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Spring travel is a custom and a habit of the Vietnamese people whenever Tet arrives and spring returns
“The first lunar month is for leisure – The second month for planting beans, potatoes, and eggplants” is a folk verse from ancient times that our elders used to summarize the Vietnamese habit of resting and wandering during Tet. In the past, before industrialization and modernization, Vietnam was a country whose economy depended mainly on agricultural cultivation. Because they only knew about fields and plowing all year round, the Vietnamese considered Tet an occasion to rest, travel, and visit places to make up for the hard, busy days.
Spring travel is a beautiful traditional cultural feature of the Vietnamese people
Today, it is still the same; the Vietnamese consider Tet an occasion to go out and “blow off steam” to compensate for a year of busy work. Some choose to travel to distant lands; some visit pagodas to sightsee and pray for early-year blessings, and others simply visit relatives, friends, and neighbors to exchange greetings and well-wishes. There is no need to go to noisy, bustling places; spring travel is simply going out to enjoy the warm spring air and watch everything sprout and thrive.
The Vietnamese go on spring trips in a cheerful and joyful state of mind. They put on colorful new clothes, exchange warm smiles and loving gazes. Although life is still full of difficulties and worries, when Tet arrives, everyone seems to temporarily forget the troubles of the old year to go on a spring trip together, welcoming a brilliant New Year full of luck.
Tea tasting – An elegant hobby of the Vietnamese people during Tet
Besides the habit of spring travel, the Vietnamese have also preserved another tradition: tea tasting during Tet. When guests come to visit, the host will cheerfully brew a pot of green tea and pour it for the guests to enjoy. The golden tea water swirls in the cup, carrying the fragrance of lotus or jasmine flowers lingering at the tip of the nose.
Guests come to visit, brewing tea and pouring water...
Tea is an elegant beverage that requires the drinker to be very deliberate and slow when enjoying it. Drinking tea should never be rushed like drinking soft drinks, wine, or beer. To enjoy tea, first, when the tea is poured, the drinker raises the cup to their lips to inhale its delicate aroma. Then, they take a small sip to see if the tea is hot, and finally, they bring the cup to their mouth to enjoy it.
The tea's aroma and the tea's water leave a bitter taste at the tip of the tongue, but as it passes through the throat, it turns into a harmonious, sweet aftertaste. According to artisan Hoang Anh Suong: “The golden, clear water color, the natural tea and flower scent are images of Vietnam with its golden forests, silver seas, and abundant resources. The bitter taste evokes the hardships and labor of traditional tea makers. The cool, sweet aftertaste of the tea is the soul of the Vietnamese people, who are rich in affection and loyalty.”
Tea is a beverage rich in meaning, representing the industrious, diligent, and hard-working Vietnamese people, who always maintain a sincere and steadfast heart despite having gone through many ups and downs. The initial bitter taste and the sweet final taste of tea imply that all difficulties in life can be overcome; one must taste the bitterness before hoping to receive the sweet fruit. Thus, drinking tea is not just for thirst-quenching, but also to perceive the deep philosophy of life that our ancestors left behind for thousands of years.
On Tet days, when guests come to visit, the host always invites them to enjoy tea with various kinds of candied fruits ('mut'). The reason is that the sweetness of the candied fruits balances the bitterness of the tea, just as the bitterness of the tea helps the eater of the candied fruits not feel cloyed by the sweetness. Good wishes and lively conversations between host and guest will be even better when there is a steaming cup of tea and a tray of Tet candied fruits sweet and brightly colored.
Good tea cannot lack candied fruits on every Tet occasion
Good tea must go with good candied fruits to be authentic. To buy delicious, beautiful, and safe candied fruits to eat during Tet or for gifting, you can go to the Bao Minh store at 12 Hang Than – Ba Dinh – Hanoi or the supermarket systems of Big C, Vinmart, and Fivimart. Selecting clean, quality-assured ingredients, combined with modern cooking and packaging technology, Bao Minh's products such as candied winter melon, ginger, lotus seeds, coconut, peanuts, kumquat... are extremely delicious, visually appealing, and ensure food hygiene and safety, safe for the whole family's health.
Bao Minh Tet candied fruits – Beautifully designed box for gifting
BAO MINH CONFECTIONERY JOINT STOCK COMPANY
Address: Lot B2-3-3a, Nam Thang Long Industrial Zone, Thuy Phuong Ward, Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi
Hotline: 0906 874 464
Phone number: 0243 719 2355
Email: banhkeobaominh@gmail.com
Facebook: Bao Minh Confectionery – Preserving Vietnamese Quintessence
