As the Lunar New Year approaches, Vietnamese living in many Asian countries are busy completing unfinished work and preparing for the New Year’s Day. Many of them will have to spend Tet away from home.
Share with Zing, they share homesickness, relatives, friends or food with traditional Vietnamese flavor. But all are optimistic, prepare traditional dishes by themselves, seek new experiences according to local customs or plan a year-end party with friends.
According to the lunar calendar, the new year 2023 is the year of the Rabbit. In other countries, the year of the Rabbit is represented by the rabbit. Vietnam is the only country with a cat as the representative animal.
China
From Hunan, Ms. Hoang An is preparing to celebrate Tet away from home with her husband’s family.
“Perhaps no one wants to celebrate Tet away from home because it will be very sad when there are no relatives around. Fortunately, the Lunar New Year in China also coincides with the Vietnamese New Year, so the bustling atmosphere also relieves me somewhat,” she said.
“What I miss the most is the atmosphere of preparation before Tet, with Vietnamese dishes, banh tet or braised pork belly. It’s sad that my family can’t take me home this year, but I still hope I have an enjoyable experience when I’m away from home,” An shared.
An’s family in Hunan also celebrates Tet enthusiastically, preparing dishes such as banh tet, braised meat to help remember the taste of their homeland. An said that this year her husband will cook Vietnamese braised meat by himself because he has celebrated Tet in Vietnam three times.
“Not when Tet here is very busy and bustling. From New Year’s Day until now, people set off firecrackers every day, and people shop for decorations for this big holiday,” she said.
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| Ms. Hoang An lives in Hunan. Photo: NVCC. |
Sharing her feelings when welcoming the first New Year following China opened, Ms. An said she welcomed and supported this decision.
“When it first opened, there were a few items that were scarce and overpriced. At first, the drug Lien Hoa Thanh An was out of stock and people had to buy it in neighboring localities. Then the shortage was solved,” she said.
However, then “the drug for Covid-19 was priced ten times over and there was a shortage of goods. Most of the elderly and severely infected people need this medicine,” she added.
According to Ms. Trang, the people of Hunan have now gathered in large numbers in public places.
“I still go for a walk, eat and drink every day. In the future, I will go to more places, such as Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, …”, she said.
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| New Year atmosphere inside a supermarket in Beijing. Photo: NVCC. |
For international student Carin Hua in Beijing, this is the second year she celebrates Tet away from home.
“I really want to celebrate Tet with my family, but due to the pandemic situation and the unstable opening policy, I can’t go home yet. I really miss home, remembering the scene when the whole family cleaned the house together, wrapped banh chung, arranged peach blossoms, gathered together to eat New Year’s Eve dinner, welcome New Year’s Eve. Every expatriate child must have the same feelings, homesickness, and the taste of Tet,” she said.
In Beijing, Ms. Carin said that the custom of celebrating Tet is almost the same as in Vietnam, with the only difference being the traditional food. Therefore, she had no difficulty in getting used to this.
She said she will join other international students to celebrate New Year’s Eve, decorate the room, arrange flowers and cook Vietnamese dishes, as well as give lucky money at the beginning of the year. However, this year’s New Year in the capital Beijing seems to lack the sound of fireworks. Some suburban locations will still host this activity.
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| China decided to open up just before the big holiday. Photo: NVCC. |
“Unlike last year, the stressful epidemic situation made people hardly go out of the house, this year the Tet atmosphere is much busier and busier. Street decorated with rabbits, hanging lanterns. People are also busy shopping, ”said Ms. Carin.
She said that everyone around has different views on this decision to open the door. Before that, she knew that many people were worried and did not dare to go out. In addition, when the number of cases increased following the opening, many people around Carin talked regarding stockpiling medicine.
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| The image of the testing station in Beijing has been removed. Photo: NVCC. |
“I quickly went to pharmacies and online stores, but they were all gone, there were no more items to sell. The purchasing power is really terrible. There are many people who get sick without being able to buy medicine, mainly the fever-reducing medicine Buluofen and Thanh Thanh Lien Hoa”, she said, adding that this situation happened partly because people, including people who have not been infected, hoarding too much medicine.
However, when the first wave of infection passed, this mentality was almost gone, she shared. Now, life is normal.
Medicines are full on the shelves, when going to the street, buses, subways and public areas no longer need to ask for a health code scan. Shopping centers, restaurants, crowded streets are bustling once more.
“I also go for a walk, gather to eat with friends, go to the park and visit tourist attractions in the city. I haven’t traveled for a long time, I plan to go to Shanghai to visit my friends”, she said regarding her personal plan.
Korea
For Kim Hang, busy work and airfare during the Lunar New Year was the reason why she decided to celebrate the new year in Seoul. Going to the flower market on New Year’s Day, or eating traditional dishes such as sausages and spring rolls with family are the things she misses most every New Year to spring.
Hang said that normally, Korea celebrates the Lunar New Year in three days, the 30th, the 1st and the 2nd. “The atmosphere to celebrate the New Year in Korea is also bustling, but not as good as Vietnam. People don’t celebrate Lunar New Year too big. When I first arrived, I felt strange because of this, but because in Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the most important occasion,” she shared.
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| Ms. Kim Hang lives in Seoul. Photo: NVCC. |
According to Hang, Korean families have a Tet tray similar to Vietnam, including kimchi, rice cakes, tteokguk soup and various cheon dishes. In addition, Korean streets are not decorated with much red, mainly rabbits and tinsel.
This year, Hang will celebrate Tet with her sister and friends. On New Year’s Eve, she will attend a year-end party, and on the 1st, she will go to Vietnamese restaurants or beautifully decorated places to take pictures. In addition, Hang’s group will also cook hot pot with sausages and braised meat.