To help her children have a real experience of Tet in their homeland, Vietnamese mothers try to recreate as fully as possible the customs and practices that are common at the beginning of the new year.
The most common trait of Vietnamese people, whether in the North or the South, whether Buddhist or Catholic, when living abroad, every time Tet comes, they are always homesick. Therefore, they all try to create the atmosphere and flavor of Tet in a foreign land.
After more than 10 years of celebrating Tet in the US, Ms. Trang Vu, living in California, still misses the traditional taste of Tet in her homeland, so despite her busy schedule, she still tries to prepare to celebrate Tet in a faraway land. This is both to ease her homesickness and to teach her children about their roots.
“At first, I missed home so much and was not used to having to prepare for Tet alone in a foreign land. Later, when I joined Vietnamese groups here, I was able to calm down. Every year, when Tet comes, the groups will gather together to celebrate the year-end party. Each person will prepare a dish with the flavor of Tet to create a party together” – Ms. Trang shared.
Every year, the place where Trang lives always organizes events to celebrate Lunar New Year because her state has a large Vietnamese community, so Lunar New Year has become a popular festival in the US. Many customs such as giving lucky money, welcoming the New Year, and going to the temple at the beginning of the year are kept by Vietnamese people when they come to the US.
Ms. Trang often takes her family to participate in festivals such as Ao Dai to welcome spring, and the Tet market organized by the Vietnamese community. Most of the festivals are modeled after those in Vietnam.
Recalling the first days in the US , when there were only two young couples living in a small town with few Vietnamese people. “I often made video calls to my family. My mother often guided me to cook bamboo shoot and rib soup, wrap fried spring rolls, and my father was very good at making ham, so he guided me in detail. He also asked a friend to send me a very elaborate ham mold. The whole family watched me wrap banh chung via video call, everyone laughed when they saw me awkwardly wrapping the cakes, except for my mother, who had tears in her eyes. At that time, I was sad and homesick,” said Ms. Trang.
Teaching children to love traditional Tet through experiences
Ms. Trang gave birth to 3 children in the US, but all 3 children speak Vietnamese very well. In order for her children to have a real experience of Tet in their homeland, the Vietnamese mother tries to recreate as fully as possible the customs and practices that are common during Tet.
Children learn best through experience and will remember experiences, so instead of just talking or explaining, she often lets her children do things together, participate in activities together, or watch and learn about special holidays in Vietnam.
“Every year, during Tet, I let my children wear Ao Dai and participate in festivals organized by the Vietnamese community. Every year, I wrap Banh Chung and invite the children to join me. The Tet meal is an indispensable part of our family tradition. The children will help their mother pick vegetables, make pork rolls, and arrange the New Year's Eve meal,” Trang shared.
In addition, this is also an opportunity for Trang to tell her children about her memories of Tet in the past and this Tet, such as at the end of the year, the whole family cleans the house together, children buy new clothes, receive lucky money and lucky words at the beginning of the year.
“The children call their grandparents every day and express their wish to come home to celebrate Tet with them,” Trang shared.
Without these cultural values, children will forget their roots and easily dissolve into a multi-ethnic world. Therefore, Tet is an important occasion for her children to feel the cultural traditions and identity of Vietnam, thereby fostering their love for their homeland and roots.
For her children, Vietnam is always their homeland, where their language is always preserved, and the rules of saying yes and no are always carefully cultivated by her. According to her, teaching children not to forget the traditional Tet holiday of their homeland, language plays an important role, it is the door to culture, so if they do not know or understand their mother tongue, it is difficult to reach, let alone appreciate and love the culture of their homeland. Especially for children living abroad like her children, nearly half of their day is spent in a completely different environment, language, and culture.
Identity or culture cannot be absorbed, felt, and understood if it is only brought out once a year on Tet. It is a process of daily cultivation. No matter where she settles in the world, Ms. Trang always reminds her children of the two words "homeland" that she always painfully misses.
Source: https://giadinhonline.vn/me-viet-o-my-day-con-yeu-tet-que-huong-d204278.html
Comment (0)