A happy cemetery
Returning to Tien Giang Martyrs' Cemetery (NTLS), Trung An Ward, Dong Thap Province (My Tho City, old Tien Giang Province), before the whole country celebrates the 78th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27, 1945 - July 27, 2025), with a feeling of renewal.
15 years ago, I made a report "Cemetery... Happiness", with telling numbers: attracting more than 7,000 couples from many provinces and cities across the country, even foreigners, to take wedding photos.
At its peak, this place attracted about 100 photographers to take wedding photos and contribute to enhancing the scenery. More impressive is that according to unwritten rules, all couples perform the ceremony of offering incense to the heroic martyrs before taking wedding photos.
"It seems that the spirit of martyrs also vibrates, so "advising" couples to live very happily. For the past 15 years, I have never heard of a breakup, said Mr. Phan Thanh Hoang - Head of the Management Department. Many couples even come to happiness without any love rules to explain.
And it is also here that it has aroused the spirit of creative labor and brought many domestic and international award-raising machines... From this reality, many language researchers think about the ability to newly define martyrs' cemeteries.
A lecturer in the Department of Language at Can Tho University once shared that from the cemetery being able to inspire people with machines to explore beauty and many couples receiving the effect of married happiness like NTLS Tien Giang, compilers of Vietnamese dictionaries can consider adding a new definition of Happiness.
When will you return?
There are still rows of lush green trees, still a solemn space of 4 hectares protecting more than 5,000 martyrs from many localities across the country, but now it seems like the bustling atmosphere with the gorgeous costumes of the bride and groom is no longer the same as before.
According to a staff member with many years of experience working in cemeteries, the wedding photography movement in the land use rights district of Tien Giang has been declining in the past 5 years.
"Now, there are only occasional cases, but the weather is not as good as before" - this employee shared.
There are many reasons, such as: many newly established tourist establishments are invested in and decorated modernly... But according to many people, an important reason is lack... Duy Anh, a photographer (NSNA) Duy Anh, former reporter for Ap Bac newspaper, after he went abroad to live.
This may be a reference opinion, but the truth is that NSNA Duy Anh is not only known as the founder of the NTLS wedding photography model since 1992, but is also the one who created the vitality of this model.
In addition to the ability to transform each row of trees, tombs, and even the stone road here into a canhtic to create more than 30 domestic and international award-winning works, he is also the one who built the unwritten rule on performing the ceremony of offering incense to heroic martyrs before taking wedding photos.
This not only contributes to building a cultural order in the sacred place, but is also considered a nail for couples to use as a fulcrum to preserve beautiful memories in a respectful space to thereby maintain couple happiness...
Although I know that the law of life is the law, I still hope that after the merger of the new province, there will be a new opportunity for Tien Giang NTLS to continue its old journey. There, NTLS not only conveyed the emotions of nurturing couple happiness, but also contributed to spreading the lesson of "Remembering the source of drinking water" to his father, who fell down to the happiness of his homeland and country in the new era.
