'Touched meat' on Tet holiday

(Baonghean.vn)- Every Lunar New Year, all over the villages of Nghe An, families are bustling with the scene of slaughtering pork to celebrate Tet. No one knows when the custom of slaughtering pork began, but it has now become a 'habit'.countryside'and seems to be growing stronger.

Preparing a month in advance by buying a pig to raise for Tet meat, on the morning of January 26 (ie 29th of Tet), Mr. Ta Quang Hoa's family in hamlet 11, Khanh Son 1, Khanh Son commune (Nam Dan) and his group gathered to slaughter this pig. After a while of smoking and chewing betel, waiting for Mr. Hoa's wife to boil water, everyone got down to the main work.

In just a moment, the 70 kg pig was done. The finished meat was divided into 8 portions, each portion containing 7 kg of meat and bones.

The joy of touching meat on Tet holiday in Thanh Hung commune (Thanh Chuong). Photo: Huy Thu.

Mr. Nguyen Van Truc (31 years old) in hamlet 4, Khanh Son 2, Khanh Son commune, went to "buy meat" at Mr. Hoa's house and said: Every year during Tet, his family rarely goes to buy pork in the market but usually goes to "buy meat" with people in the commune. Around the 10th and 11th lunar months, if he sees someone raising pigs for Tet or someone calling for "buying meat" near Tet, he will "register" with them to share the portion.

According to Mr. Truc, these pigs for slaughter were raised by families for a period of time with normal vegetables and bran, and not with “stork bran” and other compounds. Fastidious families raised pigs from a young age until they were slaughtered. When Tet comes, everyone discusses choosing a day to slaughter the pigs and divide the meat.

Buffalo meat has been divided at the house of Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Hoa Phu hamlet, Hien Son commune (Do Luong). Photo: Huy Thu.

"Slaughtering" like this, compared to in the market, the meat will be tastier, cleaner and cheaper, and it's also fun. Friends in the neighborhood and outside the village will meet each other, slaughter pigs, eat and drink together, and have fun.

Not only pork, people in my hometown also eat buffalo and beef. Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (24 years old), Secretary of Hoa Phu hamlet, Hien Son commune (Do Luong) said that her family just ate a buffalo calf. This calf was bought by the families in the hamlet from acquaintances for 10 million VND, 1 month ago.

On the afternoon of the 29th of Tet, the families gathered at her house to prepare the veal and divide it into portions. After finishing, the veal was divided into 10 portions, each portion had 6 kg of meat (not including the intestines and bones) and cost 1 million VND. Whoever liked which portion could take that portion.

This Tet, Ms. Phuong's family has contributed, so they took 3 portions, in addition to the veal, they also made 1 pig. According to Ms. Phuong, this year people in Hoa Phu hamlet have a lot of Tet meat, few people go to the market to buy.

Through research, it is known that in the past, rural people often ate meat on Tet holiday. Because in those days, pork was rare and not as abundant as it is now, moreover, every family was poor, there was not enough rice to eat, so where did they get money to buy meat.

People in hamlet 6, Hanh Lam commune, carry the meat home after finishing their work. Photo: Huy Thu.

So every year, when Tet comes, people everywhere gather together to slaughter pigs and divide their portions. They often publicly price the pigs in advance to estimate the number of people sharing. After slaughtering and setting a quota, the recipient of the meat does not have to pay immediately but can wait for a certain period of time, usually until harvest time to pay in rice.

Every year, around January and February, many families went to the markets to choose pigs to raise for Tet meat. Raising pigs in those days took a long time, the whole family had to gather agricultural by-products, and almost the entire year was enough to raise a pig weighing 50-60 kg. Having a pig to slaughter for Tet was not only the expectation of pig farmers but also the excitement of the elderly and children.

Those difficult years have passed, but now, every Tet holiday, people in the villages still "hunchback" each other to slaughter pork, buffalo, and cow. The way of pricing, butchering, and dividing the meat is still the same as before, the only difference is the way of paying in cash. Paying for meat is usually done immediately, not having to pay for a long time like before.

The reason for touching meat today is different from the past, not because pork is rare, nor because money is not abundant, but because of the quality of food now. In the market era, due to the pursuit of profit, regardless of human life, pigs, buffaloes, cows... are raised with all kinds of food, which contains many toxic chemicals (even after being slaughtered) causing negative effects on health. Therefore, every time Tet comes, families who want clean, delicious meat must touch meat.

Many households raise chickens and pigs for meat or go to remote areas to hunt wild boars and piglets. Although it takes more effort and costs more, they are more assured about the quality.

In recent years, from around the 27th of Tet onwards, the whole countryside is bustling with the story of eating meat on Tet. Life has changed, but the custom of eating meat on Tet in my hometown seems to remain the same – an old tradition that always revives every time Tet comes around.

Huy Thu