Guard Brigade soldiers excitedly wrap Tet Chung cakes

On the morning of February 6 (December 27), Brigade 144 under the General Staff - the unit responsible for protecting the Ministry of National Defense's Command Headquarters, protecting conferences, international delegations of the ministry and a number of other protection tasks - organized the "Green Banh Chung Wrapping" Contest to celebrate the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024.

Early on, officers and soldiers were present to prepare cake ingredients such as dong leaves, meat, beans... for each competing team at the unit's soccer field.

This is an annual activity of the unit every Tet holiday, to review the traditions and cultural beauty of the Vietnamese people, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere of comradeship. Banh chung is also a traditional and long-standing dish in Vietnam, indispensable during the Tet holiday of the nation.

The competition consists of 7 teams, each team has 10 officers and soldiers participating, divided into 5 different trays of cake wrapping. Each tray has 2 officers and soldiers wrapping the cake in 60 minutes. The organizing committee will score on quantity, quality, and at the wrapping stages as well as the final product.

Seven teams came from the Youth Unions of Battalion 1, Company 18, and Company 20. The total number of banh chung wrapped in this year's competition was about 1,500.

Banh chung is scored according to the following criteria: Even cakes, correct size, square edges, green leaves, flat, weight from 600-700g.

Soldier Vu Van Hau (born in 2004, right), of Fire Prevention and Fighting Company 5 (Battalion 1, Brigade 144) beamed as he experienced making banh chung for the first time. This was a very memorable Tet for Hau because it was the first time the young soldier celebrated Tet away from home.

When the cheerful Tet music started, Hau thought about his family and relatives. However, thanks to meaningful reunion activities like today at the unit, Hau temporarily forgot his homesickness.

The atmosphere was joyful, lively and bustling around the trays of cakes of the young soldiers.

The completed pairs of banh chung were arranged on each team's fruit tray for the Organizing Committee to judge. Spring peach blossoms, peony flowers, red parallel sentences... partly brought the Tet atmosphere to the unit.

The judges came to each team to check and score their finished products after a morning of hard work.

Young soldiers holding pairs of Tet banh chung after completing the banh chung wrapping contest.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/tet-2024/chien-si-lu-doan-can-ve-phan-khoi-goi-banh-chung-tet-20240206105342340.htm