Tet (Lunar New Year), which is only two weeks away, is traditionally an occasion for reunions, sharing, and caring but it has been distorted to some extent in recent years.

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The holiday falls on February 19 this year, with festive preparations beginning around one week before the date and the celebratory atmosphere lingering another week after that.

Many Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper readers have voiced their opinions regarding what they consider to be bad during Tet.

Lucky money

According to local culture experts, lucky money, traditionally given in brand-new, small-denomination bank notes in bright red envelops, is symbolic of the giver’s wishes for good luck and prosperity to befall on the recipient, mostly kids, in the new year.

However, in recent years, a number of kids have turned more practical in that they extend rote wishes to their grandparents, aunts and uncles and their parents’ friends not out of respect but merely in the hope of lucky money in return.

A little boy is seen peddling packets for lucky money in this Tuoi Tre file photo.

Nguyen Van Hoc, a Tuoi Tre reader from Da Nang, recounted a conversation between two kids who shared their calculated plans on how to collect as much lucky money as possible to buy smartphones halfway during a Tet holiday.

Bao Son, another reader, shared his frustration at seeing his mother and elder sister instructing her children to feign misery and collect as many heavy lucky packets as they could.

Some kids even open the packets right in front of the giver and grimace in dissatisfaction at its humble content, which greatly embarrasses the giver, said Duong Thi Thuy Mai, who lives in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

This is one of the reasons why many poor people, who have worked in large cities away from home for several years, refrain from the coziness of spending Tet with their families and stay in the host cities instead.

They cannot afford both high coach fares and gifts for their families and relatives in their hometown and risk losing face from failing to do so.

Services changing large-denomination banknotes into brand-new bills of smaller denominations, which will be used as lucky money or offerings at pagodas, thrive days prior to Tet. Photo: Tuoi Tre

People also put large sums or even pieces of gold in lucky money packets which they give to their employers’ children as a form of bribery.

Wasteful celebrations

Tet is also an opportunity for many people to show off their wealth by buying exorbitant food and flashy embellishments, many Tuoi Tre readers said.

Those who prefer to be frugal still have to buy plenty of food and decorate their homes for Tet just to keep up with the Joneses. Nguyen Van Cao Nguyen, another reader, frowned on the huge loads of food a number of people prepare for Tet, but some dishes remain untouched and are later discarded.

Women typically have their hands full preparing for Tet.

A family is busy peeling off egg shells for a signature Tet dish in this Tuoi Tre file photo.

Huynh Minh Bich Nga, of Tan Phu District in Ho Chi Minh City, lamented that her home looks like a market stall a few weeks before Tet every year.

Her elder sister relentlessly switches from one cooking and cleaning task to another to make sure the house looks its best for the holiday and her mother and grandmother have the finest home-made food gifts for their relatives.

A girl is shown washing buckets of pork for a signature Tet dish in this Tuoi Tre file photo.

Dr. Ly Tung Hieu, a lecturer in Cultural Studies at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said Tet celebrations in major cities have gradually lost much of their original significance and tend to be commercialized.

“City-dwellers’ communal bond seems to be on the wane these days. Many of them hold extravagant celebrations, but they are actually lonesome and desolate deep inside,” he commented.

Dr. Hieu also pointed to the excessive offerings and burning of votive papers on the 23rd day of the old lunar year and Lunar New Year’s Eve as a waste of money.

Vietnamese traditionally make offerings and burn votive papers to see off “Tao Quan” (Kitchen Gods) at the Jade Emperor’s palace on the 23rd of the old lunar year, and to summon their ancestors’ spirits on the eve.

Vices during Tet

Nguyen Ngoc Truc Nhi shared with Tuoi Tre she is most obsessed with the “gambling ring” right in her house during the Tet holiday.    The card games, which start out as a fun activity, typically end with cries and hassles among the participants, who are siblings or relatives.

Many even take the gambling activities to a much higher level by placing large sums of money on the games, which may result in bloody fights or heavy debts participants incur once Tet ends.

A group of young people are pictured gathering for card games during Tet in Hanoi. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese people, listed as one of the world’s heaviest drinking groups, habitually drink to excess during the Tet holiday.

The excessive beer consumption not only takes a toll on the drinkers’ health but it is also a prime culprit for traffic accidents and brawls, which see a sharp rise during Tet every year, T. H., a reader, stressed.        

He added such drinking sessions, which usually last several hours or even an entire day, are a real waste of time, as one would otherwise spend quality time with their loved ones instead.

“People would generally drink traditionally brewed wine in small cups during Tet in the past. Many men these days gulp down big glasses of beer or brandy for hours on end,” noted Dr. Nguyen Nha, a revered culture and history researcher.

Some men are seen drinking heavily in this Tuoi Tre file photo. 

Loss of original significance

Dr. Nha added Tet was originally organized to celebrate bumper crops and later took on variant meanings of family reunions and divine links between the living and the deceased.

“Nowadays, a portion of local youths have changed their perceptions toward Tet and tend to overlook long-standing values such as paying visits to their old teachers and relatives and extending heart-felt wishes,” he noted.

Many also choose to go on domestic or international tours with their friends or nuclear families during the holiday, thus chipping away at Tet’s traditional reunion value, which saw extended families gathering over cozy meals, Dr. Nha said.

Pilgrims scramble on the way to a pagoda in a northern Vietnamese province. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Many now scramble to pagodas or temples prior to, during, and after Tet to pray for business opportunities and other selfish, practical blessings.

They stuff token-value banknotes all over Buddha statues and other sacred objects, or jostle for the best positions to place their trays of offerings, pray or get hold of items believed to bring them good luck.

Pilgrims carry trays of heavy votive offerings at the Huong Pagoda Festival, one of the country's major Tet fests. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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