Known as the capital of yellow apricot in the Central region - An Nhon town (Binh Dinh) currently has more than 10,000 households growing apricot with an area of hundreds of hectares. Every time Tet comes, the "apricot workers" bring to the market a large amount of yellow apricot, with many unique and eye-catching designs to serve people in the spring.
Look to the sky to "change clothes" for tomorrow
As the last days of the 11th lunar month approach, apricot growers in An Nhon town are busy changing leaves on apricot trees - the stage that determines when the "apricot trees smile" to welcome Tet.
According to experienced plum blossom carpenters, yellow apricot blossoms are not a flower that always blooms on time. Whether they bloom early or late depends entirely on the weather. Therefore, the carpenters have to "probe the will of heaven", predict the weather in advance to shed leaves and welcome new buds. Because if the plum blossom does not bloom on time, the money and effort of a whole year of care of the plum blossom carpenters will be wasted.
Having been growing apricot trees for nearly 10 years, Ms. Cap Thi Ngot (61 years old, living in Trung Dinh village, Nhon An commune) shared that the time when she has to guess the "will of heaven" to let the leaves fall is the time that gives growers the most headache. Because everyone understands that if the apricot tree crop is out of season, that year is considered a lost Tet.
"The main income in the family depends on growing apricot blossoms. Every year, when Tet is approaching, I feel anxious. Every year when it rains and is cold, the apricot blossoms have difficulty blooming. Some years, when Tet comes, the apricot blossoms only just start to bud, and that year, all the effort is in vain. Like this year, my family had to change the leaves on the apricot blossoms early because the weather has turned cold," Ms. Ngot confided.
Every Lunar New Year, the yellow apricot blossoms in the "capital" of An Nhon are sold by traders all over the country. They are divided into two branches, "Southern apricot blossoms" and "Northern apricot blossoms". Because the weather in the North is cold, the apricot blossoms will shed their leaves earlier, from around the 15th to the 20th of the 11th lunar month; the Southern and Central Highlands branches will shed their leaves from the 1st to the 15th of the 12th lunar month, because these regions have warmer weather.
Shedding leaves is both to show off the apricot blossoms' shape and to force them to bloom on time. The best time is on the 30th or the morning of the 1st day of Tet. "It's said to be about predicting the will of heaven, but it's also a matter of luck. In this village, few people can predict the weather, so we have to accept the bad luck," Ms. Ngot confided.
Happy and sad waiting for Tet
In the past, the life of An Nhon people was mainly associated with traditional agriculture - wet rice, which was hard and unstable. Young men in the village also left their hometowns to "wander around" to earn a living. But then the mai career "sprouted", the children far away from home returned to their hometowns and rebuilt their lives.
Over time, the apricot growing profession developed and became the main source of income for the people here. The yellow apricot trees blooming every Tet holiday not only bring a fresh look to the spring space, but also help change the lives of many families.
Despite its flourishing development over the past decades, the apricot growing industry in An Nhon has also experienced many ups and downs. The yellow apricot blossom is an indispensable symbol during Tet holidays for people in the Central region, but the demand for this flower has gradually changed.
According to Ms. Cap Thi Tuyet Trang (41 years old, living in Trung Dinh village, Nhon An commune), what apricot growers worry about is not only whether the apricot trees will bloom on time or not, but also the decrease in consumption.
"In the past, near Tet, we did not have enough apricot blossoms to sell, but now people's needs have changed. They have more choices such as snow apricot blossoms, plum blossoms... to celebrate Tet, so the apricot blossom market in recent years is not as bustling as before," said Ms. Trang.
That is why the price of yellow apricot flowers in An Nhon always fluctuates strongly every time Tet comes. Putting all their capital into investing in the Tet apricot flower crop, everyone here hopes for a good season.
"The profits and losses of a year of hard work of An Nhon people depend entirely on the apricot blossom crop during Tet. Hopefully this year the weather will be kind, the flowers will bloom right on Tet, and the prices will be a little higher so that we can have a more fulfilling Tet," Ms. Trang hopes.
Therefore, Tet for apricot growers is not only an occasion for gathering, but also a challenging economic problem, where all joy and anxiety are focused on the apricot crop. Every Tet season, when the apricot buds begin to bloom, the farmers here still wait for the nod of buyers to have a full and complete Tet.
