therefore, during this Tet holiday, we have coordinated with the parent-teacher association and philanthropists in the area to raise funds to bring warm Spring gifts to these students and their families."
Besides implementing activities to foster mutual support and compassion, we also consider Tet (Lunar New Year) a meaningful occasion to educate students about the traditional values of our nation. Therefore, the series of activities to welcome the Spring Festival not only includes themed decorations and displays in each classroom and on the school grounds, but are also integrated into lessons and experiential activities. These activities have received enthusiastic participation from a large number of students and parents.”
Experiential activities focused on the traditional Lunar New Year also provide students with opportunities to showcase their talents, skills, creativity, and express their unique perspectives and views on the New Year of their homeland.
At the Vietnamese Tet Festival of Bac Yen Thanh High School, in addition to the nearly 27 million VND the entire school raised to support underprivileged students, the students also participated in many meaningful activities. One of the highlights was the calligraphy competition, where students had the opportunity to experience being a traditional Nghe An calligrapher.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuy, the school principal, shared: “The Tet festival is an annual activity of the school, and the students really enjoy it. Therefore, every year, we always try to innovate the program and incorporate the beautiful traditional cultural values of our nation. Through what the students have shown, I believe that, no matter what stage or age, Vietnamese Tet still holds special value for students, and in many ways, they can still express their love for their homeland's culture, and still find ways to preserve, protect, and promote it.”
The students' enthusiastic participation in Tet festivals and Tet markets has revived the traditional Tet holiday of the Vietnamese people. Through this, they once again learn to cherish the past and cultivate and enrich the traditional culture and family values of the Vietnamese people.
