“Hello, Hien, does Hau’s house have a place to cook banh chung? Let me remind Hung to bring a big pot to boil all the banh chung at once!”- Thuy hung up the phone, and together with her husband and children, set off to the venue to celebrate Tet At Ty.
Ms. Thuy confided: "That's how Tet is abroad. In Vietnam, Tet is a time for family and relatives to reunite. Here, we don't have many relatives around, so Tet is an opportunity to gather with friends, the community to bond, and preserve traditional flavors for future generations. Every year, we organize Chung cake and Tet cake wrapping together, organize folk games, and talk to our children about Tet. When our children witness us organizing these activities and see how happy their parents are, they themselves feel that Tet is a meaningful and sacred occasion for Vietnamese people and the spirit of Tet will permeate their souls. They will also be eager to celebrate Tet and proud of the traditions of their homeland."
15 families gathered to celebrate the traditional New Year
Thinking is doing, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Thuy, currently living in Australia, and her sisters planned and organized a joyful Tet for their children. This year, the group of 15 families made an appointment to organize at Ms. Hau's house, a house of about 1,000 square meters, enough to accommodate more than 60 people, both adults and children, with a space for wrapping cakes, a space for playing folk games, a space for displaying food, and a space for a music stage to celebrate Tet.
Before that, Ms. Hien went to the market to buy meat, rice, beans, banana leaves, and divided them among the families to prepare ingredients to wrap Chung cakes. The children also helped their parents soak rice, cook beans, and marinate meat. Today, the families brought the prepared ingredients and wrapped Chung cakes and Tet cakes together. Those who were good at wrapping guided those who were not, parents taught their children, everyone wrapped the cakes, chatted and laughed heartily, the whole family laughed loudly.
Meanwhile, at the back of the house, the large covered porch is the ideal place to set up a music stage. The husbands worked hard to stretch the canvas, install the mixer, microphone, sound system and hang decorations… These decorations were donated by friends, accumulated over many years and were also recently purchased by Ms. Mai Thanh during her recent trip back to Vietnam.
On one side, Ms. Thuy is taking the opportunity to discuss and agree on the program with the two young MCs, Hao Hiep, her son, who is entering grade 11 this year, and Ngoc Lam, Ms. Hau's daughter, who is entering university this year. Ms. Thuy said: "This year, the children are grown up, so we want them to participate in all stages of the organization. Taking charge of these activities will help them better understand the emotions of Tet, and it is also an opportunity for them to grow up. We are very happy that the children happily agreed, without much persuasion."
The Chung cake wrapping session attracted many participants.
After more than 50 banh chung were wrapped, the children and their parents put all the cakes into a large pot and placed it on the wood stove. In just a moment, when the pot of banh chung started to boil, the smell of cakes and the smell of wood smoke wafted in the air, making everyone feel like they were in Vietnam on the days before Tet.
All the families changed into Ao Dai, Turban, and elegant suits to take Tet photos together. Ms. Hai Tho was the photographer for the group today. Every family got a bright, colorful photo full of Tet atmosphere. These photos will preserve the family's memories and become warm memories in the children's hearts.
The Yeu Tet art program took place in a bustling and touching atmosphere with many unique and surprising performances by the children. Hao Hiep opened with "Hello Vietnam" in all three languages: French, English, Vietnamese, full of nostalgia for the homeland. The two little brothers Quoc Bao and Minh Khoi continued with the boiling national spirit through the heroic and powerful song "Hao khi Viet Nam". The 4A string quartet was soft and melodious with the folk song "Beo dat may troi", while Sophia Tuong An brought the bustling atmosphere of Tet with the cello solo "Xuan da ve"... The parents were equally excited with a series of impromptu performances to welcome Tet.
After the entertainment program, all the families gathered together to eat Tet feast. Each family brought a traditional dish such as fried spring rolls, boiled chicken, sticky rice, vermicelli, beef and papaya salad, stewed soup, etc. Everyone enjoyed the delicious dishes and admired each other's cooking skills.
Ms. Hien shared: "We have a Tet feast with traditional Vietnamese dishes, but the way we prepare the feast is Australian style, which is that each family contributes a dish, so it is both delicious and rich and no one gets tired from having to prepare the feast. The children also have the opportunity to eat a variety of Vietnamese dishes. Everyone loves it!"
Finally, the most anticipated part is the act of scooping out the cakes. In the rainy night, the aroma of the cakes and the warm smoke from the firewood rose up, making the parents and children all excited. Ms. Hau exclaimed: "Celebrating Tet in Australia is even bigger than celebrating Tet in Vietnam. In Vietnam, my family has never boiled such a big pot of cakes! It has been a long time since we have enjoyed the atmosphere of scooping out cakes at night like this."
Ms. Thuy added: "We will try to maintain the activities of celebrating Vietnamese Tet together for a long time and hope to expand the scale so that many families in Queensland can participate. We want to preserve Vietnamese Tet for our children and grandchildren, but perhaps, first of all, it is for us to keep a part of the warm, sacred roots in our souls. No matter where we are in the world, we will always keep the Vietnamese spirit, Vietnamese roots and pass it on to the next generations."
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nhung-nguoi-me-viet-giu-coi-re-tet-viet-cho-con-20250127122155328.htm
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