Autumn Tet

(Baohatinh.vn) - I don't think, other than the Vietnamese dictionary, there is any other language dictionary that has an entry for "Independence Day". That is a holiday only for the Vietnamese people. The two words "independence" always resonate with pride in national sovereignty and ethnicity.

I have experienced many autumns with different shades of the sky and earth. There are autumns with heavy rains, floods that sweep away everything, leaving behind bare trees and grass. There are autumns with high, wide, deep blue skies, with rivers flowing slowly, with a few boats sparkling with brown sails under the honey-colored sunlight and the gentle autumn wind. But, all the autumns I have experienced are similar in that they all resonate with the joyful cheers of people. September autumn is always like that. The autumn of flags and flowers, the autumn of the Vietnamese people.

In my peaceful childhood in the countryside, along with Tet Nguyen Dan, Tet Doan Lap was probably a gift from the State, so that I could once again witness the colors of the festival, to live in a different space, to feel that my life had something new. On that day every year, our children's souls were lit up by the color of the national flag covering the space. Around the beginning of August, the sound of drums began to echo with the footsteps of teenagers in the training period to prepare for the official holiday. In the mornings, when the first rays of light from the horizon shone down on the world, or in the evenings when the golden moonlight peeked behind the bamboo trees at the village entrance, the drying yards of the production teams were always bustling and jubilant.

Before 1986, the Vietnamese economy had two forms of ownership, the two main economic types were state-owned enterprises and collective enterprises. In the photo: State-owned enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City improved their sales methods to meet market demand (1983).

Starting from the afternoon of September 1st, along all the village roads, each youth team lined up to march in a steady rhythm with white shirts and blue pants, sticks, and colorful bracelets. Today seemed to start earlier than usual. Many people poured into the streets to wave and welcome the parade. The waves and smiles continued. From the cooperative's loudspeakers came familiar yet captivating songs: "March of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers", "I am the Party's seedling", "Like having Uncle Ho on the great victory day"... The second day was the busiest day, when at the commune stadium, youth teams gathered here to march, perform arts, camp... On the other side, outside the soi and on the deep blue Lam river, at the river junction, people organized traditional folk games: boat racing, human chess, swinging...

But what I remember most is the Independence Day worship in families. In my hometown at that time, many families switched from worshiping the 15th day of the 7th lunar month to worshiping the Independence Day. The first reason was obviously because of love for the Fatherland, the heart turned to beloved Uncle Ho. But there was another reason, sometimes thinking back I can't help but feel a little sad. The thing is, at that time the economy was still difficult, transportation was inconvenient, buying and selling was very limited (partly due to the subsidized bureaucratic economy, against private profiteering), so food and provisions were quite scarce. My brothers and I, wanting to have a meal with meat, often had to wait a very long time for holidays and Tet. And, September 2nd was an important national holiday, the cooperative allowed pigs to be slaughtered and sold to the people. So, worshiping the Independence Day was more convenient than worshiping the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, when those two days were often close together.

At around 4am, the cooperative began slaughtering pigs. In a production team’s warehouse yard, several pigs were laid out, and people crowded inside and outside to wait for a few ounces of meat. The pigs were bled, their hair shaved clean, their skin white and pink, then butchered and placed neatly on banana leaves spread out next to each other. Pigs at that time were small, about 30-40 kg, not as big and heavy as the new breed pigs today. The meat of the unfortunate pigs was cut into small pieces. Each family was only allowed to buy a few ounces. It was okay if they didn’t have money, but if they had money, they could buy more, even though every family had many children at that time. The children grew up after days of hunger and thirst, sleeping wherever they could, sometimes on the base of a haystack, sometimes on the edge of a rice field, black and skinny... A few ounces of meat for each family, from that pig, would be the main dish on the Independence Day altar.

Families celebrated Independence Day with lavish decorations. My house was no exception. I still remember the image of red flags with yellow stars fluttering in the wind next to the hammer and sickle flag. The flagpole was made from bamboo trunks, which were found in almost every home garden at that time. Right under the flag was an old, faded tray with the words written in lime that had just been slaked: “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”, “Long live President Ho Chi Minh”. Looking at that image, my heart suddenly filled with tears.

The family of war invalid Nguyen Xuan Toan (Vinh Phu village, Cam Xuyen commune) was proud to watch each group march and parade.

At that time, I was still young, books were scarce, I could not read much, but I still often heard my teacher tell stories about Uncle Ho with a respectful, solemn voice, with eyes filled with tears that if there was a camera, people could record countless documentary footage of the feelings of Vietnamese people for Uncle Ho. The house was filled with incense smoke. On the altar, which was originally a rice tray, my mother had prepared two trays of offerings, a banh chung cake with wine, areca nuts, candles... Above, inside was a picture of Uncle Ho hung solemnly on the background of the national flag. There was something like the taste of Lunar New Year. The incense smoke and incense mixed together in the small but warm house, fragrantly trying to do its best to dedicate to Independence Day.

I don't think, besides the Vietnamese dictionary, there is any other language dictionary that has an entry for "Independence Day". That is a holiday only for the Vietnamese people. The two words "independence" always resonate with pride in national sovereignty and ethnicity. Those epic echoes are passed down from the Nam Quoc Son Ha, Du Chu Ti Tuong Hich Van, Tung Gia Hoan Kinh Su, Binh Ngo Dai Cao, Hich Thiet Thanh, Declaration of Independence, perhaps not only on the pages of books, in people's hearts, but also in the land, trees, streams...

Ms. Ho Thi Sam (Rao Tre village, Phuc Trach commune, Ha Tinh) shared: "On Independence Day, people seem to have new motivation."

With that spirit, generation after generation, the Vietnamese people have spared no effort in shedding their blood and bones to protect every inch of land, to write pages of history with the pink color of blood, with sparkling tears, with radiant smiles, with radiant flags. And the word “Tet” anchors the Vietnamese soul on the shore of history, evoking a peaceful festive atmosphere. It cleverly connects the political and historical significance of the founding day with the distant memory of the civilization and culture of rice at the time when heaven and earth were in harmony, people’s hearts were open and waiting for a new birth.

“Independence Day” is a word used to evoke the desire for immortality, connecting the spiritual meaning of origin with the revolutionary spirit of the era. The appearance of banh chung and banh day on the tray of offerings reminds us that the Independence Day festival is a continuation of a journey from Lac Long Quan teaching people to grow rice, Lang Lieu making cakes to offer to his father the king...

I sit and write these lines on an autumn morning with sunlight streaming through the leaves in the garden. The sound of children's drums echoes from afar, plaintive and nostalgic. Perhaps, people will wrap banh chung, folk games will be held again and the camp will be inaugurated with great excitement. All of this reminds me of an unforgettable childhood filled with the happiness of a people who can breathe the air of peace and freedom.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/mua-thu-don-tet-post294881.html