Hobby of playing with apricot blossoms in a foreign land

Perhaps the Vietnamese community in Seattle (Washington state - USA) are the ones who fired the first fireworks in the series of traditional New Year festivals in the land of the stars and stripes.

The non-profit organization Tet in Seattle will bring a warm Tet atmosphere with a series of exciting programs including games, food booths, entertainment programs, fashion shows, lion dances... on January 14 and 15 (ie December 23 and 24 of the lunar calendar) at Seattle Center.

Speaking of Tet, in addition to the bustling festive atmosphere, the hobby of growing flowers and ornamental plants is also an unforgettable poetic feature. For many Vietnamese people in Australia, the brilliant yellow apricot blossoms are indispensable.

Apricot blossoms have soft, fragile petals, and even when they fall, their color remains fresh. Perhaps that is why apricot blossoms are considered the most precious of the four noble flowers (apricot, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo). Apricot blossoms are closely associated with Vietnamese traditional culture, symbolizing goodness, wealth, and power.

Apricot blossoms in the garden of a Vietnamese family in Brisbane, Australia. Photo: SBS

For those who live far from home, Tet memories are always associated with apricot blossoms and apricot pots placed in the middle of the house. Mr. Thanh Tan, originally from Tay Ninh, currently living in Brisbane (Queensland - Australia), firmly stated that seeing apricot blossoms means seeing the bustling Tet atmosphere everywhere.

Mr. Thanh Tan shared with SBS: "The bright yellow color of apricot blossoms is the color of family reunions, days of meeting relatives and friends and having fun. Peach blossoms and apricot blossoms are two things that I think anyone who misses Tet in their hometown cannot forget."

Going to the Tet market in Australia, it is not difficult to find chrysanthemums, marigolds, celosias, both cut flowers and whole plants in pots. There are also fake peach and apricot blossoms made of fabric or plastic, for people to buy and attach to tree branches.

In the early years in Australia, not many people thought of growing mai trees. However, after the worries of living in a foreign land, many people planted a few trees, with a few flowers, to remember their homeland. When Tet comes, spring comes, visiting a friend's house, seeing the mai tree, suddenly memories of childhood come flooding back. So they try harder to take care of the tree, trying to make it bloom on Tet.

Growing a mai tree in an Australian garden requires meticulous care. Growing mai tree is not just about watering, fertilizing, and plucking leaves. Brisbane's weather is sometimes hot, sometimes cold, so it is not easy to wait for the mai tree to bloom in time for Tet, according to SBS.

The trick to getting the apricot tree to bloom on time is to remove all the leaves a month before spring. When spring comes, around early October or late September, the flowers will bloom. To welcome the Lunar New Year 2023, at the end of December, you need to remove the apricot leaves again. Although this time the flowers will not be as abundant as the last time, you can still enjoy the apricot tree on the first day of the new year.

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