(VOVworld) – The new year is coming and together with people nationwide, Hanoians are preparing to welcome the arrival of spring. Let’s enjoy the cheery atmosphere in the capital through a report by Le Phuong.
On the last day of the year of the Snake, the streets of Hanoi are empty and most of the shops and malls have closed.
Markets are perhaps the busiest places with people buying food to prepare for the New Year’s Eve feast and the Tet holiday. The year-end market session is busier but ends earlier than normal, usually at 5PM.
The New Year’s Eve meal means a lot to all Vietnamese people. It is when family members, no matter where they are, return home to reunite in this sacred moment. People talk and share with one another their stories about the year.
A five-fruit tray
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Do Thai Hoa who is choosing fruits as dessert for the New Year’s Eve feast says: “We prepare a New Year dinner every year. This is the only day of the year when all our family members get together. After dinner, we prepare for the New Year’s Eve feast and every person is in charge of a particular task. The feast, which includes chicken, sticky rice cooked with momordica, alcohol, and fruits, is basically ready at 11PM. We burn incense and pay tribute to our ancestors at 12PM, the changing moment between the old and the new year.”
Streets selling decorative items, confectionaries and jams are particularly busier than other areas of Hanoi. Do Tien Long from Ham Long street says: “I’ve been working far from home so my daughter and I spend today to go around and buy some trees. We often buy both peach and kumquat trees every year to create the atmosphere of Tet.”
Buyers and sellers are all rushing to get home early to prepare for the New Year’s Eve. Nguyen Thi Bac, who sells kumquat trees in Hang Luoc street, says: “I’ve sold the last tree. I had to sell it cheap without any profit because I want to go home early to prepare for Tet.”
Although it is the last day of the year, there are still many passengers at the train and bus stations hoping to be united with their families before the new year comes. They all carry Tet gifts, some bonsais and peach blossom branches. Nguyen Bich Thuy, a student of Thang Long University, says: “The Tet atmosphere is contagious and I’m very excited. This year I’ve gotten a bonus so I bought my parents some gifts. I just want to go home to my parents as quickly as possible.”
While everyone is eager to go home quickly, workers at the Hanoi Environmental Sanitation Company must keep cleaning the streets. During Tet, they have to work more because food consumption increases and so does the amount of waste. For them, New Year’s Eve is perhaps the hardest day of the year.
Le Thi Thom says that on these days they have to work extra time because the amount of waste in residential areas and markets has more than doubled: “This is the 10th year that I will welcome the new year working on the street. The weather is cold so we will have to set some fires and will continue our work after New Year’s Eve. We often get home at 3 or 4 AM the following day.”
The streets in downtown Hanoi become increasingly crowded as New Year’s Eve draws near. People gather at certain places to enjoy performances and to watch firework displays.
Spring has come and anyone, far from home, is looking forward to seeing their families not excluding the soldiers on duty on islands. Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Tang has celebrated Tet on Song Tu Tay islands for 3 consecutive years. Tang says: “We are preparing some performances and a general knowledge quiz for Tet. All soldiers and other people on the island are making the final preparations for a cozy holiday.”
New Year’s Eve seems to be a silent moment of life and we all will enter the new year with new strength, determination and hopes.