Tet in the countryside

(Baonghean) -My hometown is a poor hamlet located on the banks of the Lam River. The hamlet has more than a hundred scattered houses. In front is a winding river, behind are fields stretching to the horizon. The Lam River changes every day, rising in the morning and falling in the afternoon. The fields of my village have also changed many times, from growing late-season rice to high-yield rice and now raising fish and shrimp. As the years have passed, my village has gone through many upheavals, some have survived, some have died... But, there is one thing that has not changed, that is the Tet holiday.

When I was a child, Tet was still like that and until now, when the wind and frost have washed my hair white, Tet is still like that. I have lived in this village for more than 20 years, so the rural customs are ingrained in my blood and flesh. Every year, on the 20th of Tet, my village puts aside all farm work and crops to devote all its energy to preparing for Tet: cleaning, cutting paper, cutting flowers, decorating the house, washing mosquito nets, drying and peeling banana leaves, dong leaves to prepare for wrapping cakes... On the 28th of Tet, the village is bustling with cleaning the house, wrapping cakes, making jams.

Old countryside Tet market. Illustration (source: VnMedia)

In my hometown, the banh chung (rice cake) for the three days of Tet is never bought, but is made by ourselves. Although banh chung is not as delicious as the ones sold in the market, it contains a philosophy of life that devotion to ancestors must be shown through effort. In the past few years, when the family's economy was a bit better, my mother was afraid that my younger sister would have a hard time, so she went to the market to buy banh chung to worship during Tet. My mother was angry and told us: "Piety cannot be bought with money, my children."

Making banh chung and banh tet for the three days of Tet is also an opportunity for mothers and sisters to show their virtues as women. Mothers gather in a group to wrap banh chung, sisters and sisters also gather in a group to make coconut jam and eggplant jam. It is very fun, the atmosphere in the kitchen is filled with the laughter of village women. Almost 100% of rural women know how to wrap banh chung and make jam, and they wrap the banh chung beautifully and make the jam very well, even though they have not attended any home economics class. That is not surprising. Being from a poor family, at the age of three, she followed her mother and older sister to wrap banh chung, when she grew up a little, her older sister taught her younger sister, her aunt taught her niece, and so the village girl naturally became a jam maker and cake maker. The rural lifestyle has become a tradition, it is a big school, always surprising us. It is also the source of strength that has created many generations of skillful and capable rural women, overcoming many hardships and storms of life.

In my hometown, every family sets up a tray of food to worship their ancestors on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet. The tray of food is made from homegrown vegetables, if there is no meat, it is made from fish. For people in the countryside, Tet is an occasion to remember their deceased grandparents and parents. Therefore, the best and most luxurious things are displayed on the altar. The altar is the focal point for decoration, the most solemn place in a house, where the ancestors are worshiped on New Year's Eve. On the afternoon of the 30th of Tet, all family members go out to socialize with neighbors and friends, but when New Year's Eve approaches, they must gather together, bathe, change into new clothes, and then display cakes, fruits, and tea to worship their ancestors. People in my hometown believe that: the moment of New Year's Eve, the beginning of the new year, is the most quintessential moment of heaven and earth in the year, so it is very sacred. Worshiping our grandparents and parents means we repay our gratitude for the whole year. Whatever we pray for our grandparents and parents to bless, it will come true. That is the personality and soul of people who know the past and future, clearly understand the immense merit of their grandparents and parents. Those who do not understand the merit of their ancestors cannot understand how our beautiful country was built with blood, sweat and tears. We remember our mother like a stork wading in deep fields, we also remember and love that deep field that bent its back under the rain and sun to conceive the rice grains that raised us to become adults.

The custom of “first day of Tet for fathers” in many villages is still preserved to this day. On the morning of the first day, children and spouses living far away must return to wish their grandparents and parents a happy new year, then go to wish their relatives and neighbors a happy new year. In my village, this custom is kept very closely. Therefore, the relationship between family, clan, and neighbors is increasingly tightened. People treat each other with courtesy, the village and neighborly relationship is complete, and the filial piety is as bright as a mirror. The villagers are not very educated, but their way of life is very cultured and noble! That is the cultural tradition, the morality that has been nurtured, preserved, cultivated, and passed down from generation to generation by many generations of ancestors.

Hong Dung