We have just passed through that time of the year in Vietnam when the space-time continuum, along with the traffic, comes to a grinding halt and the whole country celebrates the most precious of all holidays: the Lunar New Year. Known as Tết in Vietnamese, it is the biggest holiday of the entire year. Almost all shops close down for at least the first three days of the new year, though most are closed for around 10 days. All but essential workers are on holiday. The streets are eerily empty of motorbikes and cars (a treasured reprieve from the rest of the year).
But the beauty of Tet is not what is outside on the streets, but what happens in homes all across the country. Migrant workers in cities all "về quê" (= go back to their home town) for the holidays. Tet is, first and foremost, a time to be with family. In fact, the first few days of Tet are reserved for family visits. The first day of Tet you visit the husband's family. The second day of Tet you visit the wife's family. The third day of Tet you visit your teachers. Finally, on the fourth day of Tet you visit friends and colleagues. All this is flexible, of course, and with the modern age dawning in Vietnam, with more and more Vietnamese mobile, the traditions are falling away quickly.
But many traditions continue, like Tet foods. No Tet meal is complete without that notoriously bland rice cake called banh chung. It is dense and heavy, and sometimes they even pan fry it in oil! While indeed tastier, it will not be kind to your waistline after 5 days of Tet visits!
While most foreigners get out of town for Tet, we have always enjoyed the opportunity to stay in Hanoi and participate in some of the local customs. So we began our preparations weeks ago, buying enough food for the week (all the markets are closed!), and also preparing Tet gifts for all the people we would visit (plus a few extra just in case). So with food ready, gifts in tow, and plenty of envelopes of lucky money to give to kids, we set out.
It would take far too long to tell you about all our visits, so we will tell you about the first day of Tet, when accompanied our good friends Thi and Ly to Thi's hometown just outside Hanoi. It was a GREAT DAY! Thi guided us to his family's "nhà thờ". This word literally means house of worship, and is in fact the same word used for "church," but in this case it is best to translate it as a family temple. Thi comes from a wealthy family (apparently a past relative was a mandarin), and so they have their own temple where they offer prayers and incense to their ancestors. On special occasions like Tet, the family temple can also be a good place to have get togethers. And indeed, the whole family came together in grand style, one after the other piling in to the family temple grounds. There were tons of kids there, and so many envelopes of lucky money were shared. Celeste and Bella were excited more about the pretty envelopes than the money inside.
A huge meal was brought out, complete with the aforementioned banh chung and other Tet goodies. One of Thi's relatives is a pilot for Vietnam Airlines, so he brought a whole box full of small bottles of scotch! So as we drank small bottles of Chivas, we sat next to Thi's oldest uncle, who enthralled us with stories of colonial Vietnam under the French. Older Vietnamese like him have been through so much (several wars, dire poverty, etc.), and so it was fascinating to hear his perception of the changes in Vietnam over the years.
the meal continued for some time, as these kinds of meals tend to do. But the kids were great through it all, and so we were really able to enjoy ourselves. Of course there was lots of toasting and more food than we could possibly eat (but there is always room for another fried spring roll!), but the sense of joy and togetherness was palpable. We were honored to be a part of such a special occasion with such a special family.
The rest of our Tet week was filled with more visits, more food and drink, and more joy and togetherness. This year was our family's best Tet in Vietnam, another reminder that we are so fortunate to serve where we do. Praise the Lord!
