Tet market- a habit of Vietnamese on Lunar New Year

(Cinet)- Once upon a time, Tet market become a essential habit and custom of Vietnamese people. Until now, Tet market is marked by an abundance of decorations in the street and traditional food in the shops. Everyone is eager going to market to prepare a happpy Tet in a family.

For Vietnamese people, Tet (Lunar New Year) is an occasion not only to enjoy the change of year with family and friends but also the chance to thank the gods, spirits and nature, to visit friends, relatives and teachers, and to remember and honor their forebears.

Buying for Tet was spoken with passion by Vietnamese housewives – not that they had much money to splurge on Tết treats for themselves or the frequent guests they made welcome in their homes. For the very poor, “sam Tet” could be a real burden. Families would save up all year so that they could buy something special for themselves, their relatives, and their guests at this most special time.

The atmosphere of Tet is in the air already as people flock from the remote villages to the big markets. Many set out early in the morning to buy gifts for friends and future in-laws. Farmers bring the best produce from their fields and gardens to the busy world of the Tet market.

Even in the harried, upbeat world of today with all its commercial culturalism and globalization, the lead-up to Tet is still a vibrant time in the countryside.

Now that incomes have risen substantially in Vietnam, most people have deeper pockets and no longer buy the cheap mang and mien (dried bamboo shoot and transparent noodles) months before Tet.

Less budget-minded than before, they go about their preparations quietly and rarely engage in animated chatter with their friends and neighbors about what shopping bargains are available where and how best to scrimp and save for Tet.

In the Vietnamese countryside, the important days for Tet shopping at the big provincial markets are the 23rd and from the 27th to the 30th of the final lunar month. This is when rural dwellers hunt for home decorations, prepared food and the essential ingredients for cooking up a feast.

The harvest done, villagers travel to market to prepare for the most important holiday of the year. It’s an exciting place to be, a hive of activity, chatter, color and fun.

Tet is known as some special markets. Big flower markets are common as Tet approaches. One such extravaganza filled with spring blossoms and bonsai trees is held along the Yen Phu road near the villages of Ngoc Ha and Quang Ba in Hanoi. They call it a “flower road market” and each year it seems to stretch out along the road farther than ever (three kilometers at last count).Two or three weeks before Tet is the time to visit the “flower road market” to buy house plants or a do quyen (Rhododendron) tree in bloom. Needless to say, it’s full of sightseers revelling in the spring atmosphere.

Visiting a Tet market is a fascinating experience, full of sights, sounds, scents and emotions.

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