The stories surrounding His birthdays not only express the affection of the people but also reflect great thoughts, important decisions and a simple lifestyle, for the people, for the country.
First birthday in the heart of the independent capital and the sharp diplomatic flag
The first time the Vietnamese people officially celebrated President Ho Chi Minh's birthday was on May 19, 2014. This information was widely published through a special article "Mr. Ho Chi Minh with the Vietnamese nation" on the front page of Cuu Quoc Newspaper on May 18, 2014.
In the context of the young Democratic Republic of Vietnam facing a situation of "wearing a scale", independence not being widely recognized and the risk of re-offending from the enemy, President Ho Chi Minh at the age of 56 did not plan to celebrate his birthday. However, celebrating Uncle Ho's birthday at this time has a strategic meaning, becoming a symbol of great national unity and a " pro-domestic initiative" on the diplomatic front.
The memoirs of General Vo Nguyen Giap recorded an important event: "On the afternoon of May 18, 1946, the French High Commissioner D’Argenlieu and General Valluy and Grepin came to the North to greet President Ho Chi Minh. Uncle Ho congratulated the French High Commissioner and said:" Today, he visits Hanoi, the Vietnamese French state will surely have a new development step. " Tho and I believe that, from here the friendliness of France and Vietnam will become more and more closer and more intimate ”(Vo Nguyen Giap, Memoirs, Publishing House of People's Army, H.2006, p.280)".
Thus, President Ho Chi Minh proactively used the celebration of this first birthday as a reason for diplomatic struggle. The person who was in the position of Prime Minister of the independent country, welcomed French High Commissioner D'Argenlieu, who was planning to hinder President Ho's trip to France. Although Uncle Ho modestly told his compatriots that he "had nothing to wish for long life", for the opponent, this was an opportunity for him to force them to dialogue, in the hope of a new step forward in the Vietnam - France relationship.
Also on the occasion of "the journalists here have enlarged my birthday", he had the opportunity to meet and meet a large number of people from the people, from children, self -defense, scouting to Southern representatives. He gave the Bach Chien Children's delegates and hoped: "The tree will grow a pot of hundreds of canopy. The children take care of the big tree, the tree is good." May 19, 1946 really became a solidarity festival, indicating the strength of the whole nation.
Simple but warm birthday comradeship in the battlefield
A deep memory was on May 19, 1947, when Uncle Ho turned 57 years old. After receiving congratulatory flowers, Uncle Ho "grate the security guard for bringing that beautiful bouquet of fragrant flowers to the grave of Mr. Hoang Van Loc - the breadwinner who recently passed away from malaria". This action shows Uncle Ho's respect and deep affection for his comrades who have sacrificed. Similarly, in 1948, Uncle Ho "reased with tears and suggested giving a bouquet of flowers to celebrate his birthday to visit the grave of the cook for Uncle Ho who had just passed away from severe malaria". On these occasions, Uncle Ho often spends time talking about loyal examples to the Party and the revolutionary cause.
President Ho Chi Minh always keeps in mind a "common birthday" for the whole nation. In the letter dated May 19, 1948, the writer: "My compatriots and I have a common birthday: That is the day the successful Liberation Revolution in August 1945". He felt that, "while our entire people are fighting a hard war, all work is so urgent that organizing a wish for the life of an individual is not advisable".
When the country was divided, Uncle Ho always advised localities not to organize wishes for the longevity of the communal house, which was costly. The explained: "I have been a compatriot until now, but from now on, I will still belong to the compatriot... The water is big, no one can do it alone. I hope that this day and next year, my compatriots will make the Democratic Republic of Vietnam more prosperous". To avoid rituals, Uncle Ho often chooses birthdays to visit people in localities, but always warns them not to organize a roasting reception.
The most precious gift for Uncle Ho, as he once shared with the reporter of Cau Quoc Newspaper in 2020, is "reports on patriotic emulation achievements". He also often reminds: "To celebrate my birthday, the people give me many flowers and cakes. Those things are valuable. But I would like to ask my compatriots to think about the poor, rather than spending money on me", and instructed them to transfer gifts to military units, police, youth volunteers, and nurseries.
A will for life
A special impression associated with the days of May is that President Ho Chi Minh started writing and editing the historical will. From May 1965, when he was 75 years old, he started accepting the first lines of these "absolute secret" documents. On the morning of May 10, 1965, at the stilt house, Uncle Khoi drafted a will. Comrade Vu Ky, his own secretary, recounted: "It was at that moment Uncle Ho put the pen to write the first lines in the" absolute secret "document to advise all the life of the future."
In the following years, Uncle Ho often spent the middle of the month of May reviewing, correcting, and supplementing the test. On the morning of his 79th birthday, May 19, 1969, Uncle Ho once again reviewed and edited the last will.
The last birthday, in 1969, took place in the context of the resistance war against the US to save the country in a fierce period. He proposed not to celebrate his birthday because "our compatriots, especially the Southern people who were fighting and sacrificing like that, he had no heart to enjoy his own joy". He also requested the "money used to propagate your birth date ... Should be spent on printing textbooks and buying school supplies for children, not wasting". Before the permission of the Central Government, Uncle only reluctantly agreed and instructed: "Well, if so, you guys do it quickly for you. Don't last, do not draw expensive. Just give you some flowers.
As Uncle Ho taught: "Working water now is sacrificing, striving, forgetting his own profits and thinking. For the benefit of the country, forgetting his home benefits". The most practical anniversary of Uncle Ho's birth is to study and follow the shining moral example, to perform the simple things that the lofty people have left, showing the true nature of the "public" person, the "servant" of the people's loyalty.
