Spring

Honestly, until this year's Lunar New Year, if I hadn't been lucky enough to receive calligraphy from the "young calligrapher" in the square, I wouldn't have known that "Xuan" is a word of Chinese origin. A fourth-year student of the Chinese department at a prestigious university, Nam (the name of the "young calligrapher") took advantage of the Tet holiday to go to the square to give calligraphy to everyone. Seeing that I seemed curious, in a few minutes of rare free time, Nam explained: "The word "Xuan" is composed of three horizontal strokes above, a comma on the left extending to connect the three horizontal strokes; below the three horizontal strokes is a rectangle and on the right is a dotted line that begins and ends with the last horizontal stroke. In the way of creating Chinese characters, "Xuan" belongs to the "idea" type: that is, combining elements to create meaning. Xuan represents the "three talents unification" viewpoint, the three talents are Heaven, Earth, and Human, symbolized by three horizontal strokes, unification symbolized by the comma that passes through the three horizontal strokes. In Spring, the positive energy begins to rise, everything is still fresh and young, so the word "Nhat" (the Sun belongs to the positive energy) is placed below the two sides covered by a stroke and a comma. Thus, according to Nam's explanation, I understand that the word "Xuan" does not simply refer to a season of the year, but the ancients have sent many other messages into it.

Rarely hearing detailed explanations, I of course took advantage of the young scholar's extensive knowledge to the fullest. "In a country located in the middle of a rice civilization, the word Xuan is also associated with agriculture, brother. "Xuan dia" means winter-spring rice field, "Xuan hoa" means cultivating winter-spring rice seeds, and "Xuan tich" means plowing the winter-spring crop... In our Nom script, the words Xuan and Xoan are one (using the original Chinese character) and there are many cases where Xuan and Xoan are synonymous, for example hat xoan (spring singing) or like the folk song:

Thirty years old man in spring

Thirty years old woman is about to get old

The word "Spring" combined with the wood part on the left represents the xoan tree," Nam said.

I was stunned by the knowledge of the “young scholar”. Yes, I talk about the word Spring all day long, read hundreds of poems, listen to hundreds of songs, go through dozens of Spring seasons, am a loyal “follower” of the movie “Youth” and yet I still had to gasp when I heard the explanation of what the word Spring means! Thank you Nam, a young person rich in knowledge and passion, your image at Ho Chi Minh Square also created a Spring feeling.

On the occasion of the New Year, learning about the word Spring suddenly makes me feel excited. The universe has been, is and will be a mystery that both challenges and attracts people, it is magical when it gives all creatures four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Each season has its own color, its own characteristics and its own feelings. Very orderly, unable to resist the power of creation. Someone can be heavy-hearted with the Summer storm, can also never forget a glimpse of golden sunshine in Autumn or be passionate about the last leaf on a cold Winter branch, but all cannot help but start from "That day the spring rain was flying" (poem by Nguyen Binh). Summer contains passion, enthusiasm. Autumn is imbued with romantic, nostalgic, lingering colors. And Winter is a bit haughty, cold. Spring is obviously the beginning but not just the beginning. Spring is the season of budding, the season of desire and hope, the season of countless plans quietly being born. Like a rhythmic march of time, each time Tet comes, Spring awakens the vitality of all creatures, so that all things can display their splendid beauty and abundant vitality. Enjoying Spring is to enjoy the fresh, pure beauty of nature that the Creator has generously bestowed.

“Every year begins with Spring, every life begins with youth, youth is the Spring of society” (Ho Chi Minh). Spring comes only once a year but everyone has a Spring in their life. Everything that is young and full of life is Spring. Han Mac Tu was very talented when he used the word Spring to refer to people, saying, “Tomorrow in that group of green spring/ There will be someone who will follow her husband and give up playing”. Spring is a love song played by the harmony between heaven, earth and human (heaven, earth, human). Spring is associated with the traditional Tet. “Spring reunion”, “Tet reunion”. Spring is the most suitable time for Vietnamese people to return to their roots through festivals and ancestor worship customs. Spring comes, three days of Tet visit each other, wish each other a Happy New Year, together look back at the results of a year of work, thereby shaping and creating excitement for a new year to begin.

Particularly for the Vietnamese people, Spring also recalls the glorious victories of their ancestors, stirring up deep pride in their hearts. In the Spring of 1077, Ly Thuong Kiet defeated 40,000 Song troops. In the Spring of 1428, Le Loi freed the country from the domination of the Ming invaders. In the Spring of 1789, Quang Trung defeated more than 200,000 Qing troops. In the Spring of 1975, the country triumphed with the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign.

Spring is also an opportunity for us to educate our children to return to their roots, to seek out the moral values ​​and good traditions of thousands of years, and it is the time for us to share with the community. When we are warm and peaceful inside and outside, when we have square banh chung and round banh day, there are still many pitiful situations and people who do not have Tet. New Year's Eve fireworks soar in the sound of applause and it is also the time when sick people fight with pain. The cleaning lady is still diligently working with bamboo brooms on the street. The young soldier is still holding a gun to guard a remote island. A flight in the sky has not yet landed. A train passes through the old year on a familiar track and it is very possible that in that sacred moment, a small creature is born.

Spring is an opportunity, Spring is a hope, but Spring is also a challenge for people because, after all, Spring is also a measure of time. Who doesn’t feel heartbroken when listening to the lyrics of the song “Happy New Year, Mom” by musician Tran Long An: “Every spring, my mother gets a year older. Every spring, the day I am away from my mother gets closer. Then that spring, my mother’s white hair flies like the wind, like clouds flying through my life, like the wind, like clouds flying through time…”.

Time is cruel. According to a recent announcement, the average life expectancy in Vietnam is 73. So, to put it bluntly, we have the opportunity to welcome 73 springs in total. It is not possible to say more or less, but if you are 40 years old, you may only have 33 springs left. Like a single prepaid phone card with an expiration date, spring in a person's life is "deducted" after each year of "use". So please do not waste spring on meaningless "calls". Also on this occasion last year, a defendant expressed in court that "I would like to go home to celebrate the last Tet with my family". Yes, only when it is lost can one see its full value.