On a pre-Tet (Lunar New Year) day, a branch with peach blossoms was seen in his apartment in Binh Thanh district in HCM City. Luc had asked a friend in the north to order a kumquat tree in Hanoi and send it to him. On Tet days, peach and kumquat trees are more common in the north, while apricot trees are used in the south.  

If a stranger had visited Luc on Tet days, he would not have thought it was the home of a foreigner, because all interior decor items in the apartment featured Vietnamese characteristics.

“I bought the peach branch for VND140,000. It is really beautiful, isn’t it?” Luc said.

Luc has been working in Vietnam for five years and has many good memories about his time here.

He said in France, the New Year holiday lasts one day. In Vietnam, the Lunar New Year holiday is about 10 days. During Tet, people spend their time relaxing and reuniting with family.

In his first year in Vietnam, Luc thought the Tet holiday would last 2-3 days and people would return to work. But he was surprised when hearing about the long holiday. His Vietnamese boss explained that Tet is an important traditional holiday and most businesses don’t work on those days.

Luc decided that he would spend Tet holidays travelling and experiencing Vietnamese culture every year. Luc went to Nha Trang last Tet and in Da Nang the year before. 

He has also stayed in HCM City through Tet, and likes the floating flower market at Binh Dong Wharf in district 8, where boats sell flowers to be displayed at homes during Tet.

Luc, who works in the field of marketing and communications, has an interesting perspective about Tet. He noticed that Vietnamese tidy up their homes and buy new furnishings to celebrate. 

He was also impressed by traditional dishes for Tet, especially banh chung (rice dumpling, or square glutinous rice cake) and nem ran (spring rolls).

“I really enjoy the stuffing of banh chung (filled with green bean paste and fat pork). It’s great,” he said.

Luc, who likes to visit traditional markets, says he is not afraid of being overcharged and doesn’t like to haggle about prices. 

Phan Dau