The third day of Tet, teacher
(Baonghean) –When I was little, my father came back from Hanoi to his hometown for Tet. Next to the pot of banh chung on New Year's Eve, I heard him humming: The first day of Tet is for father, the second day is for mother, the third day is for teacher...
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Illustration photo: nhandan.org.vn |
If the first and second days of Tet are for fathers and mothers with trays of offerings of flowers and incense, the third day of Tet for teachers is very simple and elegant, imbued with the Confucian style! Just a few ounces of good tea, a packet of aromatic herbs, ancestral cakes... more luxuriously, accompanied by a quart of yellow sticky rice wine corked with dried banana leaves... All are carefully wrapped in a square box with a red bow. Just like that, not colorful or literary but containing the sincerity and solemnity of the person who goes to Tet with their teachers. When receiving it, the teacher cherishes it very much and considers it a truly precious Tet gift because of the heart of the person who goes to Tet.
Nowadays, it seems that not many people pay attention to the Teacher's Day anymore. If someone mentions it, some people will even cite: Well, every year there is November 20, Teacher's Day!
It seems they have their reasons.
But suddenly thought: Father's work, mother's love, teacher's grace... why calculate like that!
Le Tan Son
