"Tet, tet, tet has come..."

Happy New Year! These are my best wishes to all of you out there, reading this post. I wish you a wonderful new year, with lots and lots of laughs and lucks. Let the year of Dog be your year of success, happiness and fortune. May all your wishes come true in this special occasion. I wish the elders good health and the children fast growth. I wish the man strength and the woman beauty. I wish the couples having each other forever, and the lonely souls meeting soon Mr./Ms. Right. And I wish the businessmen/women growing profits, the employers many enlargements and the employees worthy promotions. I wish the teachers and students a successful year. And I wish you, my friend, having more and more valuable friendships like the one we are having. Happy New Year!
Tet comes and goes every year; and it has something different every time it happens. However, there are things that never change in Vietnam. They call traditions! Among those, the most mentioned ones are: ancestor worship at midnight of the New Year's Eve and at first light of the first day, first visitor of the year, and "first day is the Tet of father, second day is of Mother, and third day is of Teacher" ("mùng một tết cha, mùng hai tết mẹ, mùng ba tết thầy").
As I mentioned in the previous post, Vietnamese usually prepare the five-fruit dish (mâm ngũ quả), a couble green square cakes (bánh chưng), a whole boiled male chicken, and red roses (it could be different kind of flowers, but the number must be odd) for the worship. The ceremony starts around 11:30 when everything is placed on the altar of the family, or a clean table facing South. The incenses then will be burned to invite the souls of the deceased come and witness this special moment, as well as all the prayers people might have. The incenses must not go out before midnight, and the shape of their remaining after burning out will tell people how their ancestors respond to their prayers. This practice is also called "Cúng giao thừa" in Vietnamese, meaning worship the eve moment. After the ceremony is over, some family will go out immediately to find one or two branches of tree that have a lot of green leaves, to bring home as a symbol of growing fortune... Early the next morning, the ceremony repeats with more or less the same meanings, which ask for happiness, luck, health and success in the coming year.
After the early morning event, people will prepare to welcome the first visitor. In rare cases, this person is a random one, because Vietnamese believe that whether their year is good or bad depends much on this visitor. Hence, they would make arrangement beforehand with a close family member, a successful friend, and/or especially kids to step through their door on the first day. This is also the reason that although Vietnamese maintain caring and loving relationship with their neighbors, they seldom visit each other on the first few days of a new year. Sometimes, it might even be offensive to do as such.
Furthermore, each day of Tet has its own purposed. "First day is the Tet of Father, second day is of Mother, and third day is of Teacher." Thus, on the first two day, the family will spend time with people from the husband's side and then with the wife's side. They will have a small get-together party, during which people tell each other what they have achieve in the previous year, and what they wish for in the coming year. The kids will get their good-luck money. After the party, everybody might visit each other's house, or go together to a temple to pray. The day goes on with laughter and joys.
For the third day, as the "tôn sư, trọng đạo" tradition (respecting educators- respecting education) has been a part of the people's belief for thousands of years, this day is specially for teachers. Family of students will visit their children' teachers on this day to show their respect and appreciation. However, when they come, the teachers might not even be at home because he or she might be visiting his/her old teachers as well. Vietnamese has a saying: "Nhất tự vi sư, bán tự vi sư", meaning teaching a word is a teacher, teaching half of a word is also a teacher. And once someone teaches you something, he or she is your teacher for life.
All in all, Tet is an exciting and happy event in Vietnam; it is the best too! Many traditions have been well respected and need to be carried on. This is the job of the next generation to keep them alive, and pass them on to their children and grandchildren. So, Happy New Year to you, and happy New Year to all the traditions we have!
-nxh

Tet's preparation!

Yahooooo....!!!! So Tet is coming in a day or two. Are you ready for it yet? You might feel like you are, but let's double check to see if you really are.
Have you had a farewell celebration to the three Gods of Kitchen? If you got that on the 23rd, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Let us move on.

