(VOVWORLD) - The joyful atmosphere of welcoming in a new spring and the happy anticipation of people at home and abroad is the theme of many spring press publications. Traditional Tet (lunar New Year) customs and spring festivals across Vietnam are widely covered in this year’s special editions.
 The opening ceremony of 2020 spring press festival in Hanoi. |
Reading spring publications is a special pleasure for many Vietnamese people in anticipation of the new year. The 2020 spring publications feature Vietnam’s joy in welcoming the spring and people’s wishes for a new year full of health, luck, and happiness. Ho Quang Loi, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists’ Association, told VOV: "Spring publications reflect Vietnam’s past development as well as people’s optimism about Vietnam’s future. Many spring publications feature the beautiful Tet traditions and customs of Vietnam."
The People daily newspaper ran an edition describing the unique traditions and customs of spring festival across Vietnam. During a special festival in Lai Chau province, sneaking into a home to steal things from it is not considered a crime. The Mong ethnic people in Lao Cai province have a “wife pulling” festival.
The Youth newspaper featured the special black banh chung (square sticky rice cake) of the Tay ethnic people in Ha Giang province. Black glutinous rice cakes are made of sticky rice with large round fragrant seeds. The black color of the cake comes from the leaves of melon trees which are dried, burned into ash, and finely ground.
The Great Unity newspaper spotlighted efforts by local authorities to improve the people’s living standards in An Giang province’s Tri Ton district by giving them new houses for the new year. In another story, the newspaper described how overseas Vietnamese in Russia and Germany welcome the lunar New Year and preserve Vietnam’s traditions and customs abroad.
The Vanguard newspaper ran an article about the homesickness of overseas Vietnamese in the US and the UK who can’t afford a trip back home for Tet.
The Hanoi newspaper featured the Hang Luoc flower market in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, which has been an indispensable part of Tet for many Hanoians. The market only opens once a year during the last 15 days of the lunar year.
The Vietnamese Quintessence magazine profiled 5 major spring festivals in its spring publication, including the Huong Pagoda festival in Hanoi’s My Duc district, the Lim festival in Bac Ninh province, and the Ba Den Mountain Festival in Tay Ninh province.
The People’s Army newspaper reported on the Tet of inhabitants and soldiers stationed on the islands of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.
The Youth newspaper told a moving story of the soldiers of Radar Station 55 on Phu Quy island, whose study is to defend Vietnam’s airspace.
Nguyen Dien Nien of Hanoi says he never misses the spring publications. "I’ve visited all the booths at the spring press festival. I find all the publications very interesting, with beautiful illustrations and pictures. The festival has welcomed a lot of visitors," said Nien.