This Tet holiday, taking advantage of the holidays, I had the opportunity to wander up to Ha Giang and then follow the winding, majestic passes to Dong Van town. Among the specialties in Dong Van, in addition to the famous thang co, corn wine is indispensable - a drink considered a delicacy in the northern mountainous region. The corn wine specialty of the Mong people in Ha Giang is not simply a normal fine wine but also carries a unique indigenous culture of the Northeast highlands. For the indigenous people of Ha Giang, drinking corn wine has become a daily habit. Drinking while eating, drinking when guests come to the house, drinking during important holidays and Tet, and drinking until drunk. However, when I asked the shop owner about the fact that he would probably sell thousands of liters of wine this Tet, he laughed: "People drink less now, you will no longer see people getting drunk on the street. Hanoi visitors like you also limit their drinking, and I don't see any problem, but when you drink, there are many things, complications."
In the "capital of corn wine", where drinking alcohol during Tet has changed, it is clear that the views on drinking alcohol during Tet have changed a lot.
Reading through the newspapers, I saw information about the number of traffic accidents and fights due to alcohol consumption has decreased significantly. As of February 2, during the 9-day Tet holiday, there were 445 traffic accidents nationwide, killing 209 people and injuring 373 people. Compared to the 9-day Tet holiday of Giap Thin 2024, traffic accidents decreased by 258 cases, 126 fewer deaths, and 232 fewer injuries. Of which, there were 442 road traffic accidents, killing 207 people and injuring 372 people. Compared to the 9-day Tet holiday of Giap Thin 2024, road traffic accidents decreased by 257 cases, 124 fewer deaths, and 232 fewer injuries. Regarding the handling of violations related to alcohol concentration, the authorities detected and handled 17,149 cases, accounting for 30% of the total number of traffic safety violations. Compared to the same period of the Lunar New Year 2024, there was a decrease of 20,365 cases.
As for fighting due to alcohol, remember in 2015, that is 10 years ago, there were more than 6,200 cases of hospitalization due to brawls and fights, most of which were due to alcohol consumption. In recent years, especially the Lunar New Year 2025, there have been few reports showing a large number of fights due to alcohol.
Traffic accidents have decreased, the number of casualties has decreased. The number of fights and hospitalizations due to alcohol has also decreased. That is something to be happy about, not just drinking a lot during Tet.
On the journey from Ha Giang to Hanoi, I was also stopped by the traffic police and had my alcohol level measured. Of course, I did not drink alcohol and before continuing on my journey, I always remembered the words of the traffic police: “We just hope that people’s awareness will be raised, to the point that there is no need to check or impose heavy fines, but people will still voluntarily not drink alcohol when participating in traffic. Tet is only fun when everyone is truly safe.”