Now, first of all, you need a kumquat, which needs to be at the most visible place in your house so that any visitor will see it as soon as they walk in; of course the tree got to be decorated with red envelops or greeting cards as I described before. You will need (or at least try) to pay off all your debt, because Vietnamese believe that it will carry bad lucks into the new year; you will need to visit your grandparents and parents the day before Tet to tell them all the great things you have been doing over the year; you will need to buy lots and lots of candy because people will come to greet you; and certainly, do not forget to have some red envelops (with a little money in it) handy, since it is a well-respected tradition (to which all the kids look forward) to give them out for fortune and happiness (picture 1)...
Is that all? No, of course not. I actually leave out some of the most important things. In Vietnam, we have had a pair of well-known parallel sentences, which tells you what it is needed for Tet's holiday.
It says: "Thịt mỡ, dưa hành, câu đối đỏ; cây nêu, cá khánh, bánh chưng xanh", which means "Chubby meat, pickleed welsh onion, red pair of parallel sentences; Tet pole, 'khanh' fish, and green square cakes". Those are more or less what make Tet, well, Tet. Even though the "formula" hasn't been closely followed during the last decade, green square cakes are never absence (picture 2).
Moreover, as most Vietnamese practice ancestor worship, the prepration requires a five-fruit dish (picture 3) to be displayed in order to invite the souls of the ancestors come back and enjoy the holiday with the family. Now, the dish varies from family to family and it might include mandarins, sapodillas, apples, bananas and pommels. Among those, the last two is always present. Then, Vietnamese will burn incense at least twice before Tet's day. One is early in the morning of the last day of the year, and the other right before the New Year's Eve (picture 4). They both are meant to show the ancestors how faithful family is to them.

In brief, that are all I have for the pre-Tet spirit. If you have all of these, you are ready to have a wonderful and completed holiday in Vietnam. If you don't, don't worry because holidays are wonderful and completed anyhow. I wish you all the best in the world!
Oh, and just so you know, it gets even more interesting with some other traditions when Tet actually comes, but I won't tell them right away. As it has not been Tet yet, let’s go out there and do our best to prepare for it. We certainly want to welcome it with our fullest heart and mind!
Happy preparation to you all! :-)
-nxh

Spring Flowers Market

Totally different from the one I wrote about previously, they are annual markets that only meet once a year in the spring, shortly before the arrival of the Tet's holiday. In Hanoi, there are many places, such as Quoc Tu Giam (Van Mieu), Nhat Tan, Nghia Do, and Phung Hung, which will be full of beautiful blossoms throughout their sessions. By the first day of New Year (this year's falls on January 29th), all the markets will be clear, leaving no indication of them ever being there.
As Westerners like to have Christmas tree in their houses during the holiday, Vietnamese will usually have kumquats, decorating with greeting cards or red money envelops. This has been long a Vietnamese tradition that people would try their hardest to keep. When the time comes around, those who can will buy the finest ones to match with their status; those with little money will buy small ones; and if one family cannot afford it, their big family will buy one together. In a lot of cases, there might be alternative for kumquats, such as Dao and Mai.
Even though these choices might not be as popupar as kumquats, people demand more and more every year because of their decorative appearances. As a result, the flowers markets also have more varieties each time they meet.
In addition to those places, one can easily tell when Tet is coming to Hanoi by merely counting the flowers "mobile" shops on the streets. Within ten days or two weeks before a new year, Hanoi streets, which is already crowded during normal days, will now be occupied on every square centimeter. Occassionally, one might find it interesting (or a bit scary) when there is a motocycle or bycircle full of flowers coming toward him as its driver being completely covered inside.
Anyhow, this is doubtlessly the most fascinating time in Vietnam, and Hanoi in particular. If you are there, then visit these places because it won't happen again until next year. If you are not, then come and visit us soon, because you surely want to be there! :)
-nxh

Holiday...

