Vietnam 8

Tet

During the weeks leading up to Tet, preparations slowly built to a pre-holiday crescendo. First, stores began to stock up on food products, sodas and beer. Then, gift baskets and cards. Small road-side stalls appeared bedecked in red paper, selling gift baskets, streamers, and cases of beer. Soon, virtual orchards of kumquat trees, peach blossoms, and apricot blossoms bloomed along the streets. On the dike road heading out from the city to the airport, the floral vendors were packed so tight for several miles that traffic slowed to an absolute crawl as drivers stopped in the middle of the street to get out and haggle for the best foliage. Urban streetsides turned green, orange, grey and pink with all the fruits and flowers. I am particularly fond of the kumquat trees, which seem so summer-like with their many bright orange fruit standing out against their dense, dark green leaves, particularly during this chilly season (the longest cold snap on record according to the local media). Like the Christmas tree in the US, almost all Vietnamese homes (including ours) feature kumquat trees during Tet. They vary in size from mere bushes to large, bulky 8 foot high masses, usually stuffed into equally large clay pots. Yet, they are all transported the same way – on the back of motorbikes. In the last few days prior to Tet, thousands of scooters zoom through the streets carrying heavy green cargo precariously balanced on their backs. I can’t imagine how the drivers stop or turn without toppling over. (Tet photos here)

The run-up to Tet comes with a few downsides. Traffic, which is always bad, gets out of control, with jams at all times and in all places. At times, you don’t move and can only watch as motorbike drivers vie for precious space on the sidewalks. Taxi drivers refuse to pick you up or seek exorbitant fees. Prices rise for all consumer goods, despite government efforts to crack down on price gauging.

During Tet, people travel home to be with their families, which, for many Vietnamese, means heading out to the countryside. Hanoi doesn’t exactly empty out, but it’s much less crowded during the holiday. The streets are sane, and the sidewalk vendors have packed up, allowing pedestrians to walk freely. Those who remain in the city are focused on welcoming in the New Year so people are in a good mood. Many have waited for months for the holiday as the one solid block of time they can take off from work and be with their loved ones.

At the same time, many of my Vietnamese friends note that Tet preparations are much different – much easier—than before and therefore Tet has lost a bit of what made it so special. When economic times were tough – as little as 10 years ago – it took weeks to prepare for Tet. You had to go and wait in lines for special treats or save up for months to by expensive food products. Perhaps you raised your own chickens or pigs to slaughter for the Tet meal. In a time without many amenities, Tet stood out as a unique time during the year. Now, Tet has changed. It’s still special. People take off up to two weeks to travel back to their home villages, amazing amounts of food and liquor are consumed, and the temples, pagodas, and cemeteries are packed. But, it’s so easy to prepare now. Families can do all their Tet shopping in a few days, not weeks or months. With the economy booming, foods that used to be special to Tet are consumed year round.

The Vietnamese employees at the Embassy sponsored a Tet celebration, which attracted a large crowd. The table was packed with Tet specialties, especially banh trung cakes, made of sticky rice, pork, and green bean, and a variety of drinks. A dragon dance team came to entertain, with beating drums and pounding cymbals. Two pairs of very agile young men donned the costumes and thrashed and leapt their way in front of the crowd.

The Lunar New Year’s Eve in Hanoi featured a fireworks display at Hoan Kiem lake in the center of the city. We’re fortunate that we live about a 15 minute walk away, so Liz and I, Joaquin, Ryan and a few hundred thousand of our closest friends wandered down at around 10:30 on the eve of Tet. Crowds surrounded the lake in a festive, party atmosphere. Mostly young people, with packs of well-coiffed and well-dressed teens forming impromptu conga lines to wade through the masses. Restaurants around the lake were packed and sidewalk vendors did a great business with popcorn, cotton candy, roasted squid and other snacks. A fashion and variety show attracted a mob causing a standstill. We stopped to watch and chat with a few of our neighbors and ended up getting completely stuck. No room to move at all. Though the crowd generally was friendly, we had to push our way though an uncooperative wedge. In the mini-scrum that ensued, I noted several attempted pick pockets and I caught two or three hands on my camera. Someone managed to snag Joaquin’s pack of cigars – not a tremendous loss in my view.

Once the fireworks started at midnight, everyone’s eyes lifted towards the heavens. Lasting about 15 minutes, the display was quite impressive – and loud. I got a few photos of dozens of locals peering upward aiming their cellphone cameras at the explosions. As soon as the fireworks ended, people scattered like a shot on their way home. No hesitating or lingering. Time to go home. We passed numerous homes, apartments, stores and businesses fronted by offerings for the kitchen gods – whole boiled chickens with a rose in the beak, candies, beer, special Tet cakes stuffed with fatty pork and peas. Families remained outside to welcome in the new year.

On Friday, the second day of Tet, during our run in Tong Nhat park, we saw hundreds of families promenading in their New Year’s best after visiting friends and relations. Parents posed their little boys in suits and girls in dresses and hair ribbons in front of flowers for photos. Buying balloons, figurines, and sausage on sticks, the families strolled around laughing at Liz and me in our shorts and t-shirts.

One of Liz’s Vietnamese colleagues invited us to his apartment on the third day of the holiday for a Tet lunch. He, his wife (a professor at Hanoi University) and their three children, live in a tidy, but somewhat packed 3-room apartment. His wife created a multi-course feast filled with traditional Tet dishes (boiled chicken, bamboo shoot soup, and special rice dishes), along with some family favorites – all in a kitchen approximately 3 feet by 3 feet. I like to cook and am not bad at it, but I need seemingly endless counter space for the simplest tasks. No way I could have managed a single dish in that space without a major accident or fire (or, at the very least, a lot of cursing). During the meal, friends of theirs stopped by as part of the Tet visiting process. The kids were given small amounts of money and everyone enjoyed some tea and snacks. It was a nice introduction to Vietnamese holiday customs.