Welcoming Tet early at the sea gate
In the days leading up to Tet, Diem Dien seaport (Thai Thuy commune, Hung Yen province) brings a very unique rhythm of life. Boats successively dock, fishermen take advantage of returning to shore to reunite with their families, repair boats, and prepare fishing gear.
Tet comes early to the coastal village, not only in each house, but also present on each ship, each net bay, each wharf. After Tet, people quickly go to sea again, hoping for a new sea season that is favorable and bumper.
Looking in from the sea gate, Diem Dien seaport in the last days of the year appears with an atmosphere that is both bustling and quiet. No longer the scene of ships and boats continuously going out to sea, but instead the image of ships quietly docking, fishermen cleaning nets, cleaning the boat compartment, repairing engines, and repainting the side of the boat.
The sound of hammers, the sound of pulling ropes, and calling each other mixed in with the smell of engine oil, the smell of sea fish, and the characteristic salty wind of the coastal area.
Fisherman Trinh Quang Vinh (people's group No. 6, Thai Thuy commune) shared that for many years, people have had a habit of returning to shore early to prepare for Tet. "Apart from the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, brothers have started to clean up their boats. Working all year round, everyone wants to go home early, clean their boats, clean up their tools, tidy up everything and then go home to prepare for Tet for their families" - Mr. Vinh said.
According to Mr. Vinh, the fishing profession goes continuously for many days, so Tet is a very precious time for fishermen. "Going for a few days to return once, when I get home, my wife will take the fish to sell, and my husband will prepare for a new trip. This job is hard but if you don't stick to the sea, you don't know what else to do. The sea is a livelihood, the life of the whole family" - he shared.
In a corner of the port, Mr. Ta Duy Hieu (Thuy Hai village, Thai Thuy commune) is carefully repairing and reinforcing his family's ship. Each anchor rope is tied tightly, the ship's hold is cleaned up, and tarpaulins are covered.
Mr. Hieu said that the end of the year is an important time to inspect all ships and boats to avoid damage when going to sea at the beginning of the year. "The ship is the biggest asset of the family, so at the end of the year, it must be done carefully. Prepare carefully to be at peace when going to sea" - Mr. Hieu said.
Preparing for the new sea season
Not only preparing in terms of technology, Diem Dien sea fishermen also prepare in terms of customs and spiritual beliefs. According to ancient customs, before each new sea season, people organize a ceremony to pray for peace and a ceremony to go to sea at the beginning of the year. Before the day of departure, many families hold ceremonies to pray for peace in the sea, calm waves, and smooth sailing for boats.
Some places even organize drum and trumpet processions, decorate boats, creating a solemn atmosphere for the first spring sea trip. At the end of the year, when the sea season ends, people also hold a thanksgiving ceremony as a way to show gratitude to the sea.
Fisherman Trinh Quang Vinh said: "Going to sea at the beginning of the year, everyone performs a peace prayer ceremony for good luck. Not superstition, but a spiritual support for brothers to feel secure going to sea. The sea is very wide, people are very small, so we need faith to be steadfast.
In this fishing village, fishermen's lives still take place according to a sustainable cycle: husband goes fishing, wife takes fish to sell, children grow up with storms. The fishing profession is hard, income is precarious, but people still cling to the profession, cling to the sea, because it is a life-long livelihood, the only way to make a living for many families.
When Tet comes, Diem Dien fishermen welcome spring early at the wharf, during the days of cleaning boats, repairing tools, and family reunions. And when Tet passes, they go out to sea again, continuing their journey to make a living in the vast sea and sky - a quiet, persistent cycle, where the sea is not only a place to earn a living, but also a homeland, the life of a fishing village along the waves.
