The feeling of Tet in the countryside...

(Baonghean) - Remembering Tet, strangely enough, my soul keeps returning to my hometown. Is there anyone in Vietnam who hasn't eaten rice from their hometown, drunk water from their hometown well, bathed in the water of their hometown river, and breathed the atmosphere of the countryside?

In the Spring Garden. Photo: Van Song Nguyen.

The Lunar New Year in the countryside begins in a rural setting, in the houses hidden behind ancient bamboo groves, with the fragrant smoke of freshly cooked rice rising from the chimneys. We remember the Lunar New Year in the countryside starting from that smoke. The smoke rises gently, intertwining and spreading everywhere. A warm and profound longing, sometimes lingering and wavering, yet captivating. The smoke from the kitchen on the 30th of the lunar month, the simmering pot of sticky rice cakes, the crackling fire, and the shadows of people gathered together, their laughter and chatter echoing on the walls…

The Lunar New Year in the countryside begins with the flavors of home, with the fragrant incense sticks. The sweet aroma seems to carry the taste of sugarcane from the fields and rivers of the countryside. The sweetness of the sugarcane gradually rises to the top, carried by the alluvial soil of the fields and rivers of the homeland. The sweet fragrance rises in the smoke, infused with the skillful hands and heartfelt affection of the people. Sometimes, the flavors of home begin with simple, traditional dishes.

The ingredients are carefully selected and preserved through countless hours of sun and rain, saving up to create the special Tet delicacies of the countryside. It's just a simple banh chung (rice cake), but it must start with the local sticky rice, local beans, and pork raised on local feed. Then it begins with the hands of the person wrapping the cake, using banana leaves from their own garden. They light the fire themselves, take the cakes out of the pot, allowing the aroma and flavor to slowly come to them, savoring every moment.

Beside the pot of Tet sticky rice cakes. Photo: Canh Yen.

The traditional Tet (Vietnamese New Year) celebration in the countryside is incomplete without the charm and colors of the home. A feast with a variety of dishes is laid out, but the absence of a warm, red couplet leaves a lingering unease. And even when everything seems complete, from the five-fruit platter, the lack of a peach blossom branch still feels like Tet. A single peach blossom branch carries the message of spring, like a traditional New Year's greeting card, a tradition passed down through generations in Vietnamese Tet.

The peach blossoms in the countryside garden, which yesterday were just shyly budding, have this morning burst forth with delicate, pure white petals, their warm red hues illuminating the entire room, carrying with them the essence of spring, the colors of spring, and the spirit of spring, with a touch of hesitant pride, like auspicious signs of spring that fill the heart.

Flower season in the highlands. Photo by Ho Lai.

I remember those days on the remote islands, where soldiers shielded the rare, delicate peach blossoms, as if protecting the human connection from the mainland to the islands. And in the isolated, remote villages, amidst the rolling hills where border guards trod, were the rough, gnarled branches of mountain peach trees, their blossoms a vibrant, warm fire – the fire of hope and love, bringing spring and dispelling the cold.

The Lunar New Year has arrived at the doorstep. The gentle morning breeze carries the scent of spring rain, stirring up new shoots and buds. Each raindrop sprouts a spring. The rain falls like a soft silken veil, silently giving rise to life.

Reflecting on the feeling of Tet in the countryside, poet Nguyen Hung Hai wrote: "On the afternoon of the 30th of Tet in the countryside – Mother still stumbles, her straw hat falling as she goes to the fields." The elderly mothers of the countryside, who have spent their entire lives working in the fields, are so hardworking and diligent. Even during Tet in the countryside, they still follow their mothers to the fields to plant the last rice seedlings of the year: "So that next year all debts will be settled – Mother believes the seedlings she holds in her hands will be ready." The spring seedlings that Mother sows will bring a bountiful harvest next year. What is it about Tet in the countryside that makes people so eager to return home? Tet in the countryside awaits people returning home, and people also long to return home to celebrate Tet.

Nguyen Ngoc Phu