"Hey, would you like to drive to DC during the Lunar New Year with me and my boyfriend?" - asked Hin.
"I can't, I have to work." - I replied knowing that I would definitely regret it later. I wanted to go very badly.
With the last effort trying to convince me joining the trip, she said: "come on, you haven't celebrated it in years..." Nonetheless, I couldn't go!
It was very kind of her to ask me, but she was wrong about one thing: I celebrate it very year. Although it's true that I haven't done it with anybody else since I went abroad, the Tet's (Vietnamese for Lunar New Year) is a holiday that no Vietnamese would ever want to skip.
According to the lunar calendar, people in China, Vietnam, Thailand and etc. have a different but special new year. It comes around the end of January or the beginning of February in the standard calendar. This year, the New Year's Eve falls on January 28th. In this post, however, I don't want to give it away immediately because we have two more weeks to count down. Instead, I will tell you what comes before the holiday, which is in no way less important than the Tet itself. It is the farewell to the Gods of Kitchens.
The story goes far, far back that no one could even remember exactly when it happened. They could only remember that in a small village in the northern Vietnam, there lived a loving couple. It could have been a forever happy home if they hadn’t been too poor. They tried and tried so hard but nothing got better. So one day, the husband told his wife that he would leave to do business far way, and promise to come back within three years. In tears, they separated. One year, two years, then three years had passed by but the wife never heard anything from her husband. She cried days and nights for her broken heart. Few more years went by before she finally agreed to get married again. Her new husband, who loved her with all his heart, promised to take utmost care of her and be with her forever. She loved him dearly and for all it worth, they lived happily together…
However, love stories always ended up in tragedy. Their tragedy started in one cloudy afternoon, when the new husband was out for hunting. There she was taking care of the house when her ex-husband suddenly showed up. He was skinny, old, and exhausted. All the unsuccessful business had taken the best out of him. Now he stood there, in front of her doors looking at her. She realized it was him almost immediately and couldn’t hide the surprise on her face. They ran into each other, hugged, cried and talked to each other about all they had been through. But before they could tell the other about their new lives, her husband was coming home. Knowing not what to say, she could only hide the poor man into the heap of straw in the backyard. Unfortunately, while she was still trying to figure out what to say, her new husband wanted to grill the fresh animal he just hunted. He went ahead and set fire on the heap of straw. The poor man was afraid that if he came out, he would embarrass the wife. Thus, he calmly recieved his death. No sooner as the wife realized what happened, she cried out loud and desperately jumped into the fire. Without thinking twice, her husband followed her just so he could keep his promise. Even though they couldn’t live together, they died together. People would then always talk about them as the greatest love...
Meanwhile, the King of Heaven from above witnesses their story and sympathized with their faithfulness. Thus, he gave them the privileged to be together forever. Since then, the three of them became the Gods of the Kitchen, who in the King’s name present in every house’s kitchen and help others become as happy as they were. Every year, on the twenty-third day of the last month of the year, they would all fly back to heaven and tell the King stories they observe on earth…
And that is why we have a special farewell celebration for them every year on this exact date…
-nxh

The Red River

Red River starts from the Van Nam province in China, flows through Hanoi before going out the East Sea. Because of the river, Hanoi has its name. "Ha", in Vietnamese, means "river", and "Noi" means "inner". It is said that when emperor Ly visited Hanoi in 1010, he saw a golden dragon rising up from the river, hence changed the city's name to Thang Long (Ascendance of Dragon) and moved the capital here. The Red River, as it gave birth to the Northen Delta of Vietnam, has witnessed the development of Hanoi in particular, and the entire north of Vietnam in general, from the very onset. In the song "Let's Flow, River Dear" (Chảy đi sông ơi), it was nicely put: "stories from generations the river knows all, nevertheless it never gets old..."
When I was growing up, there were 2 Red Rivers that I knew of. One was from the book, and the other from the news. The one from the news was no where close to be as beautiful and peaceful as the one in the book. For example, once in a while, they would say the river was about to flush the whole city. Some other time, it would get deep into the bank, take away with its powerful flow all the houses, vehicles or even lives of innocent poor people. And the worst part was that the news would warn teenagers such as myself directly that we shouldn't play, swim or hang around the river, because the heartless sand whirl at its deep bottom would pull us along ruthlessly. I was terrified every time we got close the river...
Now, it isn't the same Red River in my heart anymore. At first, I realized that rivers didn't kill people for nothing; it was protecting itself, warning people about their negligence. During its God-knows-how-long history, people never gave as little care to the river as they do right now. They need a city, so they change its current. They run out of places to dump their trash, so there goes the river. Industrial waste, unmonitored chemical garbage and everything else are taken care of by the river. Then constructions in the modern city need sand and soil, they take it straight out from the river as much as wanted...
So I got closer to the river, to understand it better. Sometimes, I would enjoy hours standing on the Thang Long or Chuong Duong Bridge, hear the whispering of the waves, and feel the winding up my face. Or as the song "Hanoi and I" put it, I would "quietly listen in the wind of the night the sigh of the Red River..." Inside the strong and forever flow, there are so many unspoken feelings that have accumulated over years.
Surprisingly, although I tried, I never could understand the river as it did me. I came there as frequently as I could, stood on the bridge and let the river tell me my own story. It told me my desire to reach the world as it reached the ocean. It told me how I kept my memory in my heart as it kept stories of generations in its flow. And sometimes, from the Thang Long Bridge looking toward Hanoi center, it could tell me how I want to embrace the entire Hanoi in my own hands, just like it has always done.
The Red River has been in my confidence for years. Regardless of what the news might have said or will have said about it, I could find nowhere safer than the Red River of Vietnam...
-nxh

"Life isn't counted by how many breath you take,...

