Vietnamese Tet abroad

Having lived in South Korea for nearly 10 years for study and work, Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh (30 years old, from Ha Tinh) has not returned to Vietnam to celebrate Tet since the COVID-19 pandemic. Some years, the company had a lot of work, and he could only take a short break, so he decided to stay in South Korea. Other years, the pandemic made travel difficult. This Tet, Mr. Khanh and his wife still had to celebrate Tet far from home.

After many years of celebrating Tet far from home, Mr. Khanh and his fellow countrymen have kept the tradition of gathering together on New Year's Eve to have a year-end meal and celebrate the moment of the new year. Afterward, everyone gives red envelopes and wishes each other a happy new year. Many people also take the opportunity to call family members back home and send their new year greetings.

He shared that although the Tet atmosphere is not like back home, at least they can still feel the Tet spirit of their homeland in a foreign land!

His wife, Ms. Viet Tien, added: "To ease the homesickness, my husband and I, along with our group of friends from work, stayed up to count down to the new year online with our family in Vietnam. Through the phone screen, seeing my parents and siblings gathering together at the familiar home during the moment of the new year made me tear up."

Ms. Doan Ngoc Lien (32 years old, living in Melbourne, Australia) said: "Tet falls right in the middle of summer in Australia. Here, there are no peach or apricot blossoms, just hot, dry weather, but that doesn't make the Tet market of the Vietnamese community any less colorful. Everywhere, you can see bright flowers, colorful Tet gifts, and traditional Tet dishes."

Having married a fellow Vietnamese and with a young child, Tet is very important to Lien. Even though she cannot reunite with her family in Vietnam, she still strives to make Tet in Australia as similar as possible to Vietnam. She and her family make traditional Tet sweets, wrap banh chung, and decorate the house for Tet. Most importantly, she always goes with her husband and child to pick flowers for Tet.

For her husband, Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, the traditional Tet celebration is something very sacred. Despite his busy work schedule, he tries to arrange his time to decorate the house with his family and cook Vietnamese dishes for Tet. During the moment of the new year, he also remembers to call Vietnam to wish his relatives a happy new year.

In Germany, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang (31 years old, from Ha Tinh) shared that during the moment of the new year in Vietnam, he is still working as usual. As a nail technician, he takes the opportunity to video call his parents and relatives to wish them a happy new year during the Tet moment.

"Tet in a foreign land makes me miss the days back home, waking up early to take my mother to the market, choosing a peach blossom branch to place in the house, remembering my mother's busy preparations for the evening meal on the 30th of Tet. I also miss the warm atmosphere when the family gathers to watch the 'Tao Quan' program. As Tet approaches, the longing becomes more intense, I feel more homesick and wish I could fly back home," Mr. Thang shared.

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