The colorful diversity of Vietnamese Tet comes first from the way our ancestors chose the time that people commonly call Tet. That is the transition between Winter and Spring, especially the transition between the old year and the new year according to the Lunar calendar, based on the cycle and position of the Moon relative to the Earth.
That choice can be said to be excellent because it has three elements: favorable time, favorable location, and favorable people. The countries around us such as Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand also have the custom of celebrating the New Year, but it takes place in mid-April of the solar calendar, at the end of Spring, preparing for the Lap Ha season.
Therefore, talking about Vietnamese Tet means talking about Spring. Since when have these two concepts been the same, although two, one: welcoming Tet/welcoming Spring, celebrating the New Year/welcoming the New Spring,...
Vietnam is considered the cradle of rice civilization. Rice not only brings prosperity but is also the source of Vietnamese culture.
In the past, our ancestors grew rice depending on natural conditions, and season became an extremely important factor in farmers' cultivation. Each year, there were only two rice crops: winter-spring and summer-autumn. After harvesting the winter-spring crop, farmers were busy preparing for the winter-spring crop in time.
Usually, at the time of Lunar New Year, farming work has ended, and it is also the time when the earth and sky change seasons and times. Winter ends, Spring comes, and the New Year arrives. People are busy preparing for Tet, saving the best things to celebrate Spring and the New Year after a year of hard work.
Spring thus becomes the season of festivals with much excitement and anticipation: “January is the month of fun…” to make up for the hard days of farming; the season of longing for happiness and joy: “Green buds, yellow apricot blossoms, happy spring/ Happy life, good health, peaceful Tet” with the wish for a good new year.
Tet is a special occasion for families to gather, people to visit, encourage, congratulate each other, enjoy traditional dishes together in the warm atmosphere of the land and sky turning to Spring, the sweet scent of incense wafting throughout the village streets and alleys.
Looking back at the thousands of years of history of our nation, important milestones and glorious victories often take place - as if pre-arranged - on the occasion of Lunar New Year and Spring. Therefore, there is a coincidence that is certainly not accidental: Tet and Spring are always associated with glorious victories in the struggle to protect the Fatherland of our ancestors.
That can be explained by the very unique characteristics of a country with thousands of years of culture, a special geopolitical position, and always having to face all challenges to keep its country intact.
In the spring of Canh Ty year 40, the Trung sisters raised the flag of uprising against the domination of the Eastern Han invaders. In the spring of Nham Tuat year 542, Ly Bi raised the flag of uprising against the domination of the Liang dynasty. In particular, in the spring of Giap Ty year 544, after defeating the Liang army, Ly Bi ascended the throne as Emperor, naming the country Van Xuan. In other words, "Van" according to the way our ancestors thought is a number representing eternity, "Xuan" is spring, the season of growth and development, it can also be understood as year. The name of the country has a profound meaning: "hoping that the country will be sustainable forever", this country is a spring of thousands of years.
Then in the Spring of Ky Hoi 939, Ngo Quyen proclaimed himself king and took the title Ngo Vuong, opening the period of independence and autonomy of the feudal dynasties of Vietnam; in the Spring of Dinh Ty 1077, Ly Thuong Kiet defeated the invading Song army for the second time, the mountains and rivers resounded with heroic spirit: "The mountains and rivers of the Southern country belong to the Southern Emperor/ This is clearly defined in the book of heaven/ How could the rebels come to invade/ You all should watch their defeat and destruction".
The three springs of 1258, 1285, 1288 are associated with the heroic feats of the Tran Dynasty's army and people in defeating the invading Yuan-Mongol army and the glorious name of the national hero Tran Quoc Tuan, leaving "Son ha thien co dien kim au" (The mountains and rivers of a thousand years are firmly established - Tran Nhan Tong).
In the spring of Mau Tuat 1418, Le Loi raised the flag of uprising against the Ming Dynasty. Ten years later, in the spring of Mau Than 1428, the last Ming invaders were swept away from the country, and the mountains and rivers once again echoed the heroic sound of Binh Ngo Dai Cao: "Using great justice to defeat cruelty/ Using benevolence to replace violence", for the country to "forever have a solid foundation of peace".
In the spring of Ky Dau 1789, in just 5 days and nights of the Lunar New Year, the swift steps of the Tay Son army under the talented command of Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue, swept away 200,000 Qing invaders from the country. The country forever echoed the proclamation of the hero in plain clothes: "Fight until their hair grows long/ Fight until their teeth turn black/ Fight until they never turn back/ Fight until they never return with their armor/ Fight so that history knows that the Southern nation has a hero!".
Entering modern times, the traditional Tet holiday of the nation is also associated with historical springs.
In the Spring of Canh Ngo 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam was born. Since then, under the leadership of the Party, the revolutionary cause of our people has gone from victory to victory, writing glorious pages of history, making the Spring of the Country and the Spring of Vietnamese Tet even brighter.
The Mau Than Spring of 1968 marked the simultaneous General Offensive and Uprising of the army and people of the South; the Quy Suu Spring of 1973, the victory of "Dien Bien Phu in the air" forced the US to declare an end to bombing and destroying the North; accept to sign the Paris Agreement to restore peace in Vietnam and withdraw troops; the At Mao Spring of 1975, started with the Tay Nguyen Campaign and finally the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, creating a great Spring victory, liberating the South and unifying the country.
Since the country gained independence, every year when Tet comes, Spring returns, compatriots and soldiers across the country have a new joy, eagerly waiting for the sacred New Year's Eve: listening to Uncle Ho's New Year's greetings.
His New Year poems expressed revolutionary optimism, were both topical and strategic: “Both sides fought well against the Americans/ The good news of victory bloomed like flowers”, “For independence, for freedom/ Fight to drive the Americans out, fight to overthrow the puppets”; and were also like a prophecy, encouraging and cheering on compatriots and soldiers across the country to overcome hardships and sacrifices, bravely “Forward! Total victory will be ours”, bringing the long march to liberate the nation to its final destination: “The North reunites for five years, what spring is happier”.
Nguyen Duy Xuan
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