During Tet, the house of Kim Hieu’s family (living in Washington state, USA) is filled with the scent of incense. The lively spring music playing from the TV makes anyone who enters feel like they are in Vietnam.
While Mr. Ross Murray - Kim Hieu's husband and son Timmy were fixing the apricot flower pot, the woman from Ba Ria - Vung Tau was busy cooking a pot of braised pork and eggs and bitter melon soup to offer to the altar.
"Up to now, I have celebrated Tet in the US for 10 years but still remember my roots in Vietnam. Every year, the whole family decorates neatly to ease the homesickness and help my son understand the customs of celebrating the Lunar New Year," Ms. Kim Hieu shared.
Bright decoration, calligraphy hanging on Tet holiday
Ms. Kim Hieu’s house has 2 floors, bearing the mark of American architecture. These days, the space inside is filled with red and yellow flowers and decorative items.
Since December 20, the Vietnamese woman has planned to decorate her house. She chose the two most beautiful spaces around the altar and on the fireplace to place typical Tet items.
"I ordered the altar, apricot flower pot, and lanterns online and shipped them from Vietnam. The American apricot flower vase and red decorations were bought at an Asian market, a 15-minute drive from home. After 2 weeks, I will clean up and keep them carefully for reuse next year," Kim Hieu shared.
A few days before Tet, the couple spent time decorating the altar with two vases of American apricot blossoms in full bloom. In the corner of the house, Kim Hieu placed a pot of apricot blossoms and a plastic fruit basket with the wish for a prosperous new year.
The red parallel sentences "Green fortune, yellow apricot blossoms, spring happiness - Happy life , good health, prosperous New Year" and firecrackers hanging by the window create an exciting atmosphere for Tet even though the family lives thousands of kilometers away from Vietnam.
The most prominent feature on the walls of Kim Hieu’s living room are the curvaceous calligraphy letters. All of these letters were written by the Vietnamese daughter-in-law herself after a period of attending an online class instructed by a teacher.
The whole family believes that the altar is the most important space in the house, so it is arranged very carefully. A few years ago, this woman brought her parents' portraits to the US to worship. Not only on Tet, but every day of the year, the couple and their son still maintain the habit of burning incense.
"Having an altar in the house makes me feel a cozy atmosphere. It is a space that helps family members remember the deceased, forming an emotional bond connecting the past and the present," said Kim Hieu.
The altar was ordered by Ms. Kim Hieu from Vietnam (Photo: Provided by the character).
Finishing everything and sitting and admiring the space filled with the scent of Tet, the woman from Ba Ria - Vung Tau suddenly remembered the moments of reunion when her parents were still alive, the moment when children were dressed up in clothes that smelled of new fabric.
When she was a child, after the Kitchen Gods' Day, each person in her family often shared a task such as: changing the incense burner, sweeping, wrapping banh tet, arranging the fruit tray, setting up the ancestral altar... That busy atmosphere has now become a beautiful memory for the daughter-in-law far from home to keep in her heart.
This year, Tet At Ty falls on a weekday in the US, and her son is still in school, so Kim Hieu's family chose to gather after dinner. On the last day of the Lunar New Year, the three members wore ao dai and took a set of photos as a souvenir.
"Every Tet holiday, my son gets a year older. I'm afraid that when Timmy goes to high school, he'll be shy about taking pictures with his parents. My husband and I try to take as many pictures of him in ao dai as possible so that he can look back at himself when he's an adult," Kim Hieu confided.
Wrapping banh tet and boiling it on a gas stove
After the decoration is complete, the Vietnamese woman spends time going to the Asian market to buy banana leaves, sticky rice, green beans, meat, and strings to wrap the banh tet.
Ms. Kim Hieu said that the family does not eat much banh tet but they make it every year. The couple wants their children to understand the beauty of Vietnamese culture when Tet comes.
Ms. Kim Hieu and baby Timmy wrap banh tet in the US (Photo: Character provided).
Before wrapping the cake, mother and daughter put on the traditional Southern Vietnamese traditional clothes. Ms. Hieu carefully instructed her daughter how to arrange the leaves, how to add each ingredient, and how to wrap the cake to create a beautiful finished product.
