by Jim Goodman
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| reaching out to the Year of the Monkey |
Lunar New Year falls on 8
February this year, but for some days already Vietnamese across the country, in
the cities and the villages, have plunged into the usual frenetic activity
associated with getting ready for the holidays. They are buying or selling the fruits, flowers, trees,
ornaments, gifts and food required for a proper celebration of Tết—the
Vietnamese word for the occasion.
Lunar New Year marks the
second new moon after the winter solstice, roughly halfway to the vernal
equinox, and, in its original conception, the passage from one meteorological
condition to another. It is a time
of renewal, clean slates and fresh starts, as well as the reaffirmation of ties
among kinfolk, those between the living and their ancestors and between people
and their gods. Several countries
and many ethnic minorities in East Asia also celebrate Lunar New Year in one
fashion or another. And Vietnam,
over time, has developed its own New Year customs.
The prime goal of every
Vietnamese at this time is to be hone for Tết. For those working outside their hometowns or villages this
means scrambling for advance bus or train tickets. For those too far away, or in other countries, or for other
reasons unable to return, their regret will only be partially softened by the
telephone option. Tết’s
always been mainly a family affair, more important and more deeply felt than
any other national or religious holiday.
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| shopping for decorations on Hàng Mã, Hanoi |
Most of the Tết
rituals are domestic, beginning on the 23rd day of the 12th
lunar month with the send-off of the kitchen gods. These are three Taoist deities, represented by the three
stones used to hold the cooking pot, who oversee the family’s life and
behavior. Every year on this day
they go up to Heaven to report on the family to the Jade Emperor. So to influence the report in their
favor, the family gives then a fine meal, some new clothes and other votive
gifts, and a carp to ride to Heaven.
The gods will return after a week.
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| peach blossoms sale on Hàng Lược |
By now city streets are
incredibly busy. In Hanoi the
ordinary congestion seems to miraculously triple. Yet the traffic does move, slowly, and apparently more
carefully than usual, for nobody wants to risk an accident that would mean
further delay. Certain old quarter
streets, like Hàng Mã and Hàng Lược, are completely closed to vehicles
so that dozens of vendors can ser up stalls selling all the accouterments of Tệt: flowers, peach blossoms, kumquat trees,
decorations, dolls or models of the current zodiac animal, vases, antiques, traditional
woodblock prints, bric-a-brac and balloons.
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| buying flowers for Tết |
Some of these items are more
or less required by custom for domestic decorations that have to be in place
for the New Year’s Eve rituals. These
could vary from one part of the country to another, but in Hanoi, where I’ve
witnessed Tết a few times, peach blossoms are particularly favored. People appreciate them for their vivid,
pink to bright red color, but also associate them with happiness, because of a
classic Chinese story of two scholars who wandered along a river banked with
peach blossoms and ended up in a fairy land, and with loyalty, because of the mutual
loyalty oath taken in a peach garden by three 3rd century heroes in
the opening chapter of The Three Kingdoms. Traditionally, people believed peach
blossoms could expel evil.
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| flower seller, Hàng Lược |
While all kinds of flowers,
ornamental plants and bonsai trees sell well to holiday shoppers at this time,
the two most eagerly sought are chrysanthemum and narcissus. Vietnamese consider the chrysanthemum a
“noble plant” because of its hardiness in cold weather and the fact that its
leaves remain attached to the branches after the flower dies. The flower comes in several attractive
colors, with preference going to the large đại
đóa variety, big as a saucer, in bright canary yellow. Vases are suitable for other flowers,
but when purchasers take their chrysanthemums home they put them in
earth-filled pots.
Vietnamese know the narcissus
as thủy tiên—the water fairy. They consider all of its parts—roots,
bulb, leaves and flower—to be especially graceful. They also appreciate the horticultural knowledge it takes to
select and prepare the bulbs so that its flowers bloom around Tết. Hanoi has annual narcissus contests,
with the date fixed in advance so that competitors can arrange to have their
flowers bloom on that day. Judges
usually award the winners strips of red paper containing “parallel sentences,” inscribed
in nóm, the Vietnamese adaptation of
Chinese characters.
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| Tết chrysanthemums |
Parallel sentences are a
specific genre indigenous to the classical Vietnamese literary tradition. They comprise a pair of short
sentences, in which the tones and meanings of the words stand in opposition to
each other. They could be solemn,
philosophical, adulatory or even satirical. Temples frequently feature them, inscribed on lacquered
boards and mounted near the doorway.
In Hanoi, in the days preceding Tết, white-bearded scholars sit at
tables on Hàng Bồ, writing out parallel sentences on long, narrow strips of
paper that customers will hang beside their house entrances or suspend them
flanking the hearth. The custom
reflects the high regard Vietnamese culture, following the Chinese model,
places on learning and literary achievement.
Besides flowers and peach
blossom branches, the other plant installed in homes for Tết is the kumquat
tree. Usually about one and half
meters tall, trimmed in the shape of a perfect inverted cone, its branches full
of little round suspended oranges, to Western eyes it is like a Vietnamese
Christmas tree. To Vietnamese, the
kumquat tree, with its abundant fruits, symbolizes the fertility and
fruitfulness they aspire to in the coming year.
Everything inside the house
must look especially clean and beautiful at this time. Decorations are not confined to plants
and flowers. Hàng Mã shops do a
brisk business selling all kinds of flashy decorations, pendants of old coins,
stylized stars, strings of glittery ornaments of various kinds and models or
dolls of the animal of the New Year.
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| Monkey Year mascots, Hoàn Kiếm Lake |
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| youth dresses as the classic hero Monkey |
In the Oriental Zodiac, twelve
animals take turns representing a year (as well as the days of the year’s
calendar). In Vietnam they
are: the rat, buffalo, tiger, cat,
dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In addition, each 12-year cycle is
governed by one of the five basic elements—earth, metal, water, wood and
fire—to make a 60-year cycle for each element. Thus this year, beginning 8 February, is Fire Monkey Year.
