2010 - the Year of the Tiger

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So we are going to say good bye to the Year of the Buffalo (2009) and greet the Year of the Tiger (2010). In the past two years, my blogs about how Vietnamese celebrate Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) and my memories of this festival during my childhood got a great number of views and always stand in the list of my 6 most viewed blogs. It always amazes me why this topic could get such great attention. After publishing this blog, I will be back on the road again. I will leave Hanoi before Tết with the exciting atmosphere of preparation for the most important festival of the year, and go back home on the 5th day of the New Year when things are more quiet and relaxing. This year, I will have a long holiday (10 days). The same as the past few years, I have decided to leave things behind me and enjoy a new trip to other countries.

Like any Vietnamese family, there are many preparation works before Tết, however we try to make them as simple as possible. We order a maid to clean our house for 3 hours. My father is in charge of buying a peach or kumquat tree (sometimes we buy both). My mother buys square rice cakes "Bánh chưng", which are traditional cakes that we eat during Tết, along with other food. Women are always the busiest people on this occasion, as they have to buy all necessary things before shops and markets are closed during the holiday. They also prepare food for family members and invite guests (relatives and friends) to the New Year's party. Refrigerators are full of food, and every family eats the same stuff, so we all feel tired of eating too much food during the holiday. This year, we have advised our mother not to invite relatives and guests to our house, so it can be a relief for her from cooking and cleaning up after the party. I remember last year the party at our home lasted from 10am until 4pm.

On the last day of the old year, we often make family's year-end party (bữa cơm tất niên) and put all offerings to the altar with incense sticks burning, in order to invite home our grandparents spirits. On New Year's Eve, we watch the fireworks which last 15 minutes, and on TV, the President reads a New Year speech. There is another ritual (cúng giao thừa) for the God and the Earth at this moment. My mother puts a tray with offerings on the flat roof of the house and I also see it in other neighboring houses. My father steps out of the house then he comes in again, as the first visitor in the New Year. After that, all the family members sit down together, raise glasses of wine, receive lucky money from my father and say good wishes to each other. On the first day of the New Year, we visit our grandmother's house and have a big party there with all the relatives. This is the most important obligation during Tết. On the next days, we visit other relatives and friends. Pagodas and temples are always crowded on these days. Some people also choose to travel after the first day of the New Year after they have fulfilled all the rituals at home.

I was always alone when celebrating my New Year's Eves abroad in the countries where people don't celebrate the same New Years as mine. I spent two of my Tết in Laos, one of them was in Vientiane where I watched a traditional musical and dancing show. There were only 3 girls watching the show that night, myself, a French and a Japanese girl. We all were tourists. The Lao boys and girls tied a string over my wrist and said something in Lao language and then we all danced in a circle following the Lao music. The show finished at 10pm and I went back to my guest house. On another Tết (last year), I celebrated my New Year in Savannakhet. There are Vietnamese and Chinese communities in this town. I was lucky to meet with a Vietnamese family there and they invited me to join their New Year's Eve party. I realized that the Vietnamese, despite living outside of Vietnam, always remember their roots. I was alone in my room at 12pm, hearing the sound of fire-crackers, which were banned in Vietnam, but in Savannakhet they were allowed. Then I heard the sound of bells from pagodas and lion dance. It was the most interesting Tết that I experienced while traveling abroad.

My other Tết in Bagan (Myanmar) and New Delhi (India) were very quiet. I even made a mistake and over-stayed for a day in Bagan and only realized that after I arrived at the airport. It turned out that the night before was the New Year's Eve which I had missed. When I was in New Delhi, there was a festival near our hotel and the locals said something like "Devi". Not sure what really was, I only saw lighting and heard the sound of music and horn from police cars. So that was my 4 Tết far away from home. This year, the first day of the New Year will fall on 14 February (the Valentine's Day). I wonder where I will be on this day.

I'm off to Sri Lanka. I'll fly to Kuala Lumpur and connect my flight to Colombo. I will travel alone on this trip, so hopefully I will meet with many great people who will offer me help along the way. As all of my flights depart early in the mornings, it will be a big problem if I miss any of these flights. I will bring two alarm clocks with me on this trip. Still, it's not always easy to travel solo. Happy New Year!

Other blogs about Tết:

Tết 2008 in Hanoi - traditional customs during the Lunar New Year

2009 - the Year of the Buffalo - my memories of Tết during the childhood

New Year's activities during Tết 2009 - photos taken in Hanoi

Tết 2009 in Huế city - before I moved on my way to Savannakhet (Laos)

Hội An - Tết 2011 (the Year of the Cat) - on my trip to central Vietnam

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