From "Spring Writing" to "Tet for Encouragement of Learning"
(Baonghean.vn) - In the minds of Vietnamese people, the first day of the year is an important day for a new beginning. During that time, people often take advantage of doing many things to bring luck for the whole year: "Quan" opens "seal", "thuong" opens "thuong", "nong" opens "canh" and "sy" opens "but". The custom of "Opening the first pen of Spring" to wish for a new year of "success" has become a fine custom of Vietnamese people. From that beautiful spring, today it has developed into a meaningful "Tet to encourage learning" movement in each locality, family, clan...
Quynh Doi Commune (Quynh Luu) is a land of "geomantic people", a heroic commune, the birthplace of many talented people and writers. In the past, Quynh Doi only had two jobs: studying and weaving silk. Many poor families still tried to send their children to pursue their studies "Begging to learn a few words of the sages". During the feudal period, Quynh Doi had 531 students (Bachelor), 203 bachelors (bachelor) with 958 people passing 116 regional exams, including 13 first prizes.
After the August Revolution of 1945 until now, Quynh Doi commune is estimated to have 500 university graduates, 23 masters, 33 doctors. That tradition of studiousness has been preserved and promoted. Up to now, many families in Quynh Luu still maintain the custom of "Khai pen dau xuan". After the ancestral worship ceremony at the moment of New Year's Eve, the family prepares a table, placed solemnly in the middle room, and the children in the family take turns taking out paper and pen to write down lines of words, which can be poems, the names of father and mother, or simply New Year's greetings...
The first writing ceremony of the Spring of the Nghe An scholar
Many elaborate families also prepare calligraphy paper, calligraphy pens, and the elderly in the house "wearing turbans and ao dai" to start the opening writing ceremony. The first lines of the new year are carefully preserved by their children and grandchildren, to always remind them to focus on studying and not to be distracted... Mr. Kieu Ngoc Bat, Chairman of the Association for Promoting Education in Quynh Luu district, said: "Up to now, many families in Quynh Luu in general and Quynh Doi in particular still organize "Opening Writing in the Spring" for their children and grandchildren. No calligraphy paper, no writing of Chinese characters like the Confucian scholars of the past, but the meaning of "Opening Writing in the Great Fortune", which means opening writing to encounter good things, at the same time showing respect for words and promoting learning, still has its original value."
For many years now, the Cultural Village of Hamlet 5, Thanh Tuong Commune (Thanh Chuong) has maintained the "Spring Enlightenment Ceremony". On New Year's Eve, the hamlet officials, party cells, and study encouragement associations organize awards for excellent students and poor students who have overcome difficulties in the village; there is an art festival and a quiz competition with prizes, solving fun math problems... The program ends with the elders' advice and wishes for their children and grandchildren to have a successful year of study.
For nearly 10 years now, Block 9, Trung Do Ward (Vinh City) has been organizing the program "Spring - Connecting hands to encourage learning", gathering children in the block, successful people working far away, and high-achieving students at the block's cultural house. In addition to giving gifts to encourage learning from the block, high-achieving students will pass on their good learning experiences to the next generation. And successful people working far away will contribute to the block's scholarship fund.
With this method, the block annually mobilizes tens of millions of dong to contribute to the scholarship fund, giving dozens of gifts and scholarships to children in the block. Or, from the custom of giving lucky money to children in each family, the Nguyen Duy clan (Thanh Chuong) has had the initiative to launch families in the clan to respond to "Tet to Encourage Learning" by giving gifts to children on the morning of the first day of the new year. Instead of lucky money envelopes, there are notebooks, books, pens, or school bags... to encourage children to study well and be good in the new year.
From the meaning of that traditional custom, starting from 2004, the Provincial Association for Promotion of Education organized the launch of the first "Tet for Promotion of Education and Talents". After 8 "Tet for Promotion of Education", each year has a different theme, but in general, it includes the following contents: Building a strong Association; launching the promotion of education and talent from each family, clan, together with the whole people to build a learning society; creating highlights for the promotion of education in a new year... With many forms such as: Organizing seminars on the tradition of loving learning and respecting teachers; organizing the "Poetry for Promotion of Education" contest; "Singing to Promote Education"... attracting a large number of members to participate. Especially, on the occasion of Tet, children far from home come back to reunite with their families and relatives to express their gratitude to the movement for promoting education of their clans and hometowns. In addition to its spiritual significance, this is considered an effective way to mobilize funds. On average, each "Tet Encouragement of Learning" in the whole province mobilizes over 15 billion VND for the education encouragement fund.
The 9th "Tet for Encouragement of Learning" Nham Thin 2012 was launched from the 15th day of the 12th lunar month of the year of Tan Mao to the end of the 15th day of the 1st lunar month of the year of Nham Thin with the goal of: "Improving the comprehensive quality and depth of emulation movements to encourage learning, especially the emulation movements of studious families and studious clans".
"Tet Encouraging Learning" is considered the starting point for the movement to encourage learning and talent in a new year; calling for and mobilizing the participation, cooperation and support of the whole society, the care and concern from each family and clan for the education of their children. From there, contributing to the successful building of a learning society, making the tradition of studiousness of the homeland famous.
Phuc Thanh
