B: Alan Roe of England sent us a postcard featuring iconic images of Britain: Big Ben, London Bridge, and the London Eye. He wrote: “With every best wish for Christmas and for the New Year 2017. Thank you for continuing to broadcast on the shortwave. I miss your broadcast via the replay in Austria, but can still hear you via your direct broadcast. I often tune in to your program which I really enjoy.”

A: Another British listener, Gerry Neumann, also sent us warm wishes for the New Year. He hopes to stop by to see the VOV staff in January, 2017.

B: That’s great news. We still keep in touch on Facebook or Zalo, a popular chat app in Vietnam. Gerry visited our station in June when it was blazing hot in the middle of the summer. We’ll be very happy to welcome you back again in a couple of weeks, Gerry.

A: Mr. Najimuddin, President of the International DX radio Lisnters Club of India, wrote to say: “I must say that you are doing such a nice job in keeping us all informed about the various aspects in Vietnam through your radio program and web pages. Your website is a very nice source of information, entertainment, and knowledge.”

Hanoi is decorated to welcome New Year 2017

B: Thank you very much Mr. Najimuddin for your complements and your Club’s continued support for VOV. We’ll send you a gift to congratulate your Listeners Club anniversary on January 23 which will be marked by a listener’s conference and a DX’ing exhibition.

A: Another Indian DX’er Radhakrishna Pillai wrote: “Thanks to Voice of Vietnam for the success of your interesting programs in 2016. I enjoyed the programs with great pleasure and satisfaction. Your report about the 70^th National Day celebration, Vietnamese Court Exam, and Vietnam National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s official visit to India were very interesting. Our two nations will observe 7^th January, 2017 as the 45^th anniversary of India -  Vietnam Diplomatic Relations Day. I’m waiting for some special programs from VOV to be dedicated to the 45^th anniversary of our two countries’ diplomatic relations.”

B: Of course we’ll cover activities to mark this important event. Don’t forget to tune in to our program. From Germnay, Andrew Pitt emailed us to wish all VOV’s staff a Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous, and safe New Year 2017. He wrote: “I have been listening to your broadcasts on shortwave since 2014 and I always enjoy receiving your news and information about culture and music from your country. Keep up the great work and I will continue to listen in 2017.”

B: American listener Richard Nowak sent us reception reports by both email and post mail. On December 22 he tuned in to our program from 0:00 to 0:27 UTC, listening with a National NC-77X tube receiver hooked up to an off-center-fed dipole antenna. The first 8 minutes contained a lot of noise and interference. After that the reception was great with the overall rating at 5.

B: Richard said he enjoyed the show, which was informative. Last year VOV played some very nice Vietnamese Christmas songs. “Can we hear Vietnamese Christmas songs and more about its traditions this year?” Richard asked.

A: On VOV’s FM programs, we had a music show for Christmas which you can listen again on our website. On VOV’s shortwave program, which is only 30 minutes long, we didn’t carry a special music feature for Christmas. On Sunday, January 1^st, we’ll have a special program to welcome the New Year featuring the New Year atmosphere in Vietnam and reviewing the major events of 2016. Now on Letter Box, VOV will play a mash-up by Vietnamese band OPlus for Christmas and the New Year.

A:’m reading an email from Miss. Karobi Hazarika in India. She wrote: “As a regular listener of your wonderful station, I listened to your regular “Colorful Vietnam - Vietnam's 54 Ethnic Groups” program today. On this program you talked about the Kho Mu ethnic minority group of Vietnam, their various traditions and rituals and more. I came to know more things about minority groups in Vietnam.”

B: 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam share many similarities due to their origins, geographical locations, and cultural and social exchanges. They also have maintained their traditional customs and norms. To honor both the uniqueness and similarities of the ethnic groups, a Culture-Tourism Village for Vietnamese Ethnic Groups was built on the outskirts of Hanoi in 2010.

A: Rattan Kumar Paul of India said he wants to know more about the heritage village of Vietnam. He mentions the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups. It’s an interesting place for Vietnamese and foreigners alike. The village features all 54 ethnic groups: their houses, living and work spaces, and displays of their typical customs and products.

B: The village includes functional areas: ethnic villages, the world's cultural heritages, a Marina area, and Dong Mo lake. It regularly hosts diverse cultural activities of ethnic groups. Ethnic representatives are invited to live in the village for a certain amount of time to receive guests and teach them about their life and culture.

A: Visitors to the village will have the chance to experience interesting activities. They can attend festivals and learn about the traditional customs of the ethnic groups, such as the prayer ceremonies for peace, favorable weather conditions, water resources, a bumper crop, weddings and funeral ceremonies.

B: The village is especially crowded and joyful during the Lunar New Year festival when ethnic groups come to exhibit their customs.

A: Dear listeners, thank you very much for tuning in to our programs and sending us feedback. We’ll verify your reception reports and hope you’ll receive our QSL cards soon. We’ve sent hundreds of calendars so please wait for them to be delivered to your houses. We welcome your feedback at English Section, VOVworld, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Thank you for listening to VOV on shortwave and for visiting our website. Good bye until next time.