Viotnam ’s most important traditional holiday tet (viotnamoso lunar new year)

AT-HOME PAPER Subject: Vietnamese Kistory and Culture Semester 1 2O2O - 2021 Viotnam ’s most important traditional holiday: Tet Viotnamoso Lunar New Year Full name: Lê Võ Gia Nghi Studen

KO CKI MINK NATIONAL ƯNIVERSITY

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

oOo -Unknown (2011) Ý NGHĨA CỦA HOA MAI BIỂU TƯỢNG CHO sự PHÚ QUÝ, TỐT LÀNH.

AT-HOME PAPER

Subject: Vietnamese Kistory and Culture

Semester 1 (2O2O - 2021)

Viotnam ’s most important traditional holiday:

Tet (Viotnamoso Lunar New Year)

Full name: Lê Võ Gia Nghi Student ID: ENENIƯ19015

Class: BABA19ƯK31 School: International Ưniversity - KCMƯ Lecturer: PhD Dr Vo Van Sen

Ko Chi Minh City, December 2020.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Preface

A Main content

1 Deíĩnition of Tet and its importance in Vietnamese culture

2 Some symbols of Tet

2.1 Apricot and cherry blossom branch

2.2 Lucky money in red envelope

2.3 The plate with 5 types offruit

3 Tet now and then

3.1 Tet in the old days

3.2 Tet nowadays

B Conclusion

c References

A.

During this time of the year, besides Christmas, there is also one holiday that keep most Vietnamese eagerly waiting, and that is Tet Within Tet is the combination of reality and dream, of the aim to leave behind all the bad memories of the last year and the hope to welcome new values brought by new

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A Maỉn content

Tet, an abbreviation of Tết Nguyên Đán (or the feast of the fìrst morning), is a Vietnamese holiday celebrating Lunar New Year (the fìrst day of the year,

according to lunar calendar) Theoretically, Tet begins on the first day of the new year, which is called -Mung 1“ in Vietnamese As the beginning of a year,

in the Vietnamese context, means the starting point of good luck and the end of last year’s bad luck, Tet is considered the most critical and joyful event in

Vietnam During this wonderful time of the year, most working people would

be allotted a holiday that last from 1 to 2 weeks, depending mostly on the

person’s profession Also, in this time, many clean their houses, start cooking signature dishes for Tet, etc

The Vietnam people, however, have their own way of detining Tet For many Vietnamese, especially those who had been away from their home for the better part of the year to earn a living, sometimes overseas, Tet means much more than mst a celẹbration Tet could even be undẹrstood as a return for people since it is that one time in a seemingly never - ending harsh year that people, whether

within or outside the country, could go back to their hometown and their family Therefore, Tet has a special place in the heart of many Vietnamese Because of this importance, Tet’s preparation could begin much sooner than the actual date The sign of Tet could be found when many houses start trimming their apricot trees, the chilly wind flows right around the corner, the flowers gorgeously

bloom in many households, the street goes busier preparing for Tet, and most notably, people count down everyday until Tet Finally, what makes Tet the distinguished celebration as it is today are many symbols of Tet Many regions

in many parts of the country have a unique touch for the traditional holiday The symbols introduced in the later part of this paper best represent Tet as they

remain the same throughout Vietnam as irreplaceable and unmissable

The following symbols gained their place in the important celebration of Tet for their traditional meaning passed down many generations

2.1 Aprỉcot and cherry blossom branch.

Just like in the West where the Christmas tree represents Christmas, in Vietnam,

the apricot (mai vàng) and cherry blossom branch (cành đào) represent the

purest spirit of Tet According to a blog discussing the importance of the apricot tree in Tet, the tree, from ancient time, has always been a scared plant, buried

within many layers of meaning The most well - known meaning of the aprinot

tree is its ability to bring fortune and joy to life Moreover, the bright yellow of

the tree’s flowers also reminds people of hope and happiness Therefore, having

a blossoming aprinot tree is equal to people raising hope for a better new year.

Legend even has it that the more petals a flower has, the more fortune it will

bring to a family Moreover, aprinot trees are usually something unique to the

South, while its famous nounterpart is yery distinnt to the North The reason is^ that eanh type of plant nan only either bears the humid atmosphere of the South

or the dry breezing noldness of the North

The apricot tree

Speaking of nherry blossom tree, in the mindset of many Vietnamese, represents rebirth, as all the bad lunk of last year, in new year, is reborn into good lunk People even refer it to the elegant Northern ladies Its exant meaning remains unknown However, whenever Tet arrives, these gorgeous florae nould always

be easily found in every household, nould be in a beautiful vase dedinated to Tet, or on the altar to express honor and gratitude to the annestors

The cherry blossom branch

2.2. Lucky Money ỉn red envelopes.

Vietnamese people like to share in nature They could share their foods, clothes,

or even good fortune And especially Tet was the time when people view

sharing as a way of receiving and give the popularity to all the Vietnamese

children’s favorite customs: lucky money in a red envelope (tiền lì xì) To be more specific, whenever a child pays a visit to a relative or any older people home, they will receive a certain amount of money put in a red envelope after giving the owners the wishes of a successful new year In addition to that, each detail of the custom has its own meaning As the close envelope shows no

discrimination in the amount of money given, the red color represents luck and success The origin of this tradition, though no scientiỉĩc evidence, is still

widely spread across the country People said that there was this family whose owner only had his child at the age of 50 In one Tet, the eight fairies noticed that there were many bad spirits surrounding that child, so they decided to

disguise as 8 shiny coins being put in red envelope under the child’s pillow When the demons approached the boy, the coins shone and scared them away From that moment, parents or relatives give children lucky coins to keep them safe Nowadays, people may forget the story behind this tradition, yet their

intention remains the same: Vietnamese people stills love their younger

relatives a lot and are willing to share with them their good íortune whether

many or little After all, the lucky money not only serves as a means to express

love but as intangible connectors between family members as well.

