27 years away from home, returning for Tet for the first time
Ms. Dao Thi Thinh left Hung Yen to Dong Nai to earn a living from 1999, working as a worker at TKG Taekwang Vina Joint Stock Company. For 27 years, her trips back to her hometown have been associated with family funerals or sick relatives. Especially during Tet - the most sacred time of Vietnamese people, she has never been home to celebrate Tet with her family.
This year, thanks to the support of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor through the "Trade Union Flight" program, Ms. Thinh returned to her hometown for Tet after 27 years away from home. She returned a few days before Tet, cleaning the house with her family, preparing for Tet, wrapping banh chung, and preparing a year-end Tet meal.
In the days leading up to Tet, her family's small house in Tien Lu commune, Hung Yen province becomes much more crowded. Children and grandchildren from many places return one after another, carrying gifts, cakes, and Tet items. The yard is always crowded with people, greetings, and laughter continuously.
The atmosphere of the end of the year is evident in every small activity: cleaning the house, hanging Tet items, arranging five-fruit trays, preparing food, wrapping banh chung. Ms. Thinh and her mother and relatives gathered by the fire, wrapping banh chung, preparing food. Things that seemed very familiar, but for her, they brought a special feeling after nearly thirty years away from home.
After many years, for the first time I was at home in the days leading up to Tet, being able to clean up, wrap cakes, and prepare a year-end meal with my family. For me, just being able to sit in my house, beside my mother and loved ones like this, is already happiness" - Ms. Thinh shared.
New Year's Eve meal on the 29th of Tet and reunion moment
By February 16, 2026 (29th day of the twelfth lunar month) - the last day of the year, children and grandchildren in Ms. Thinh's family have returned fully. The small house in Tien Lu commune, Hung Yen province has become more cramped than usual, but the atmosphere is warmer and busier. People in the kitchen, people outside the yard, people in the house, everyone has work, everyone is busy preparing for the year-end meal.
The kitchen is on fire from early morning. The pot of water boils continuously. Some people pick vegetables, some wash dishes, some mince meat, some arrange trays. The smell of fried onions, the smell of boiled meat, the smell of hot soup, the smell of kitchen smoke blend together, creating a very typical atmosphere of the days leading up to Tet in the countryside.
The year-end meal is prepared simply, in accordance with family lifestyle: familiar, traditional dishes, enough for the whole family to gather together. Not fussy, not ostentatious, but cozy and full.
Ms. Ngo Thi Tuyet (80 years old) - Ms. Thinh's mother - sat in the kitchen, both watching the soup pot and looking at her children and grandchildren going in and out. She said: "I just hope there will be a year-end meal with enough children and grandchildren. This year the family is full, that's enough to be happy.
Outside in the yard, children and grandchildren gather. Adults chat about the old year, work, and business. Children run around the tray of cakes and candies, laughing and talking. The atmosphere of the days leading up to Tet is clearly visible in every small activity: calling each other, footsteps, laughter mixed with the sound of bowls and chopsticks colliding.
In the afternoon, the year-end meal was served. The tray of rice was placed in the middle of the house. Family members sat around. No one was in a hurry to eat. Some looked at the tray of rice, some looked at each other, some looked at Ms. Thinh and then smiled.
Ms. Dao Thi Thuan - Ms. Thinh's older sister - shared: "The meal does not matter the high tray and full feast, the important thing is that there are enough people. It's been a long time since the family has had a Tet full of children and grandchildren like this.
In the small house, the Tet meal tray is full of generations. The sound of bowls and chopsticks gently touching, the slow rhythm of eating seems to preserve a rare reunion moment. The late year wind blows gently outside the porch, while inside the house, the warmth gradually spreads from familiar eyes, murmuring stories, and the feeling of fullness when the whole family is sitting together again.
Ms. Thinh shared: "After many years, for the first time I was at home in the days leading up to Tet, being able to clean up and prepare a year-end meal with my family. For me, just being able to sit in my house, with my mother and loved ones like this, is already happiness.
The year-end meal closed in a simple reunion atmosphere. No major rituals, no formalities, but a meal full of people, full of meaning.
