Romanian son-in-law celebrates Vietnamese Tet for 20 years, regrets the old Tet atmosphere

Editor's note:

Tet Nguyen Dan is always a reunion occasion for many Vietnamese families. There are foreign sons-in-law who have lived in Vietnam for many years and gradually become familiar with Tet. Together with their wife's family, they participate in Tet customs like a true Vietnamese.

VietNamNet introduces a series of articles titled "Westerners Celebrate Tet" that captures cozy images of foreigners celebrating Tet in Vietnam.

Coming to Vietnam to study at the age of 19, the Romanian student got married and has lived in Vietnam ever since – when he was 39 years old.

Although he has been a regular "assistant" in the kitchen during Tet, this year is the first year Valentin has personally wrapped banh chung - an indispensable dish for Vietnamese people during the first days of the year. The cake is not yet square and full, but he is very proud of his achievement.

Thanks to that, he knows that "making a delicious banh chung is not easy at all".

On the 29th of Tet, Valentin went to the Tet market and bought a peach blossom branch he liked to display in his house.

On the 29th of Tet this year, Valentin bought a peach blossom branch he liked.

The Romanian son-in-law recalls that before he got married, he spent Tet in the dormitory, going to friends' houses to celebrate Tet, and going out with friends. But since he got married, he has spent every Tet with his family.

Two years after getting married, he lived with his wife's family in Dong Da district (Hanoi). Later, when he moved to Ho Chi Minh City, in the years when he did not return to Hanoi, he and his wife celebrated Tet together and met friends in the city.

“I have almost never traveled during Tet. I think Tet is about family. Moreover, nowadays, many people travel during Tet, but I don’t like crowds,” the Romanian son-in-law shared.

This year, Valentin and his wife are on a cross-country trip, but just before Tet, they were able to return to Hanoi to celebrate Tet with his wife's parents.

Every year, in the days before Tet, he rolls up his sleeves to clean the house and prepare food with the women in the family.

On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together to enjoy some snacks, drink wine, watch Tao Quan, and chat all night. During Tet, he and his family went to the pagoda and visited relatives on both sides.

“Those are the moments I cherish most during Tet,” he shared.

He has lived in Vietnam for 20 years, but this is the first year he has wrapped Chung cakes by himself.

Besides, food is what Valentin “loves” the most during Tet. “I like almost every dish, especially fried banh chung. I don’t really like braised pork because it’s a bit sweet.”

He said that if he were to cook the typical Tet dishes alone, he would not be very confident, but if he were to act as a kitchen assistant, he would be completely confident.

He witnessed how hard Vietnamese women have to cook during Tet, so he always tries to help his wife and mother-in-law as much as possible so that they can have time to rest in the true spirit of a holiday.

When asked if there was anything about Tet that he didn’t like, he happily said, “I don’t really like cleaning the house. It’s a bit complicated and… a headache for me.”

“Cleaning the house on Tet holiday is very different from cleaning on normal days. Cleaning on Tet holiday requires meticulous attention to every corner, unlike cleaning a room or mopping the floor on normal days.”

“However, nowadays, cleaning can be done by services. Cooking is the same. We can buy many ready-made dishes instead of having to cook all day long during Tet. I fully support that view so that Tet can truly be a holiday - people can rest and relax more. As long as we are still together, chatting, hanging out, visiting each other. The ultimate goal is that we must be happy. There is nothing wrong with using services during Tet and in my opinion, it does not take away the flavor of Tet” – Valentin expressed his opinion.

The Romanian son-in-law believes that Tet is a complete holiday as long as the whole family is together, resting and having fun together.

He also shared that there is one thing he would like to change, if possible, every time Tet comes. That is the fact that Vietnamese people often prepare too much food and cakes.

“After Tet, this food is not eaten all the time, so it often has to be thrown away, which is very wasteful. In my opinion, we should prepare just enough to eat.”

In the first years of coming to Vietnam, he was also very surprised to learn about the custom of giving lucky money to each other. “At that time, I was not used to considering money as a gift. But later, I understood its meaning and gradually got used to that custom. Although it was a bit ‘painful for the wallet’, seeing the children and grandchildren happy when receiving lucky money, I also felt happy.”

After 20 years of celebrating Vietnamese Tet, Valentin has realized that Tet today has many differences compared to Tet in the past. “Even now, every Tet holiday, many foreigners who have just arrived in Vietnam still ask, ‘Is it true that no stores are open during Tet?’. Actually, that was many years ago. Now, stores and supermarkets open very early, even during Tet.

In the past, if you didn’t prepare food for Tet, you would go hungry. Now, shops open until right before Tet and then reopen very early, usually only closing on the first day.

But according to him, along with that, the atmosphere on the streets during Tet is also very different. In the past, the streets were very deserted and quiet during Tet. That was a new and very much anticipated cultural experience for him.

Tet now no longer has that atmosphere. Going out on the second and third days is not much different from a normal day. “For me personally, it is a loss because I like walking around in the deserted, quiet atmosphere of the old Tet streets.”