Peach blossoms in full bloom ahead of Tet

B: He wrote: “Greetings to Vietnamese New Year, Lunar New Year & Tet Festival 2021. Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short, is biggest and most popular festival of the year in Vietnam. Celebrated on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, Tet is the longest holiday lasting seven to nine days. This year it will last from 10 -16 February 2021. Best wishes for the festival.”

A: Mr. Paul continued: “Best wishes for the 13th National Party Congress in Vietnam which was held in Hanoi from January 25 to February 2, 2021. The 13^th National Party Congress marks a new milestone for the Party and the Vietnamese nation. I have seen a lot of news and information about the Party Congress on your website and Facebook page.”

B: Thank you very much for sharing your love for radio and your affection for Vietnam. “I loved the Voice of Vietnam radio station”, he wrote, adding that he wanted to know about culture, customs, food, and shopping during Tet. Please play popular songs of Tet.”

A: In the next few days, ahead and during the Tet festival, VOV will broadcast stories about Tet customs, food, and practices. We will produce a number of special programs for the occasion that describe how Vietnamese and foreigners living in Vietnam celebrate Tet, particularly during a pandemic.

B: Like Shivendu Paul, many listeners are interested in how Vietnamese people prepare for and celebrate the Lunar New Year. This week, many asked about flowers for the New Year.

A:  Tet is a special occasion for which many Vietnamese decorate their homes with colorful and significant flowers and ornamental plants.

B: Flower gardens and markets around Vietnam are crowded these days with people shopping for domestically grown or imported flowers. In the north, pink peach branches, kumquat trees, and charming narcissuses are indispensable during Tet.

A:  The elegance, nobility and light fragrance of narcissus inspires a lot of people. When spring comes, the weather gets warmer and it’s time for narcissus. First, dry narcissus bulbs are soaked in water to freshen them and then are cut by skilful hands. This is the most difficult step in shaping the narcissus tree because the slightest carelessness can ruin the bulb.

B: After cutting, the narcissus bulb is dried with a soft brush so that its little buds and roots can grow. Once the buds appear, the narcissus bulb needs to be cut 3 or 4 times more to blossom. As the narcissus is a flower that prefers cleanliness, it’s placed in an airy spot and cleaned every day so that its roots will not be ruined. It’s a meticulous job to take care of a narcissus. When the roots grow, it’s necessary to cover the roots with clean, wet sand.

A: Narcissus blooms the earliest in spring, ushering in prosperity, wealth and longevity, so it’s important to make it blossom on New Year’s Eve as a sign of hope that good luck will come in the New Year.

A: A pot of narcissus is often placed on the altar to worship the ancestors on New Year’s Eve. Then on the first day of the new year, it’s placed in the living room to bring good luck.

B: It’s a meticulous job to care for narcissus, but it’s a tradition for Hanoians. Displaying this elegant flower during Tet is a beautiful cultural tradition.

A:  Regarding your question about tourism activities at this time of the year, we have to tell you that it will depend on the COVID-19 pandemic. Many tours of northern provinces booked for the Tet holiday have been postponed or cancelled because of a resurgence of COVID-19.

B: Most travel firms have contingency plans for different COVID-19 scenarios that take into account possible tour cancellations or postponements.

A: Some of our listeners in India reported weak reception for broadcasts on the frequency of 7220 khz last week. We will forward your reception reports to our technicians to see if they can the broadcasts.

B: This week, we received a reception report from Ariel Osvaldo Torres  of Argentina. In an email to VOV, he wrote: “My name is Ariel Osvaldo Torres. I'm a 52-year-old Argentine journalist. I’m writing to tell you that I have had the pleasure of listening to The Voice of Vietnam in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during its transmissions in English language, on the frequency of 9840 KHz, in the shortwave, 31-meter band. It has been a real satisfaction for me to hear your station here in my country, because Vietnam is very far from Argentina! This was the first time that I heard The Voice of Vietnam. For this reason, I am sending a reception report, which I hope will be useful to the Voice of Vietnam`s technical department. In addition to being a journalist, I`m also a DXer.”

A: Thank you very much, Mr. Torres, for tuning in to VOV.  We appreciated your detailed reception report. Our program is now also available at vovworld.vn and on the mobile app VOV Media. We will send a letter to confirm your report and hope to receive more feedback from you.

B:  Before we close today, we have an announcement of seasonal frequency changes for our English broadcasts. Beginning March 28, VOV’s frequency of 7280 khz beaming to Central Europe and Central Asia will change to 11885 khz.

A: Beginning March 28, listeners who now tune to 7280 khz should switch to 11885 khz to hear VOV. We will keep reminding you of the frequency change between now and March 28. We hope the change will result in better reception quality.

B: We always welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.

A: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platform, to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye until next time.