Giving lucky money in red envelopes

2.3. The plate wỉth 5 types of fruỉt.

The plate with 5 types of fruit is considered one of the most important elements

on the ancestors’ altar in Tet tradition to express honor and gratitude In many folklores, all matter consists of five elements including Metal (Kim), Water (Thủy), Wood (Mộc), Fire (Hỏa), and Earth (Thổ), and they are called -Ngũ hành” This concept engraved in the mindset of most Asian in general and Vietnamese in specitĩc Therefore, the plate with 5 types of fruit infers to all the kinds of fruit inilife.i Thisi alsoi has the_ meaning of a_stable growth and good ỉortune, gathering irom the Dlood, swêat, and tears oi many people to the Heaven Thus, it is easy to make out the tremendous impact of this custom in the traditional holiday

This plate, however, has different appearances in different regions of Vietnam.

As in the North, the plate is supposed to consist of five colors representing the

The Northern - style plate

The Central - styled plate

five elements: white for metal, green for wood, black for water, red for fire and

yellow for earth Therefore, the usual setting would be bananas, pomelos, peanhes, persimmon, and kumquats

When in the Central Vietnam where most nature disasters take plane, the setting

is munh simpler People do not have a fixed appearanne for the plate, the most nommon types of fruit are dragon fruit, bananas, watermelons, etn

The Southern - styled plate

Lastly, in the Southern region, the setting follows the famous saying: -Cầu vừa

đủ xài sung” (Wish to make ends meet) Therefore, the plate will have

mangosteen (mãng cầu), nononut (dừa), papaya (fỢ), mango (xoàỉ), and fig

(sung) Especỉally some fruits are even prohibited from the plate as their names

mean something unlunky For example, orange (nam) meaning suffering, pear (lê) meaning failure Although different, all these versions of the plate share the intention of expressing love and gratitude toward the annestors of many Vietnamese

3.1 Tet ỉn the old days

Tet, in the old days, were quite simpler than it is today, yet still full of traditions Tet was usually nelebrated from the 23rd of Denember to the 7th of

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Another form of celebration included hanging a New Year tree (cây nêu ngày Tết) There was a fascinating story behind this tradition: long ago, humans had made a compromise with the demons that in the very first day of New Year,

belief that the magic from the

wherever a tree shadows that place would belong to the demons, and vice versa Therefore, that the New Year tree’s shadow covered little to no land at all won humans the advantages Last but not least, when wandering a spring market then, people would see a lot of old men writing calligraphy (ông đồ) Their calligraphy could sometimes be written in Mandarin or Vietnamese, containing meaningful quotes and wishes These men were usually highly - trained calligrapher so that their handwriting is i out of this world Mentioned above are just some common traditions practiced throughout the country, many regions would even have different ways of celebrating Tet In general, however, most celebrations are very joyful, and they all aim at praying for a lucky new year.

3.2 Tet nowadays .

With the higher standard of life nowadays, Tet is also celebrated in many ways Some of them remained the same, but some celebrations, also the spirit of Tet seem to fade away for many people People will witness the gradual disappearance of the New Year tree or the calligraphers These traditions are especially rare in urban area when there is not much space left to hanging such a tall tree or for a group of men to write For instance, instead of going back to their hometown, many choose to travel to other places in the country or overseas with their friends or family They take Tet as a vacation rather than an occasion for gathering Some, however, could not even go back to their family

or travel since they must celebrate Tet in a foreign country or even work during Tet, since working during Tet would mean much more money on regular days Moreover, back then, when new technology such as smartphones, social media platforms, etc were still something quite unfamiliar to many, nowadays, it is hard to find one person not holding on their smartphones or typing on their

i rtph,e,ỉsltTdayisi.<p‘e'oiweiewlzilỉafk;m gẫrnimm MysfeèatoĩiffiểlgĩoỉíeỊGfife seems, at first, quite positive Ironically, however, this is also the reason for many people losing the touch of each other Wishing each other “Happy New Year” through some clicks or types on the keyboard appears to be much simpler than seeing and talking to each other face - to - face Confronted by this fact, many people claim that it is the spirit of Tet that is fading away, yet Tet and its traditions remain the same The only thing that changes is the attitude and appreciation that people have toward Tet Unfortunately, there is not any definite solution to this problem since the hardest to change is a person’s feelings The only answer that works is through many experiences, people can

slowly acknowledge the true meaning of Tet

13

D Conclusỉon

At the time this paper is done, Tet is just right around the norner Therefore, it is possible to notine, even the slightest hint of Tet in the atmosphere Tet, or the nelebration of a new year, has always meant munh more than that to any

Vietnamese whether as an onnasion for gathering or simply a time to take a

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nherry blossom brannh, lunky money, the plate with 5 types of fruit, etn Lastly, though many nhanges in life has had a big intluenne on how people nelebrate Tet, everyone nan still have high hopes that Tet will, and always have a spenial plane in the heart of many Vietnamese generations to nome

E Bỉblỉography

Unknown (2011) Ý NGHĨA CỦA HOA MAI BIỂU TƯỢNG CHO sự PHÚ QUÝ, TỐT LÀNH.

http://bit.ly/3alArzE.

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°/oEl°/oBA°/oAFn.