Tet Viet Nam

The most celebrated holiday in Viet Nam is a couple weeks away (Feb. 9). Back in Viet Nam, decorating our house with flowers was one of my favorite activities before Tet. I always wished that I would get my li xi (red envelopes) before New Year so that I could buy more flowers. Of course, the saddest part was to take down the flowers after Tet.

Ever since I came to America, my Vietnamese New Year celebrations aren’t the same anymore. No more fresh bright golden yellow flowers (Hoa Mai). Now that I live in an apartment, I have no motivation to decorate the place since no one will be visiting it anyway. On my virtual home, however, I do have a few visitors; therefore, I have adorned Hoa Mai on the top left to give this space a spirit of Tet.

New Year celebration would not be complete without Nhac Xuan (New Year Music). So here are a few Xuan songs for your enjoyment:
“Canh Thiep Dau Xuan” (Nhu Quynh) – Thanks Tommy!
“Nhung Kiep Hoa Xuan” (Ngoc Lan)
“Lang Nghe Mua Xuan Ve” (Hong Nhung & Bang Kieu)
“Doan Ca Xuan” (Quang Linh & Thuy Trang)
“Xuan Da Ve” (Doan Trang)

And a few poems for those of us who celebrate Tet outside of our homeland:
“Tet Nho Ve Ha Noi” by Le Hai Anh

“tet” by Song Vinh
tet di roi tet lai ve
tet qua tet lai van minh voi ta
van em qua lai khieu xa
van ta go may lam tho tang nguoi