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Instead of staying home and preparing food and for receiving guests during the traditional New Year holidays, a growing number of people, especially young couples in Vietnam, are taking trips away from home to celebrate the holidays in different, more relaxed environments.
Years ago, the traditional lunar New Year festival, known as Tet locally, the biggest event of the year, used to last for three days. But in recent years it has lasted longer, sometimes for up to a whole week or more as the two-day weekend before or right after Tet is included. This year's upcoming Tet -- the Year of the Goat -- will last for nine days in total, from Feb. 15 to 23.
The longer Tet holidays and the people's improved economic conditions has helped many Vietnamese to enjoy Tet in a myriad of ways, including taking trips away to scenic locations in the country, or overseas, which is becoming more popular, particularly among young couples families in Vietnam.
Nguyen Trong Kiem, 35, from the Binh Thanh district in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City, who is working as a marketing employee for a private company, told Xinhua that he had already booked a tour to go to Nanning in China for his wife and daughter for the upcoming Tet holidays.
Kiem said three years ago he got married only one week before Tet, and in that year his wife, as a new daughter-in-law of his family, had to spend all her time cooking food for Tet meals as well as paying visits to, or receiving relatives to their home. In their second Tet holidays, she was busy again, taking care of their new-born baby. "We have not yet had a honey moon since we got married, so we decided to enjoy it this year during Tet in China, where we believe that the spring festival will be celebrated as triumphantly as in Vietnam, and more importantly, my wife will be totally free from loads of house work during Tet," Kiem said.
Kiem also said that they would stay at home to celebrate New Year's Eve and have a family reunion dinner with their parents, brothers and sisters before they depart for Nanning on the second day of the New Year.
Nguyen Hang Linh, 60, a retired teacher in District 1, told Xinhua that along with her husband who is now 65 years old, she had travelled away from home during the Tet holidays for the past five years, and they made it "just the two of us," she said. "We both enjoyed such kind of trips because each trip is a good occasion for us to spice up our marriage life after a long, hard working year," she added.
Linh recalled five years ago when she nearly got divorced from her husband, almost signing the divorce papers due to both being very busy with their own careers and spending little time with each other, which lead to misunderstandings. "I decided to ask my mother to take care of our two children and we went to central Nha Trang city to rest during the Tet holidays, where we had time to discuss our problems in a serious manner, while enjoying the fresh air at a beautiful beach, where we first met and fell in love with each other years before," Linh recalled
"That valuable experience during our trip helped us solidify our ties, and after that five-day Tet trip, we returned home with our problem handled and have never though about divorce again since," said Linh.
Domestic travel companies have quickly started catering to their new demographic of customers by offering special tours, both domestic and overseas, during Tet holidays.
Bui Thuy Ha, who is working for Saigontourist, a HCM City-based local travel company, said that her company has focused on selling overseas tours during Tet to other Asian countries, like China and Singapore where the local people also celebrate the lunar New Year festival as cheerfully as the Vietnamese.
Meanwhile, the destinations of domestic tours include scenic spots, famous religious sites or historical and cultural relics. "Demand for Tet trips has increased in recent years, especially from young couples who want very relaxing vacations away from home, " Ha said. "Many group tours include the entire family of different generations, or groups of close friends, who share the same interests during Tet when they're away from home.
According to Professor Tran Van Khe, a famous master of traditional Vietnamese music and an Honorary Member of the International Music Council, there are more and more Vietnamese traveling away from home during the traditional Tet holidays. However, this cannot yet be considered a modern lifestyle trend. "Each family and individual has their own requirements, interests and ways to relax and enjoy themselves during Tet," said Khe. "They have worked hard all the year round, so they have the right to enjoy the holidays in their own way, including welcoming the traditional lunar New Year away from home," the professor said.
He also added that in any instance, the traditional Tet holidays should be preserved as an occasion for family reunions and a time for meeting close friends and acquaintances.
