Preparations before Tet
Since Tet is marked with the presence of hoa dao (peach blossom) and kumquat, it is a must that all families have either or both kinds of trees ready before the lunar 30th. Although the markets are flooded with hoa dao and kumquat during this time, it is a different story to pick up the satisfactory ones and then bring the towering trees home. Most families who are not very choosy would take a branch of hoa dao and a small kumquat to present for Tet. My family was lucky enough to have a hoa dao brought home by an old student of my mother. Another task of preparation for Tet holiday is the cleaning exercise: the entire house has to be transformed into a new one to greet the new year. Yet, in these days, that would consume too much time and effort so the exercise is reduced to rearranging furniture, cleaning the dusted part of the house, or clearing spider webs.
Food for Tet
Tet is traditionally considered the time for gathering, both physically and spiritually. It is believed that long dead ancestors, grandfathers and mothers would travel back to their children’s house to spend the Tet festival together. So the food presented to them, by being placed in front of the altar, is of great importance. Traditionally, a rooster is indispensable among the dishes presented to ancestors. It would sit in the middle of the table with a special posture (like a craned neck) and a rose in its bill. This year, it is either because of the bird flu epidemic or the name of the new year (it being the year of the rooster), so my mother chose to present trotters instead. That saved a lot of work. Apart from the main dish, we have to prepare two kinds of soup, spring rolls, and roasted pork. I was in charge of preparing the spring rolls. The process includes chopping up the meat, fragrant mushrooms and cat’s ear (moc nhi), and cutting mien (vermicelli made of cassava). Other ingredients are egg, salt and pepper. They are mixed up so that I could pick up a little each time to roll it into a spring for frying. All dishes have to be carefully cooked so that no burning would occur because it would be considered an ill omen. Normally, the cooking would take up the whole day before Giao Thua, the moment the clock strikes midnight on Tet’s eve.
Time for special gathering
When it is the right time for praying, my mother would stand before the altar, and recite a poem from a book. This moment is very solemn. We sit in silence save the murmuring of my Mum amidst the spreading smell of incense. Near the table full of special dishes, fake clothes and money made of paper would be burned later. The Vietnamese people believe there is another world for the deceased. And we can send them clothes, money, even bikes, houses or slaves to accommodate their lives. After praying, my mother would wait for a while, for our ancestors to taste the meal, then we would take all the fake paper and burn them in the open air. Then we breathe a heavy sigh of relief because a difficult stage in preparing for Giao Thua is completed.
We wait for the special guest my mum invited over. This custom is associated with the signs of the Chinese zodiac. The year in which a person was born represents a special sign of the 12 zodiacs. And each sign is compatible with only few other ones. So the first guest to visit our house at the beginning of the New Year is important because he is supposed to bring us luck and fortune, and therefore must be born under a compatible zodiac sign with the owner. Some of my friends, however, don’t think much of this custom. They often phone each other before midnight or on Giao Thua without giving much consideration to a person’s sign. For the elderly, more weight is given to such a practice.
The Temple of Literature
After Giao Thua, people have more options on how to spend their Tet holiday. Normally, they would visit their neighbours and wish them a prosperous new year. Or they could visit the nearby pagodas or distinguished temples like Ha Temple and Ba Chua Kho.
Students, on the other hand, often head for Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (the Temple of Literature and National University). This is the first university in Vietnam under the guidance of Chu Van An, the greatest teacher of all Viet generations. Students or those pursuing higher study would come here to show their aspirations for knowledge, or wish for a successful exam. One way to do this is by asking for special Chinese characters (xin chu). This practice dates back to the old time when Chinese was widely taught in Vietnam. The teachers, preferably called “ong do”, were all very old and had a thorough knowledge of Chinese. This is expressed in their sophisticated writing of Chinese characters. Villagers therefore would gather before an “ong do” house during Tet to ask for “cau doi” (two corresponding sentences expressing a particular meaning) to hang in their house or paste at the gates. Nowadays, only those who have a strong interest in it would do that. For most students just a Chinese character is enough for the whole year. And the “ong do” who produce such characters do not have to be elderly. Young people in their 20s and 30s could give students Chinese characters for the year.
I headed for Van Mieu on the second day of the Lunar New Year. It was extremely crowded and we had to queue to buy a red or white piece of paper and a ticket. Although it was drizzling and rather chilly, I left the crowd sweaty and with a ticket. I asked for the character “dat” (which means achievement because I wanted to be successful in the new year), but was rather disappointed because the writer did not wear the traditional dress of “ong do”, and was very young. However, the character he produced was not disappointing at all. After that, I looked for a place to wait while the ink dried. That was easy to find: just opposite the place where I asked for the character, there was a row of people spreading their precious characters on the ground or holding them before the wind. I joined them
As we left Van Mieu, I immediately spotted a real ong do in traditional dress spreading a mat and preparing to give out characters. Intrigued, I decided to ask for another “dat” for which I had to pay. I think this is okay because these two people have made great efforts in doing us a favour and deserve some compensation. The only problem is I hope it won’t become too commercial, because the feeling of waiting in silence, as the brush strokes back and forth, is so wonderful. It is like a special lust for knowledge and respect for intelligence that rekindles and prospers in your soul. And that is a good feeling for the start of a new year.
And that is how I spent the first two days of the Lunar New Year. Time flies when it is being enjoyed. I have much to do and plenty of places ahead to go. Happy New Year to all of you – Chuc mung nam moi!
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