Although determined to always be strong and independent to pursue ambitions for the future, every time Tet comes, young people still feel homesick and miss Vietnamese Tet with its cherished and preserved traditional values.

Duong Hai Dang (former student of Le Quy Don Senior High School for the Gifted, student of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, the USA):

Preserving traditional identity when far from home

The first year away from home, right on the occasion of Lunar New Year, I experienced many unforgettable emotions. I don’t have many Vietnamese friends at the university in the US I am studying, but the local Vietnamese community always organises activities to preserve cultural identity.

When Tet comes, people invite each other to decorate their houses, prepare traditional dishes and organise small festivals to remind them of their homeland. In the days before Tet, people often gather at the Vietnamese cultural centre to make ‘banh chung’ (square sticky rice cakes) and ‘banh tet’ (cylindrical glutinous rice cakes) together. Although we do not have the full ingredients like at home, we try to replace them with what is available and the most important thing is still the atmosphere of gathering and sharing joy. In addition, everyone also organises a Lunar New Year's Eve party, where there are Vietnamese dishes such as fried spring rolls, bamboo shoot soup and rice balls sweet soup.

Notably, we not only celebrate Tet for the Vietnamese community but also invite international friends to join. I feel proud to introduce to international friends the meaning of customs such as Tet greetings, lucky money, and displaying five-fruit trays. They are very excited to wear Ao Dai, try writing parallel sentences in calligraphy, and participate in folk games such as bamboo dancing, blindfolded goat catching, etc. I think that thanks to occasions like this, I clearly feel the responsibility to preserve it even though I am far away from home.

Le Dao Hanh San (former student of Phan Dinh Phung Junior High School, student of Janakkalan Lukio High School, Finland):

Warming the taste of Vietnamese Tet in a foreign land

Up to now, I have experienced three Tet seasons away from home. The excitement of each spring is still there, I am even more moved and appreciate Vietnamese Tet when I am far away. Every time I suddenly listen to familiar Tet melodies playing on social media platforms, the songs that my parents often play on Lunar New Year's Eve such as "Don Xuan", "Uoc Vuong Dau Nam", my heart flutters with nostalgia for the Vietnamese Tet I once had.

I still remember a special gift on my first Tet away from home was a 14kg package of food from Viet Nam that my parents sent here. Due to some problems, the package arrived later than expected, but when I held in my hand a bottle of Nam O fish sauce made by my grandparents, honey-soaked lemons from my maternal family, a package of jam or dried specialties of Da Nang seasoned with spices, I was choked with emotion. This was the biggest lucky money envelope that my family had ever given me. Although we could not celebrate Tet in Viet Nam, my friends and I had the opportunity to participate in the event “Celebrating Tet and Welcome Spring” organised by the Vietnamese community here. The Vietnamese aunts and uncles in Finland cooked delicious Vietnamese dishes with authentic Tet flavours such as ‘banh chung’, ‘xoi gac’, ‘nem ran’, and various jams, which made our life away from home warmer than ever.

Mai Thi Thao Hien (former student of Phan Chau Trinh Senior High School, student of Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan):

Many experiences with Tet offline and online

Welcoming Vietnamese Tet in Japan, I was able to prepare traditional dishes with my brothers and sisters in the Japanese Language School such as fried spring rolls, chicken vermicelli, ‘cu kieu’, boiled chicken, and a tray of five fruits, and especially indispensable Chung cake. The atmosphere of family reunion on the 30th of Tet is so precious. Thanks to the development of technology, instead of meeting "offline" as usual, we have created "Nomikai Online" (online eating and drinking). Whether online or offline, the atmosphere of the traditional Vietnamese Tet is very special to me with the wishes "Happy New Year", "Wishing everyone good health", "Wishing you a prosperous Lunar New Year" that have dispelled the coldness of the Japanese winter.

The good feelings of the Vietnamese people remain the same, warming the hearts of those who live far away from home. The moments when the Vietnamese community sits together to eat a meal are an opportunity for us to return to the vibrant atmosphere of each traditional Vietnamese Tet holiday. For international students like us, there have been many difficulties and hardships when we are away from home, how sad and miss the family atmosphere when we cannot return to Vietnam during Tet to reunite with our families. But because of that, each of us has matured a lot, learned to cherish every moment with our families, learned to love our parents and siblings even more.

Tran Le Anh Quan (former student of Le Quy Don Senior High School for the Gifted, student of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology - China):

Remembering the first self-dependent Tet

Although Taiwan (China) has traditional customs similar to Viet Nam’s every Lunar New Year, it still cannot help but make me miss my homeland. The most memorable memory during this time was when I did my first part-time job. To fill the gap of the holiday, I took on a part-time job at a wooden furniture stall at a flower market near my school. The last day of work was also the night of the last day of the year, I finished my work at nearly 11:00 pm. On the way home from work, for the first time I understood the feeling of emptiness without my family by my side. The feeling that everyone was gathering around waiting for the Lunar New Year’s Eve, while I was still wandering the streets in the drizzling rain. Contrary to my initial desire to leave my family, my homesickness was greater than ever, making me want to immediately return home to celebrate Tet with my family like every year.

As a Vietnamese in general and a Da Nang person in particular, I always cherish the dream of returning to work and contribute to my homeland and country. I think this is also the wish of many other Vietnamese students around the world. To realize that wish, I, like many other international students, will try my best to acquire knowledge, develop myself to become citizens who contribute to the development of my country in the future.

Reporting by DUYEN ANH - Translating by M.DUNG