SOME OF MY FAVORITE TET (LUNAR NEW YEAR) TRADITIONS (part 2)
Family gathering on the 1st day of Tet
When I was young, the 1st day of the New Year celebration was my favourite, because that’s the day I would receive a lot of “li xi” (red packages containing money) from my relatives. Beside the li xi, it is also the day all the women in my extended family cook a lot of delicious New Year’s food.
It was a great party, however, as I grew older, I thought it was troublesome because it should be a day to rest, why do we have to cook and clean so much! I asked my mother why? She replied that it's very important to keep a close relationship with my extended family and cousins so we will always look out for each other. To my mother, this is what family is all about, so, each year, despite all the effort of cooking and preparing for the big gathering dinner, she and my aunts consistently make it happen.
This year, it is my turn to prepare all the li xi for the kids. For a lot of low-income Vietnamese people, sometimes Tet may be a burden because of all the traditions of giving gifts and li xi. Many of them cannot afford to visit their hometown and relatives. Thinking back at how my mom could make it through each year, generously giving us her li xi and spending extra effort to keep our extended family together, it’s indeed something beautiful and special we have because of Tet.
Illustration by Duc Phuong
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