Bustling market of longevity paintings

(Baonghean.vn) - In early spring, longevity celebrations (yen lao) in Yen Thanh district (Nghe An) are held bustlingly throughout the villages. Accordingly, the longevity painting market is also very bustling. Many shops have made a lot of money in the New Year.

Bustling with customers coming to buy longevity paintings

In Yen Thanh town, there are more than 10 shops selling longevity paintings. Every shop is bustling with customers coming to buy them to celebrate the longevity of the elderly. The genre of longevity paintings is very rich and diverse in materials, sizes, colors and content. The prices of the paintings depend on the materials and sizes. Paintings on glass and mica cost 150,000 - 500,000 VND/painting, lacquer paintings, mother-of-pearl paintings cost 1 million - 2 million VND/painting.

Longevity paintings mainly depict people, objects, and landscapes that represent longevity, such as immortals and peaches, pine trees and cypresses, etc. However, all paintings cannot lack the word Longevity, or Happiness - Prosperity - Longevity - Longevity. There are 3D inlaid wood paintings or silver-plated paintings that cost from 2 to 5 million VND/painting. In addition, these stores also sell longevity, costumes and hats for the elderly attending longevity celebrations.

Longevity paintings with images representing Happiness - Prosperity - Longevity

Mr. Nguyen Tan, from Phuc Thanh commune, went to buy longevity paintings and said: "This year my family is celebrating my parents' longevity. We want to bring joy to them so we decided to buy longevity paintings to wish them a long and healthy life. I think they will be very happy to receive these longevity paintings from their children and grandchildren."

According to Mr. Trinh - the owner of the largest longevity painting shop in Yen Thanh town, these items are all imported from Nam Dinh and Hanoi. On this occasion, he had to mobilize all 7 children, grandchildren, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law to help sell because the number of customers was high during Tet and expected to last until the full moon of January. Mr. Trinh said that on this occasion, he also earned tens of millions of dong from selling longevity paintings.

Not only in the town but also in the communes, longevity paintings are sold everywhere. Some people even take advantage of the opportunity to buy paintings to sell during Tet.

The shops both produce and sell goods.

It is known that, "as scheduled," the elders' banquet in Yen Thanh is held every three years. In the early days of the Dinh Dau spring, the descendants and villages in the district are bustling to organize the elders' banquet. This is a beautiful traditional cultural feature that shows the respect of the young generation for the elderly.

Tien Dung