That is the absence of the card market located on the streets next to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office. Previously, city people often had to visit at least a few times a year. It belongs to the habits, lifestyle and culture of the people of Ho Chi Minh City.
In the past, city people had the habit of sending Christmas cards, New Year cards, birthday cards, congratulatory cards for success... to friends and relatives. If they were close, they would be given by hand, if they were far away, they would be sent by post. The cards were a way to express affection, a way to connect and care for each other.
It's like a reminder, an indirect way of saying that I'm fine and I'm thinking of you. The good wishes I wrote in the card are from my heart to you. How precious it is.
The recipient of the card will carefully keep it in a drawer, or will hang it on the Christmas tree or the apricot or peach tree on Tet holiday, next to the birthday cake or put it solemnly in a glass cabinet. It is both a decoration and a way to say that you are here, sharing with me the joy and happiness. And maybe at some point, accidentally looking at the card, you will remember an old friend, remember our memories.
During my school years, wandering around to buy greeting cards was a pleasure. Different recipients had different cards and wishes inside. Especially sending cards to someone I loved was extremely difficult for me. I had to consider and be careful when writing each sentence and each word. I was nervous when giving and sending the card. And then receiving it was also… nervous!
Life has changed a lot now. When people think of each other, they just open their phones, send a few pictures, wishes, and that's it! It's so convenient and easy. So easy that it's like paying off a debt. The sender just does it, the receiver is indifferent. No one cares about the soulless beauty of the card and the cliched wishes in it. Everything is just a formality. It's not by chance that some people think that convenience has unintentionally lost the emotion, lost a lovely and poetic culture.
Now there are not many places selling greeting cards anymore. For someone like me who likes to reminisce about the past, every time I have a chance to return to the city, I quietly go out to buy a few cards. Some to give to myself, and the rest to give as… memories!
On the last Tet holiday, I happened to find a card in a bookstore with a picture of a girl wearing an ao dai and a bright yellow apricot blossom branch. My heart was reminded of the song “Whose daughter is there/My mother gave me an ao dai to wear to welcome Spring…”. A moment of gentle, sweet feeling on a beautiful sunny day in early spring, before having to step back into the uncertainties and worries of everyday life…
Ngo Dinh Hai
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cho-thiep-post789387.html
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