International students eagerly celebrate Vietnamese New Year

In the context of international integration in education, more and more international students are coming to study at universities in Ho Chi Minh City and many other universities across the country. In the days leading up to Tet, many universities have planned to organize programs and activities to celebrate Tet so that international students can experience and feel the flavors and culture of the traditional Tet holiday of Vietnam.

Maxime (right) from France, part of an international student exchange program, participates in making banh chung, organized by Hoa Sen University.

Traditional cultural features

Student Amanda Ross, a UK student studying at Ton Duc Thang University, said: “I am so lucky to be able to come to Vietnam in the spring of 2023 through a cultural exchange program. What I like most here is definitely the Vietnamese food. From pho to rice and other dishes, everything has an appealing taste. And I got to celebrate the traditional Vietnamese New Year very interestingly. I experienced activities such as going to the New Year market and learning how to wrap Banh Chung and Banh Tet. For international students, participating in traditional New Year activities is a special experience, making me feel the warmth and hospitality of the Vietnamese people.”

Meanwhile, student Connor Shaun Moore, an Australian student at Ton Duc Thang University, has a very unique feeling about the traditional costumes of Vietnamese people during the traditional New Year. “The experience that I will never forget is wearing the Ao Dai, a traditional costume that Vietnamese people often wear during Tet as well as on special holidays, and also at the graduation ceremony of the school program. Through that, I love Vietnamese people, culture, and the Vietnamese spirit even more,” Connor Shaun Moore shared. As for Konaka Yuichiro (Japan), a 4th year student of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City), the traditional New Year of Vietnamese people is the most special day of the year. This is an occasion for family members to reunite and give each other the best wishes for the new year. “In Japan, there is no traditional New Year, only Western New Year, but it is also the most special day of the year. What impresses me most about Vietnamese Tet is that there are many traditional dishes such as banh chung and banh tet. Another very impressive feature is the way Vietnamese people display the five-fruit tray on Tet with many meanings for a prosperous new year and prosperous business," Konaka Yuichiro said.

Feels like celebrating Tet at home

According to Lee Ah Nam, a Korean, a fourth-year student of the Vietnamese Studies Department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City), the similarity between Vietnamese and Korean New Year is the culture of giving lucky money. The difference is that in Vietnam, children receive lucky money in red envelopes, while in Korea, children receive it in a bag called a "lucky bag". In addition, in Korea, children must bow to their grandparents to receive lucky money, but in Vietnam, they only need to clasp their hands and politely wish their grandparents and adults a happy new year to receive lucky money. "What impressed me most was that during the traditional Vietnamese New Year, the whole family gathers together to wrap banh tet and banh chung and there are many folk games during the New Year," said Lee Ah Nam.

As a Laotian student living in the dormitory of Ho Chi Minh City National University, Thynouvong Kongsy did not return home but stayed in Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate Tet with many emotions. These days, his roommates prepare gifts, arrange their belongings, and luggage to return home to celebrate Tet... making Thynouvong Kongsy miss home even more. “However, we are also very happy when the dormitory management board organizes a camping activity for international students to celebrate Tet away from home. To experience the cultural features of the traditional Vietnamese New Year, I will participate in all activities such as learning to wrap Chung cake, Tet cake, and participating in folk games. What warms my heart is that the Board of Directors of Ho Chi Minh City National University comes to visit, wish me a happy new year, give me gifts, and receive lucky money. The teachers who are teaching me Vietnamese are always there to accompany and share, so I feel more confident to join in the spring and Tet activities to fully experience the flavor of Vietnam's New Year," Thynouvong Kongsy happily said.

Although he has experienced 4 Tet holidays in Vietnam, for Xaiyasongthor Tulee (a Laotian international student, a 5th-year medical student at Nguyen Tat Thanh University), the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon in 2024 still gives him special feelings about the traditional Vietnamese New Year. The school helps international students experience Tet most fully through activities such as arranging fruit trays, wrapping Chung cakes, Tet cakes, and eating New Year's Eve together... Xaiyasongthor Tulee said: "In 2023, a friend invited me to my hometown in An Giang to celebrate Tet. I and my friend's family celebrated New Year's Eve, ate the first meal of the year, received lucky money, went to the pagoda, and gave each other the best wishes... I really like the traditional Vietnamese New Year, with many unique traditional cultural features but also similar to Tet in my distant hometown".

THANH HUNG

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