... but by moments that take your breath away"
That's what my ex-girlfriend has been saying lately. We ended on a great term few years ago and are still keeping in touch ever since. I never had a chance to ask her if I was ever in one of her breath-taking moments; however, one thing I know is that she was definitely in mine. In other words, every moment I'm with her is as such.
I remember it started on a valentine night, when I waited for her in a coffee shop close to the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School. Usually, the shop was merely like any other student cafes. But that night, it became so special. Locating a bit far from the main road, street lights couldn't reach the place. The entire place was dark, except for a soft light at the bar and burning candles at each table. Easy music was played in the background and people talked quietly. Even the handsome waiter walked back and forth without making any noise. As I sat there holding a red rose on my hand, I counted down nervously every second to our first date. She came, as beautiful as ever, and I became breathless for as long as we talked that night...
I remember morning after morning that I left for school really early. I would ride my bycicle from Cat Linh street to Ton Duc Thang, go through Van Chuong alley and an outdoor market to get to Kham Thien street, then rush along Le Duan street to get to Bach Khoa area, where her house located. Each time seeing her coming out of her house and smiling at me was when my breath stopped, for I could never explain the way she made me feel. Then, we would ride side by side on almost the same track back to school, leasurely enjoy Hanoi's rare moment of clear traffics. Sometimes, when I got to her place late, we would have to struggle through the infamous traffic jam of Hanoi's streets, which is always full of people, all kind of vehicles, and of course, heavy black smoke. The worst part was that I never knew how to explain to my teacher why I stucked in such conditions, while my house was within walking distance from school. But it was all worth it...
I remember after extra late-night classes we took together, I would ride along her side, or took her on her bike, back to her home. We would stop by a little shop on the sidewalk to grasp some hot grilled Indian corns to calm the hunger. We might take the longer way around Back Khoa's garden, just to spend a few more minutes with each other. Or when I took her on her bike, she would reach her arms forward and hold me tight, lean her head on my back and keep us close. They were the kind of moments that even now, they could still take my breath away everytime I think about them...
And I remember...
Each of our moments was witnessed by a street, a conner or a soul of Hanoi. It is Hanoi that could give us such special moments, and it will be Hanoi that I will come back for more. Her life has changed and so has mine. But I believe in Hanoi.
-nxh

Night Flower Market

Well, it is more like an early morning thing than night, but that's how it's called. Starting around 3am, flowers from major gardens around Hanoi, such as Nhat Tan, Gia Lam and Ngoc Ha, are brought here to distribute to retailers. Most of them would be gone by 6am on salers' bycicles, to have their days in every conners of Hanoi. Nevertheless, the 3-hour market, which was initially intended for trading, has now become an amazing destination for Hanoians.
Getting off the Thanh Nien Avenue, heading one or two kilometers west along the Yen Phu Avenue, one can easily find the place with all kinds of flowers, from white, yellow, or red roses to rarer ones like eglantines and many others. Looking from far away, the market, out of the vaguely dark space, brights up beautifully with hundreds of lights, that people bring along for their shops. Walking in the middle of the place, one can be totally lost in the pleasant smell of the flowers as well as their eye-catching colorful appearances. Or else, maybe it's merely the feeling of being in such a place, that always makes people wanting to be there a bit longer.
I was brought there the first time by Chau, a newly met friend of mine. We, including my best frieng Dat, got there around 3:30 am but didn't leave until 2 hours later. During our entire time there, we stopped at virtually every shop, touched every flowers we see, smelled them, took pictures and enjoyed our time to the fullest. Besides, the prices at this early market was so cheap that I could buy a handful with almost nothing.
I came back to the place once in awhile, just to have the feeling of being there. Even though I never had any intention to buy anything (except once for my mom's birthday), I somehow ended up bringing home lots and lots of flowers everytime I was there.
-nxh

