Happy Tet

Tet- Vietnamese New Years- is like Christmas on crack. One week of non-stop eating, hanging out with family, visiting friends, singing, dancing, great decorations, dragons, and lucky money. Tet was also the main reason why I wanted to stay in Vietnam past February. Luckily, the holiday did not disappoint.

Preparation for the one-week celebration is possibly more exciting than Tet itself. Decorations include, among other red things, fresh flowers and plants. One week before the start of the holiday, I went with Anh Linh to the famous flower market in Ha Noi. We left at the crack of dawn in order to get our hands on the best selections… I’ve never seen anything like it. People come from all over to sell the blossoms- rows and rows of flowers cover the walkways. And, it’s all very cheap! Daisies, lilies, tulips and many more that I couldn’t name. We probably bought way too much, but it was worth being able to give the flowers as gifts to our friends that same morning.

Lotus, or Hoa Lan- a popular Tet flower

An even more important Tet tradition is picking out a Hoa Dao (peach blossom) tree if you live in the North and Hoa Mai if you live in S. Vietnam. Both are basically VN’s version of Christmas trees, and families put a great deal of thought into the type, size and shape of their blossoming tree. After visiting the flower market, I went with Anh Linh’s family to pick out a Hoa Dao—they only grow in the North due to the colder climate—and a Quit tree (a tree with clementines). These are sold along the streets all over Ha Noi. 

Some selections, like the 2 that we picked out, are far too large to fit in a car so xe om drivers are hired to transport them to your doorstep. You can tell Tet is right around the corner when everywhere you look there is a gigantic Hoa Dao tree teetering on the back of a motorbike. That was definitely one of my favorite days in Vietnam so far.

The following week I went with Anh Son and Anh Quan (2 ER docs) and 2 Australian medical students also shadowing at Bach Mai to the Hoa Dao garden (vuon dao), a prime place to pick out the perfect Hoa Dao tree. It was an orchard of pink blossoms and orange fruit. 

During actual Tet, when I headed south to visit family, I could fully switch gears and appreciate the yellow blossoms of Hoa Mai trees, known to grow in the hotter climate.

The biggest tradition of Tet, obviously, is to spend time with family. And so I did. The first day of Tet was February 14, so I made sure to make it to Vung Tau a couple days before to see all the prep work. Fortunately, I was able to find a plane ticket. I happened to be traveling the opposite direction of most people; most people tend to head northward for Tet, as the cooler weather and surrounding countryside make for a much more comfortable and unique holiday. I couldn’t be away from family during my first Tet in VN, though, so southbound it was.

It’s not too hard to fit into my family here, as long as you can deal with the crowds and appreciate the noise and liveliness J My actual family in VT is actually pretty small, so we usually join Ong Ken’s wife’s side of the clan. She has 11 brothers and sisters… so counting husbands/wives and the dozens of cute kids, you’re looking at around 40-50 people in one house, surrounding a couple dinner tables. Definitely a tad overwhelming at first, but you learn to appreciate the beauty of disfunctionality. I’m kidding, kind of, but you really do love them.

Ba Huong & the littlest member of the clan.

My chameleon-like abilities allowed me to quickly adapt to the “Tet” lifestyle set forth by my ancestors, which includes 1 full week of: eating, drinking, laughing, talking, napping, playing blackjack and bingo… and repeating the cycle. In between, there’s lucky money in red envelopes (even I got some at the ripe age of 23), mass with my side of the family, visiting lots of relatives-I still have no idea who they are, fireworks and dragon dances in the streets. It’s not a bad life, and the Vietnamese live for these glorious 7 days all year long.

Tet is a time for relaxing, for the whole family, so when it comes to food, the less prep the better. Of course the prep work leading up to Tet ensures a great meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner usually consist of the same 6 or 7 dishes with rice. Again, no cooking during this week. And, basically every restaurant and store is closed, so you’re stuck with what you have. Luckily, my side of the family owns a restaurant and the other side owns a shop selling sandwiches and other deliciousness, so we weren’t exactly starving.

I did manage to win money playing blackjack but unfortunately had to give it all away as lucky money to the younger cousins. Seniority actually means you have to give money away.. see picture below.

The lady in the middle is Ba Huong (Ong Ken’s wife)’s mom… aka the grandma of the clan. Hence getting the seat of honor. I gotta give her props for raising 12 kids. Course, being the oldest, she has to give lucky money to EVERYONE in the family. That sucks.

Each aunt and uncle or elder had their own unique way of handing out the money. After all, how much fun is it receiving a red envelope of money for the 20^th time? I wasn’t complaining, but nonetheless… there were many a tactic and everyone was quite enthusiastic. Prolly the most hectic game was when one person stood on the second floor and threw the envelopes down to the first. Imagine piñata, but add in feisty adults.

They learn young that the money inside the envelope is more valuable.. and so the floor is usually littered with red by the end of the day.

Amongst the fun and excitement, there are beautiful traditions woven into the days, in a style that sets the Vietnamese culture apart from others. The first couple days of Tet are to be reserved for family, but the other days are spent visiting distant relatives and friends. No one is forgotten. And the first person to visit your house on Tet is said to bear the luck of the household for the coming year. Wishes of health, good fortune, love and peace are sincerely offered as you step onto each doorstep, and you can tell that these people are not mere acquaintances. After midnight on Tet, as you look down the street, tables suddenly appear at the doorsteps and sidewalks of each house. Small altars are set up with offerings of fruit and other goods to invite the ancestors for the celebration.

To really experience Vietnam, you need to visit the top sights list in the Lonely Planet. But to really experience the culture, apart from the industrialization and globalization, you need to stay during the week of Tet. This is when the society is stripped of Americanization and politics, and family is the center. It is one of the only times when businesses are literally shut down and the only money people are concerned with is the lucky kind. While there is no Santa Claus or Hallmark or snow, this a holiday you have to be apart of at least once.