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| New Year balloons in Hanoi |
Among the household
decorations offered for sale in the markets, as well as displayed in parks,
will be representations of the animal of the New Year. These could take the form of dolls,
sculptures of various kinds or, in the public displays, people dressed like the
animal and, depending on the annual that year, real live specimens. What’s not possible in a dragon or
buffalo year will be this year, for it’s a Monkey Year. Hanoi residents can be sure that in the
numerous displays around Hoàn Kiém Lake they will see real live pet monkeys,
plus youths dressed up as the character Monkey in the well-known Chinese
classic Journey to the West.
Most of the stalls set up
around the lake are for vendors selling Tết flowers or perhaps the little rice
dough figurines (tỏ) of dragons,
lions, warriors and others that are common festival items in the north. Others offer children rides on carts
resembling miniature cars, as photo-ops for the parents. Since children are such an integral
part of the family, they get favored treatment during Tệt. Parents try to insure they have new
clothes to wear for the holiday and every guest brings envelopes with money inside
for the children of their hosts.
In the last couple of evenings
before Tết public stage shows entertain the people. In Hồ Chí Minh City, these take place in the long park near
Chợ Bến Thành. In one area a tuồng drama takes place, while at the
lower end separate stages feature performances by Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer
and Chăm dancers and musicians, representing the four major communities of the
Mekong Delta.
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| holiday gifts for sale on Hàng Mã |
In Hanoi the shows take place
at three different stages around Hoàn Kiếm Lake. On the stages opposite the Thê Hùc Bridge and the Turtle
Tower, the performances range from solo pop singers to traditional quan họ duets, fan dance ensembles and
Chăm dances (which have actually been part of Vietnamese musical tradition
since the Lý Dynasty). And next to
the fountain in Bờ Hồ the Hanoí Circus sets up a stage for shows featuring
fire-eating, gymnastics, balancing acts and maybe even a trapeze performance.
Meanwhile, back in everyone’s
houses, the last major Tết task is preparing the special food. The ingredients of the coming banquets
could be anything the family likes, but must include bánh chưng. A
square-shaped glutinous rice cake filled with bean, pork and lard and wrapped
in leaves, it is available throughout the year, but by custom a sine qua non at
Tết dinners. The origin of bánh chơng dates back to the ancient
Hùng Kings Era and it has always been the culinary item most associated with Tết.
Finally it’s NewYear’s Eve and
the cities have undergone a dramatic transformation. The street stalls have disappeared. Offices and shops are nearly all shuttered. Only a few restaurants remain open for
the tourists, but with a severely reduced staff. The roads are practically empty of moving vehicles. Everyone’s gone home for the critical Tết
rituals.
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| taking home a kumquat tree |
Families prepare their
offerings to their ancestral altar, already lavishly decorated, adding cups of
liquor, tea and fresh water, flowers and a bowl containing five kinds of
fruit. The household head lights
incense sticks and invites the ancestral spirits to take part in Tết, for
tonight is the time to renew ties between the living and the dead. Following the formal rituals the family
then enjoys their feast. Later on
they may venture out to wherever the city will stage its midnight fireworks celebration.
In Hanoi the biggest gathering
and most spectacular show takes place at Hoàn Kiếm Lake. People arrive long before midnight to
try to find a spot where the view is least obscured by the big, leafy trees all
around the lake. They join in the
final countdown and hail the first skyrockets to burst in the air above
them. They break into a round of
appreciative applause when several rockets in rapid succession burst above,
filling the sky with multiple streaks of different colors.
The first few days of the New
Year involve visits to relatives, friends and local temples. Families prepare the house for their
first visitor, hoping that person will bring them good luck for the coming
year. Some even extend an
invitation to someone they know whose attributes, as a scholar or perhaps a
successful businessman, they expect to influence the family’s fortunes. (On the other hand, if the family fares
badly during the coming year, they may very well blame that on the first
visitor of Tết.)
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| rubbing the feet of Trấn Vũ |
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| Chăm folk dance, Hanoi |
The most delightful aspect of
these first days of the year, as custom, or even as superstition, is that
everyone is especially keen to be especially nice. Graceful, polite behavior will help make the coming year a
good one. Acts of anger, petulance
or disrespect will guarantee bad luck.
This spirit insures that all social calls at Tết will be amicable, the
hosts generous and the guests grateful.
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| visiting a temple during Tệt |
Local temples are active, with
neighborhood devotees bringing offerings of food and flowers for their deities
to bless. Hanoi residents may also
visit the Quan Thánh Temple at the southeast edge of West Lake. Inside this Taoist temple is a huge,
black, bronze image of a seated Trấn Vũ, the Guardian God of the North, cast in
1667 by bronze smiths from nearby Ngũ Xá village. Nearly four meters high, weighing around 3600 kg, it is the
most outstanding bronze sculpture in the north. Devotees come here during Tết to rub the feet of the image,
believing that will bring them good luck this year.
On the fourth day of the New
Year families prepare a final farewell feast for their ancestors. This is the final ritual act of Tết. From now on shops, businesses and
offices begin to re-open. Taxis,
cars, buses and motorbikes swarm the streets again. For those still in the holiday spirit, there are several
festivals occurring in the city and the nearby countryside over the next
several days. For most folks, it’s
back to the normal grind of everyday life, but with the assurance that, thanks
to Tết, all the important relationships have been re-affirmed, all the bad luck
or residual negative influences have been eradicated, and things will surely go
well this year. Tết is the
renaissance of optimism.
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| refreshing the kumquat trees in the Tết market, Hanoi |
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