'Tet'..you can feel it in your heart



 'Tet' is here and the Vietnam New Year celebrations are underway. 
 'Tet' marks the beginning of the lunar new year and welcomes 
the beginning of spring.  It also is a time for Vietnamese
to respect and remember their ancestors. If ever there was a reason
for the Vietnamese to be celebrate, this is it. 

'Tet' officially starts on the 10th of February 
with celebrations lasting up to seven days.

The buzz around Saigon is electric. 
It is all about family and food and plenty of both. 
The roads are packed, the stores are full, 
flowers are everywhere and the smiles.. 
these two little girls say it all...
they are so happy for this time with their family.

The 'closed' signs are going up on the shop doors, 
people are travelling great distances to go back to their 'country', 
the part of Vietnam that holds their heart.

Today I captured a little bit of the 'Tet' feeling around Saigon.
I even managed to get in on some of the action myself.
There is much more of the holiday to come...
and I for one am looking forward to it.




Good luck messages hang from trees..wishes for prosperity, 
good health and much more.




The beep beep of Saigon traffic has turned into a mighty roar 
as people make their way in and out of the city.
I couldn't resist the little girl below...she has such style!




I contemplated the two dragons for Chateau Mango but thought the better of it.
People think I am crazy enough as it is.




  I loved this photograph of the boy standing alongside his father, waiting patiently.
This is a time when the Vietnamese want to look their best. 




Flower are for sale all over the city. 
I may not make it to Chelsea Flower Show this year 
but I have the 'Tet' flower show and it is pretty amazing.




I picked up a beautifully fragrant water jasmine 
bonsai tree and a soft rose bougainvillea tree.


With the bonsai in the backseat of our car and the bougainvillea 
perched on a scooter in front of us...we headed home.




  The following is a video explaining the 'Tet' holiday. 
It was filmed in Hanoi...chillier than Ho Chi Minh City 
but the feeling is the same..we can all feel 'Tet' in our hearts.





 To people celebrating 'Tet' around the globe,
I wish you the happiest of New Years!

Photographs by Jeanne
Video via Vietnam online


Comments

  1. Jeanne,

    Tet sounds like a beautiful holiday and one that should be celebrated the world over. Celebrating our family and ancestors is something that I would love as I frequently contemplate all of the traits, skills and more that I learned from my grandparents.

    I hope you enjoy every second! How wonderful to have Mrs. H there to see such a show of affection and beauty.

    Jeanne, may I cast a vote for those beautiful dragons! I think they would love fabulous at the house!

    Have a beautiful week, Elizabeth

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    1. I will take note Elizabeth and if I buy them and Mr. H asks why...I will say that Elizabeth made me do it. :) xx

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  2. It's not hard to get caught up in the excitement and sheer JOY of "TET" is it Jeanne?
    And for me I'm just sitting at my computer at home thinking what an amazing experience it must be.
    Everyone is so happy, looking forward to going home to their province to be with family to celebrate the New Year.
    The wonderful traditions of buying branches of spring flowering trees which symbolising new beginnings and releasing carp into the lake.
    Colour and happiness everywhere - so very infectious!!!

    Loved the video!!!!
    but I'm worried about the little one on the scooter without a helmet.....

    It's always a joy to visit your blog Jeanne and catch up with what's happening at Chateau Mango.
    I've just visited Carla and read your guest post - a wonderful intro to Saigon thank you!

    hugs
    Shane ♥



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    1. Many thanks Shane...I think you should come to Vietnam to experience it first hand!! :) xx

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  3. How wonderful Jeanne. Thank you for taking me to this magical corner of the world today. It seems so, so far away... Such joyful photos of this important moment in Vietnamese people's lives. Darling little children. And the colors, ah, the colors... Oui, thank you for sharing. PS: I say: "Go for the dragons! You only live once!" -- Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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    1. Veronique...I like your style. You only live once...that is the best way to look at life! xx :)

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  4. Now I know that the Vietnamese celebrate their New Year at the same time as the Chinese. I love the photos of the two giggling girls. They are so cute. The people there seems to always smile.

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    1. Their laugh was infectious Pamela...I could not resist this photo. They were smiling for their father..:) xx

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  5. How exciting Jeanne .... 'Tet' sounds like so much fun and so colourful .... those two young girls look like they are having such a good time.
    Enjoy it all and take LOADS of photographs.
    Have fun. XXXX

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  6. What an exciting thing to experience! You are truly getting to learn about and take part in things most of us will never know about! I am truly jealous! But in a good way! I'm truly happy for you and I'm happy that you love it! It's hard for me to imagine leaving my tiny little existence and experiencing with gusto the things you have experienced! Thank you so much for sharing them with us! My Aunt lived in Thailand for awhile when I was a child…she brought back some bronze flatware and gave a huge amount to my mom who doesn't like it…I have it out at my shop for table settings simply to make it look better… i cannot tell you the people that want to buy it and want to have things from other parts of the world like this! So glad you are experiencing "Tet"! Our Country Club at the beach is celebrating the Chinese New year for the first time…is this something to do with "Tet"?

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    1. Yes Carolyn, they happen at the same time. So interesting to hear the reponses to your mother's Thai flatware. I think you need a buying trip to Vietnam...just let me know when! :) xx

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  7. I love the idea of hanging good luck wishes from trees... I wish we did that here in the States. :)
    Leslie (Gwen Moss)

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    1. You could nearly apply it to every holiday Leslie..this looks to be right up your alley. Perhaps you could design a holiday tree for us all. You are so talented, I would love to see what you come up with. :) xx

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  8. How special you are there to celebrate and be absorbed in the festivities of such a beautiful culture Jeanne...Happy Tet Holiday xx Carla

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    1. Thank you Carla...it really is something to behold. :) xx

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  9. I remember New Year in Thailand Jeanne. The Thais celebrate by throwing first water and then flour on each other - everywhere! A bizarre not to mention messy ritual, that I could never get to the bottom of. Rudy and I used to either make ourselves scarce for the three-day event by staying locked up at home, or heading out of the country!

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    1. I can certainly see why Jacqueline..water and flour..not an ideal combination, especially if you are wearing Thai silk.
      I would have made myself scarce too. :)

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    2. the hair cutting photo is beautiful...

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  10. Jeanne

    Your photos just keep getting better and better! I am anxious to hear how that salmon bouganvilla does in Vietnam. I adore that color but they never seem to do very well here on the Central Coast. My sense is they will love it there!

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    1. Cindy..Many thanks! I was searching for the right word to describe the colour and you hit the nail on the head..salmon. It makes me think of those old 1960 nostalgic photographs...feeling a bit of Sandra Dee coming on when I look at it.:)

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  11. What a wonderful antidote to the gray days of February...the lunar new year begins! I'm going right out to buy a plant!!!

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  12. Great photos Jeanne! You always take us on the best adventures, and I love how open you are to the culture of wherever you land. We are awaiting the blizzard, and it's already a mess out there! Have a great weekend!

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  13. Yes! I was thinking of you as I knew it is the Lunar New Year. Today is the Tibetan New Year too. :)

    Bon Voyage, dear Jeanne...
    xo,
    h

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  14. Hello Jeanne,
    What wonderful photographs, I feel as though I were there. If you have the time I would so love another postcard. Do have a safe and wonderful visit to Myanmar!
    Margaret McKay

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