"Because we were afraid of disturbing the neighbors, we did not set up a wood stove in the garden. My husband and I put the cakes in a pot and boiled them on a gas stove. After 12 hours, the whole family eagerly awaited the hot batch of cakes," the Vietnamese bride revealed.
Washington State - where Kim Hieu's family lives, is located in the Northwest of the United States, close to the Canadian border, with a large population of Vietnamese origin.
Normally, each person is busy with their own life and rarely sees each other. Tet is the time when Vietnamese brides have the opportunity to reunite and share the achievements of the year.
Finished banh tet after boiling with gas stove (Photo: Character provided).
It has become a tradition that at the end of the Lunar New Year, Ms. Kim Hieu's house is a familiar place for fellow countrymen to gather, enjoy Vietnamese food, take photos and give lucky money to children.
Amidst the chatter and laughter, seeing the second and third generations growing up in America dressed in traditional Vietnamese ao dai and playing in a space rich in Vietnamese culture, Ms. Kim Hieu and other parents felt happy. That precious moment helped them to ease their homesickness.
Husband and children together preserve Vietnamese culture
Mr. Ross - Kim Hieu's husband - has a love for his wife's homeland and culture. 10 years ago, this man often flew to Vietnam for work. He enjoys the natural scenery, the friendliness of the people and the diverse cuisine here.
It is known that in 2008, they met by chance at a live music cafe in Ho Chi Minh City. At that time, Mr. Ross had a manufacturing facility specializing in exporting products to the US, while she worked for a representative office of a foreign company in Vietnam.
In the crowded coffee shop that day, the couple accidentally saw each other. Ms. Kim Hieu was "captivated" by the friendly smile and gray hair of the American man.
"Seeing me, he approached me and asked to get to know me. After an interesting conversation, we exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch. He looked mature and had a good understanding of Vietnam, which made me very satisfied. Every time he came to work, we made plans to go out to eat and then developed feelings for each other," said Kim Hieu.
Kim Hieu and her husband and son wear ao dai to celebrate Tet (Photo: Provided by the character).
In 2014, the couple got married. A year later, Kim Hieu gave birth to a son, Timmy. The baby was one month old, right on the occasion of Lunar New Year. Taking advantage of the short time when the baby was sleeping, the Vietnamese bride prepared a simple meal and offered it to the altar.
"That year, my husband went on a business trip, leaving only the two of us at home. It was the first time I celebrated the New Year away from my family, and I missed my homeland so much. After lighting incense on the altar, I burst into tears. During the New Year in 2016, when Timmy was 1 year old, the whole family went to the New Year market in the US and started the habit of decorating the house every New Year," Kim Hieu recalled.
After 10 years of happy marriage, the bride in the land of the flag feels lucky to have a husband who is not only devoted to his family but also supports his wife in preserving traditional culture.
Every Tet holiday, while Kim Hieu prepares the offerings to her ancestors, Ross is busy helping his wife prepare ingredients and clean up. This man likes to wear ao dai and enjoy the bustling atmosphere of preparing to welcome the new year with his wife and children.
Calligraphy written by Ms. Kim Hieu for her child on Tet holiday (Photo: Provided by the character).
To help her son understand more about his mother's homeland, she sent Timmy to a Vietnamese language class at a school near their home every Sunday. The school attracts about 300 students aged 6-13. The couple hopes that their son will understand Vietnamese and be able to integrate easily when he visits his homeland.
After a period of studying, the 11-year-old boy can confidently perform songs and speak a little Vietnamese. When he returns home, Timmy's mother often tries to explain simple words in detail. She hopes that, with the motto "slow and steady wins the race", in the future, her son will be fluent in Vietnamese.
"On weekends, my husband and I take Timmy to class. If we don't have work, we stay with other parents to arrange the classroom, participate in many activities, and play with the students during recess," said the woman from Ba Ria - Vung Tau.
Living in a country very far from Vietnam in terms of geographical distance, these days, in the hearts of Kim Hieu's family members, they are also excited to welcome the New Year of the Snake like their brothers and relatives in their hometown.
On the 30th night of Tet, the 3 members did not stay up until midnight to welcome the New Year but still prepared a tray of food to offer on the altar solemnly. On the 1st morning, the whole family woke up, put on Ao Dai and exchanged good wishes. Little Timmy received a red envelope from his parents wishing for a healthy and peaceful new year.
Dantri.com.vn
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