Hanoi's old Tet through precious documentary photos

From mid-December, the Tet atmosphere has begun to permeate all 36 streets. Following the footsteps of farmers from neighboring countrysides or from distant provinces in the North, hundreds of types of goods are concentrated in Dong Xuan market and other markets in the city to serve the Tet preparations of families.

Besides food and goods, another “specialty” during Tet is flowers and ornamental plants, which are also brought to the Hang Khoai and Hang Luoc flower markets by people in famous flower growing areas on the outskirts of the city such as Quang Ba, Nghi Tam, Nhat Tan, etc. to sell.

Among them, the most typical flower for spring in the North is peach blossom. Besides the two varieties of peach blossom and peach blossom that are widely grown in Nhat Tan, there are also peach varieties such as white peach and seven-inch peach that only the rich can afford. Even more remarkable are the wild peach branches brought from the mountains of Son La, Lao Cai…

The appearance of colorful paintings on the streets is also a sign that Tet is approaching. One of the typical folk paintings of Hanoi is Hang Trong paintings. People in the past often chose to buy paintings with good meanings to hang in their houses during Tet, both for decoration and to express their wishes for good luck in the new year.

There was a time when the image of calligraphers setting up their stalls to write calligraphy on the days before Tet was closely associated with traditional Vietnamese Tet in particular and the old Hanoi Tet in general.

On December 23, in addition to the ceremony to send the Kitchen Gods to Heaven, poles are also erected in offices and private homes with the purpose of warding off evil spirits and wishing for peace according to ancient beliefs.

Inside the living room of a noble family in Hanoi on Tet holiday.

One of the symbols of Tet of the ancient people of Trang An that cannot be ignored is the hobby of playing with narcissus flowers. The skill of the player will be shown through the beauty of the narcissus bowl that has been cared for and trimmed a long time ago.

On the first morning of the new year, the children in the family gather to wish their parents a happy new year.

Meanwhile, the village elders and dignitaries gathered at the communal house to hold a ceremony to wish the king a long life and pay homage to the tutelary god at the beginning of the new year. Women chose to visit temples, pagodas and palaces such as Ngoc Son temple, Bach Ma temple, Tay Ho palace...

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• Celebrating Tet on a remote island
• Lunar New Year weather nationwide
• 'Cannot abandon traditional Tet'
• The beauty of early spring culture at Emperor Quang Trung Temple
• Why do you want to abolish traditional Tet?
• Unique types of banh chung for Tet