Students of Van Lang University celebrate Tet in 3 regions

The Lunar New Year is the traditional Tet holiday in Vietnam, but each region has its own typical Lunar New Year's customs. Let's learn the tradition of celebrating Tet in 3 regions with VLU students during the last Lunar New Year holiday!

New Year in Northern Vietnam

Referring to the Northern New Year, we must mention banh chung (square sticky rice cake) and banh day (round sticky rice cake). Banh chung shows the gratitude of the current generation to their ancestors. Wrapping, cooking, and watching Banh Chung pot sitting over the naked flames has become a living custom and culture in Vietnamese families, especially in Northern Vietnam.

As a student from the Northern, entering Van Lang University, Dang Thi Ngan (course 28’s student, Faculty of Commerce) shared about the Hanoi New Year: “Every year, my favorite moment is New Year’s Eve. Because this is the most sacred and meaningful moment, everyone in the family will gather together to pick buds at the Pagodas in early Spring for good fortune. New Year's Eve offerings, in addition to the scent of fruits and vegetables, also include sticky rice with mung beans, boiled chicken or pig's head, banh chung, betel nuts, and wine.”

New Year in Central Vietnam

A feature of the Central region is to wrap Banh Tet (Cylindrical glutinous rice cake). Banh tet is wrapped in banana leaves with the same ingredients as banh chung, except that it is wrapped in a long cylinder, not a square. Banh tet is considered the original form of banh chung, a symbol of the traditional beliefs of the ancient Vietnamese people, preserved by the Central people.

Do Thi Hong Minh (student of the Faculty of Public Relations - Communication), currently in Khanh Hoa, said: On the Tet holiday, I will prepare a Tet tray with my mother such as caramelized pork and eggs and wrapping Banh Tet. At the same time, I help my family decorate the house with yellow apricot branches and potted chrysanthemums to welcome Spring.

The central highlands, with wind and sun and simple-hearted people, so they are not too strict with the form of the five-fruit tray, mainly offering things they have, sincerely paying respects to the ancestors. In addition, because of the influence of the cultural interference of the North and the South, the five-fruit tray is still fully displayed: banana, custard apple, coconut, papaya, mango, fig, with the desire for a full and happy new year.

Southern New Year

For the South, apricot blossom is an indispensable flower in families on Tet holiday. In the days before Tet, every house hunts for the best apricot tree to display in the house during Tet. The Southern five-fruit tray can hardly be without a pair of watermelons and four types of fruit: custard-apple, coconut, papaya, mango, because it means "cầu vừa đủ xài (wish the money in the new year will be enough for consumption and a fulfilled life)”.

Tet in Southern Vietnam occurred in the dry season. Due to the hot weather, the dishes of Southern families are usually simple with cold dishes. On the tray of Southerners, there are usually 3 main dishes: banh tet, rice paper, and caramelized pork and eggs.

Nguyen Trieu My Nhu (course 27’s student, English language major) shared her feelings about the Southern New Year: "In my opinion, Tet with Southern people only begins about 3 days before the 1st of January, but lasts until the full moon of the first lunar month. In the South, the first day of Tet is usually reserved for the family in the true sense of "the first day for the family". On this day, children and grandchildren in the family gather with their grandparents, after the first day, they will hang out with friends and participate in festivals or go to entertainment spots.”

From February 5, 2023, VLU students will gather at the school to start their second semester of the academic year 2022 - 2023. Wishing Van Lang students from all 3 regions every success in their studies.

Written by Thu Huong
Translated by Thai Bao