A meaningful experience activity on March 8 when the union organized for the husbands and boyfriends of female teachers in the school to compete in cooking - Photo: LUONG DINH KHOA
Memories of March 8th of joy
In high school, I studied in the province's literature class. There were 21 people in the class, and I was the only boy. So the "pressure" on International Women's Day (March 8) or Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20) was always present, both internally and externally.
The pressure inside was to have a headache thinking about what to give and what to do for the whole class that was reasonable, but also within the limited budget of a high school student (even though at that time I could earn money by sending poems, essays, and short stories to newspapers).
The external pressure is that hundreds of eyes from classes such as math, physics, chemistry, biology, IT, history - geography, English, French... will all be focused on what the "monosodium glutamate" literature class will do, how it will manage to "escape" on the day the women "rise up".
That morning of March 8, I came to class earlier than usual, wrote "Happy March 8" in big letters on the board. Then I stood at the door of the classroom and gave cards to each student who entered. When the whole class was there, I asked everyone to open the card and read the wishes inside. The wishes were written quite… funny, to create a fun atmosphere for the whole class.
Next was the gift drawing. The agreement with the class the day before was that each student would bring a gift for me to shuffle and draw. This scene was quite exciting.
Some people had 5 donuts, some had a piece of sugar cane, a bag of jujubes, a bag of chips... The atmosphere in the class was jubilant. The girls even wrote in their class diary: "Moments like this are wonderful, they will never be able to have them again"...
In 11th grade, I chose to create a gift myself with my own effort and passion. A handmade publication called "The First Season of Literature" like an internal magazine that I hand-wrote. The illustrations were drawn by myself. Then I took it to a photocopy shop and printed many copies, stapled into small volumes.
March 8th atmosphere of grade 12 with female students in literature class with cake and red roses
In grade 12, knowing that time was approaching the time to say goodbye - each of us would fly away to different places, I cherished every opportunity and moment to preserve memories together. On that last 8-3, I ordered a big cake and prepared 20 red roses. The girls crowded around, then shared the sweet taste...
And when many women.... ask for gifts, afraid of losing
After leaving university, I entered the rhythm of office life. And the occasions of anniversaries for women were taken care of by the union of the agency. I really liked the attention at the company I worked for - first on the morning of March 8, women came to work to receive congratulations and a dessert party from their brothers. In the afternoon, all the women were off to spend time for themselves and their families.
I think showing concern through such practical actions is truly a meaningful gift of encouragement for women.
But the more I grow up and experience different environments, I suddenly feel afraid - afraid of the feeling of "enjoyment" and demands of some women on occasions like this.
I'm afraid of girlfriends and wives who use these days as an excuse to suggest and demand that men give them the gifts they want.
I'm afraid to hear the stories of men at coffee shops after March 8th sitting and sharing with each other about yesterday's "achievements" of spending a small amount of money on a gift to easily invite girl A, girl B to go to a motel.
I'm afraid of couples who show off their affection loudly just to attract attention, take pictures and post them on their personal Facebook for friends to comment on, then a few months later see the girl change her status to dating another guy.
I was scared to see the scene of female cleaners collecting discarded flowers at the gates of agencies on the morning of March 9. Flowers piled up on garbage trucks, full of formality and waste.
And there are many more fears - when the care people give each other on every March 8th is no longer pure, but is tinged with calculation.
Giving gifts is just one of many ways to show care and love, besides sending each other words of encouragement, spending quality time together...
Giving gifts is just one of many ways to express care and love. I just hope that those gifts contain sincerity and empathy, so that after March 8th this year and the next, the woman who receives the gift will have a whole year of care and understanding, not just one day following the trend.
We invite readers to discuss and share on the topic: " Do women need to receive gifts and have gifts to be happy? " send to email [email protected] or comment below the article. Thank you for reading.
Suggested March 8 gifts for husband to make both happySource
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