Nhac Tranh House

About 200 meters deep in a narrow alley on Thai Thinh Street, there lies the Nhac Tranh House. According to my best knowledge, it has been around for roughly 15 years and has always been (at least since I knew the place 3 years ago) the home for many classical guitarists, violinists, and of course, their listeners.
From the outside, it is just another small apartment among many others of the complex. However, when stepping inside, it is an entirely different place. There are a few lighting candles in conners, some old posters of the Beatles on the wall, small chairs and tiny tables ect... They all brings about a warm and relaxing feeling that could hardly be found anywhere else. Staying a bit longer for a cup of fine coffee, one can gradually feel comforted with the house' well-selected collection of music, from Francis Goya to Eric Clapton to Keith Richards to Eddie Van Halen, or the Beatles, ABBA and many more. Normally, the place barely has more than 5 people at a time during daytime, or half full at night, which can make one feel having just the right amount of privacy they need. On special occasions, such as Sunday or Wednesday night, the place, including its small courtyard, would fill with people from all different ages. That is when many guitarists, violinists, song writers and musicians in general gathered around for some live music. They might play by request, or they might just play according to their own feeling. There isn't a stage to sepate the audience and the performers; and the audience might just as well be the performers. Nevertheless, during full four hours, there would be no sound in the room except for the sounds of music, or perharp sometimes the warm and soft voice of the lady who introduces performances. One song after another, one person after another, and one night after another, anybody could live in the world of classical music by simply being in this room...
I myself had several occassion to be here. My first time was three years ago, when my friend Anh Trinh, who currently studies to be a conductor at Macalester, brought me there. It was also my first time to ever listen to classical music. I was amazed. I was amazed even more when the famous song writer, Phu Quang, happenned to be there on the same day. He was the one who set the music for "Em oi Ha Noi pho", which has become familiar to every single Hanoian since the 80's. He was there with us, sharing his stories of how he was apart from Hanoi and what he felt, then singing to us his own songs. The place busted into applause when he finished. After that, he stayed around, slowly enjoyed his coffee while another guy came forward and played his guitar. To my fullest surprise, this unknown person played two songs, one of which he wrote himself, and the other he played with only one hand. Up until now, I have not seen anybody else doing as such.
After that night, I came back several times, mostly by myself, sometimes with Dat, sometimes with Hin. And one time, I came with my father. As much different of generations as he and I were, I was so happy we found a place we could enjoy time together. I remember he and I simply sat there, drank our coffee and hardly said any words. I could, however, feel the strong connection between us; it was very special. Since then, we haven't had a chance to visit the place again; but I know my father and I will, as soon as I come back to Hanoi.
That's a promise to the Nhac Tranh House, and to my father!
-nxh

Thanh Nien (Youth) Avenue

"Milk flowers stop falling, and you are here close to me in an afternoon after school, on the old Co Ngu street, here we are leisurely walking back..." (Hanoi, the season without rain) (Hoa sữa thôi rơi, em bên tôi một chiều tan lớp, đường Cổ Ngư xưa, chầm chậm bước ta về... - Hà Nội mùa vắng những cơn mưa). There can hardly be any Hanoian who doesn't know about this song. It is, in a way, a peice of the Hanoi's soul. However, where exactly the Co Ngu street is? One might wonder...
Co Ngu Street was roughly built with soil and rocks in 1600s. It was to connect the Yen Phu dyke and Quan Thanh street, and was more or less like a bridge across the old West Lake. Later on, it divided the lake into two different parts, one of which is the West Lake we know of today. The other, which was initially intended for raising fish, is now named Truc Bach with beautiful renovation. Given this description, any Hanoian can easily determine its location, which is the Thanh Nien (Youth) Avenue and cannot be mistaken. But why, and how did it got the name Thanh Nien?
An easy explaination would be: "it was rebuilt by volunteer youth!". Yes, back in 1950s, when we first got our independence back from the French's hands, Hanoians spend days and nights trying to rebuild and clean up the city from the damages. Meanwhile, the volunteer youth was given the sole responsibility of the Co Ngu street. After they finished in 1959, it is said that the great president Ho Chi Minh personally picked the name Thanh Nien in rewarding the youth for their hard work. Since then, the name became official, and its old name existed only in people's memory.
As of today, the Thanh Nien Avenue has become one of the most beautiful streets in Hanoi. At the Quan Thanh's end, there is a small park with the statue of the hero Ly Tu Trong. At the other end, there lies the 20-and-plus-story Sofitel hotel. Along this 1km-long pleasant road, one can find the quiet Quan Thanh temple, the famous Tran Quoc pagoda, and even an isolated island with the Cau Nhi temple, which was built in the Ly's dynasty about 1000 years ago. In the afternoon, its North East location makes a perfect place to watch the sunset. Besides, with all its lovely features, the avenue is also popularly called "The Love Highway", which is the destination for hundreds of couples to enjoy their time together. Undoubtedly, it is the most romantic place in Hanoi.
As for me, I never have to think twice before taking someone there. One of my best time was about three years ago, when I spent time with my sister along this road. Our first stop was the High Land Cafe, which is a small coffee shop floating on the water. As the whole shop easily went up and down with the wave, the gentle wind blew through our hair,
giving us the relaxing feeling of Hanoi's night. The cool air from the water pulled us closer to each other, as we talked for hours. Around 11pm, the shop was a bit empty. We decided to take a little walk along the road. There were millions stars in the sky, few couples here and there whispering to each other; and there was my sister walking next to me. For a moment, I thought to myself that life wouldn't get any better than that. And it can't!
Come back there one day, I will find that moment again...
-nxh