Nghe An people celebrate Tet abroad

Mr. Ho Sy Truc (from Quynh Luu district, Nghe An), is the Chairman of the Nghe Tinh Association in Kiev - the capital of Ukraine. Mr. Truc said that in this city, a few weeks before Tet, the Nghe Tinh Association actively prepared everything to celebrate the traditional Tet. Although it is only a small association with more than 60 families, every year, the Tet celebration is organized quite carefully by everyone.

The Executive Committee of the Association planned the year-end meeting quite early and assigned specific tasks to the members. The “field” art troupe was summoned to stage homegrown performances, imbued with the identity of the homeland, such as lion and dragon dances, conical hat dances, and folk songs...

"Near Tet, everyone will gather in a spacious family home to wrap Chung cake and Tet cake, and stay up all night to cook Tet cakes like in their hometown," said Mr. Truc.

Fellow Nghe An brothers in Kiev (Ukraine) wrap cakes to celebrate the traditional New Year. Photo: Ha Le

This year, the program "Celebrating the Year of the Pig" of the Vietnamese Association in Kiev took place on the first day of Tet, so the year-end meeting of the Nghe Tinh Association was held on December 23.

According to the Chairman of the Nghe Tinh Association in Kiev, on this day, some people will go into the forest, cut down cherry trees, bring them back and attach plastic flowers, flashing lights, and questions to "pick the flowers of democracy". At the meeting, in addition to the art program, culinary festival, and New Year greetings, the organizers also gave lucky money to children and presented scholarships to excellent students.

Vietnamese Tet atmosphere in a Nghe An family in Kiev city. Photo: Ha Le

Mr. Truc said that, after 31 years living abroad, every time he celebrates the traditional Tet holiday, he is filled with emotions, missing his homeland, missing the old Tet deeply. "I have been away from home for decades, but for me, the Tet holiday is still sacred. Luckily, in the West, in the struggle to make a living, Nghe Tinh brothers still stand shoulder to shoulder, Tet is still warm with the love of fellow countrymen, thanks to that, my homesickness is lessened", Mr. Truc said.

Happy New Year of Nghe Tinh Association in Kiev city. Photo: Ha Le

Meanwhile, for young people studying and working in Korea, Tet in this East Asian country seems more relaxed and joyful. Because Korea also celebrates Lunar New Year like Vietnam.

Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province is considered the “capital” of Vietnamese people in Korea. Here, on Tet holiday, Nghe Tinh compatriots will organize meetings according to the district and commune councils, at restaurants or company dormitories.

Ngo Tri Ngoc - from Do Luong district - who has worked in Korea for many years said that Vietnamese Tet in Korea seems to "lack nothing materially, whatever is available in Vietnam, Korea has it too". From banh chung, gio cha, pickled onions, rice wine... are all available in street shops, peach blossoms are everywhere in parks. The only remaining issue is "whether you like to buy or design it yourself".

Nghe An compatriots in Okayama (Japan) wrap banh chung to prepare for Tet. Photo: Le Hieu

Because the time zone in Korea is 2 hours different from Vietnam, our fellow countrymen from Nghe An here, like other Vietnamese, have the habit of celebrating New Year's Eve twice during the Lunar New Year. Both the home country's and Vietnam's.

In the “Land of the Rising Sun”, because Japanese people currently only celebrate New Year according to the solar calendar, so close to the traditional New Year, international students, interns, and workers from Nghe An still go to school and work as usual. Only on the 30th and 1st of the New Year do they ask for leave to celebrate the New Year. Despite the limited time, every time Tet comes, Nghe An people all over Japan still organize many exciting activities to welcome the New Year.

Warmth of fellow countrymen at the altar of the Fatherland when Spring comes. Photo: Vo Tu

Doan Quan, from Yen Thanh district, living in the Kanto region - where there are the most Nghe people in Japan, said that on Tet holiday, fellow countrymen often gather in a central province with a convenient location to organize meetings and exchanges. In Okayama province, every year at the end of the year, hundreds of workers from Nghe An - Ha Tinh will gather to wrap and cook banh chung, banh tet, make fruit trays, prepare traditional dishes such as braised meat, pork roll, fried spring rolls, "design" peach branches, decorate the ancestral altar... creating an extremely cozy Tet atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Ho Van Thuy, from Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau district, who is working in Saitama province, shared: “Tet is coming, we miss home so much, miss staying up all night to cook banh chung with our family, visiting relatives in the drizzling spring rain, and the fragrant scent of incense… I have spent 2 years celebrating Tet in Japan, and every time we celebrate Tet, my friends and family gather together happily. In Japan, when spring comes and we are without our relatives, the love of fellow countrymen is something very special that I feel during these Tets far from home.”

Joy on the first day of the new year of Nghe Tinh compatriots in Japan. Photo: Doan Quan

The traditional Tet holiday with “green Chung cake, red parallel sentences” is very sacred in the hearts of people living far away from home. Not only in Ukraine, Korea, Japan, but also in Germany, Poland, Australia and many other countries in the world, due to different conditions, people from Nghe An everywhere still take advantage of all conditions to organize well the activities to celebrate Tet and welcome Spring, preserving traditional customs.

In addition to playgrounds filled with Nghe accents such as meetings, New Year's Eve celebrations, football exchanges, art performances, visiting relatives... our fellow countrymen also coordinate with overseas Vietnamese associations, groups, and government agencies in vibrant community Tet celebrations, sharing the joy of Vietnamese people around the world on the traditional Tet holiday of the nation.

Meeting and celebrating Tet with Nghe Tinh compatriots in Moscow (Russian Federation). Photo: Sy Bang