Tet – the national new year celebration of the Vietnamese – is still nearly three weeks away but the Hmong people in Son La, a mountainous province in northwestern Vietnam, have already celebrated their traditional version of this special occasion. Plum blossoms can be seen covering the hillsides of Son La as people take a break from their farming work, donning colorfully embroidered clothes and enjoying a variety of different activities to celebrate Tet, a way to refer to the Lunar New Year, which begins on February 16. The Hmong, one of the 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups, welcome the New Year during the first three days of the last lunar calendar month, as opposed to the national Tet, which is held a month later. For the last four years, four villages in Chieng Lao Commune, Muong La District, Son La have organized a banh giay pounding competition. Banh giay is a round Vietnamese traditional glutinous rice cake. It is typically used as offerings to ancestors and deities during Tet whilst people pray for a fulfilled and prosperous year to come. Early in the morning, the men prepare a large mortar and mallets used to pound banh giay, while the women carefully collect the most suitable batch of glutinous rice and cook it until sticky. The hot sticky dough is evenly crushed. Photo: Tuoi Tre The men then put the cooked dough into the large mortar and start pounding. After this has been completed, the women then rub egg yolk on… [Read full story]
Chol Chnam Thmay is one of the most important events of the year for theKhmer community. It usually lasts three days and is celebrated inpagodas.More than 400,000 Khmer people in Soc Trang are marking this year’sfestival, which falls on April 13-16, or the seventh to tenth day of thethird lunar month.Prior to the festival, representatives from the provincial PartyCommittee, the People’s Committee, the Fatherland Front and otherorganisations presented gifts to Buddhist Khmer dignitaries andhouseholds.More than 400 households in Lieu Tu commune, Tran De district and VinhHai commune in Vinh Chau town have two reasons to celebrate as they nowhave access…... [read more]
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung extended his best wishes to all the Khmer people for The Chol Chnam Thmay New Year Festival, lauding them for their achievements and spirit of unity. The Chol Chnam Thmay New Year is the Khmer people's traditional New Year. On April 6, it was celebrated in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung stated that the poverty rate amongst the Khmer people is still very high with many still live without homes or land. Mr. Hung has ordered relevant agencies and local administrations to do all they can…... [read more]
On the firstday of Tet, every Ha Nhi family kills a pig, which they have raisedsince the beginning of the year particularly for Tet, as pork is themust-have offering to ancestors. The liver of the pig will be examinedto see whether the new year is a good or bad for the family. The head of the family will offer a food tray to the ancestors, whichincludes boiled pork, a bowl of rice, a piece of ginger and three cupsof wine. Known for their hospitality, Ha Nhi people alwaysinvite lots of relatives and friends to their home to enjoy Tet. Aftersumptuous…... [read more]
The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Hanoi chapter in coordination with the embassies of Laos , Cambodia , Thailand and Myanmar held a friendship exchange in Hanoi on April 10 to celebrate the traditional New Year of the four countries. Prominent among those at the function were VUFO Vu Xuan Hong and UNESCO chief representative in Vietnam Katherine Muller Marin.Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Committee, sent New Year' greetings to Laos , Cambodia , Thailand and Myanmar and said that the special relationship between Vietnam and all four countries has developed well in recent…... [read more]
The Lao Embassy held a celebration to mark their traditional New Year festival Bun Pi May in Hanoi on April 10 with the participation of Vietnamese senior officials. At the ceremony, Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan wished the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, State, and people happiness and success in the New Year and congratulated the country on their comprehensive accomplishments. She said despite complicated changes in the region and globally in the past year, the Vietnam-Laos cooperation has reaped considerable achievements with strengthened political relations through a number of high-level exchanges such as the recently concluded visit to Laos…... [read more]
