“Tet lai” - a traditional cultural event

The second Tet is celebrated from the 5th day of the first lunar month until the end of the month. Families also make Banh Chung (a savoury cake made from sticky rice, green beans and pork), and traditional meat charcuterie, and re-decorate their house with flowers, peach blossoms and kumquat trees.

Local people are busy preparing for a second Tet holiday (Photo:gddt)

“Tet lai” can be an even bigger celebration than the main Tet holiday. Village pagodas and communal houses host various activities for local residents. Some villages invite Quan Ho artists (a traditional form of love duet singing) to entertain audiences relaxing after a year of hard work. Young people enthusiastically participate in singing contests and football or volleyball games.

The celebrations offer those unable to return home for the main Tet holiday to re-unite with their family, relatives, and neighbours.

Visitors passing houses in the outlying districts of Dong Anh or Soc Son on this occasion will be urged to share a meal with hospitable owners no matter the size of their group.

Village chiefs say the first “Tet lai” was celebrated approximately two centuries ago when King Quang Trung organised a grand Tet party for his army on January 25, 1789 (the 30th day of the 12th lunar month) before marching on the Thang Long Royal Citadel in Hanoi.

Five days later, he led the liberation of the Thang Long Citadel and allowed his people to celebrate Tet once again. Locals who had fled the civil war returned to commemorate the victory and a second Tet.

The occasion has since been observed as “Tet lai” in honour of King Quang Trung who later became Emperor of the Vietnamese nation.

Residents in the Thang Long Royal Citadel reportedly discarded Banh Chung they had prepared for the Tet holiday as they evacuated prior to the citadel’s liberation.

Hearing of the King’s victory, they returned and retrieved the cakes from the ponds and lakes where they were thrown. Many were surprised the Banh Chung remained edible. They concluded that God had blessed the king and approved the second Tet holiday.

People in some areas of Hanoi have continued to soak boiled Banh Chung in local ponds or wells as a means of preserving and enjoying them a week or ten days after the main Tet holiday. Wealthy families even cook new Banh Chung to celebrate the event on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Two centuries after the successful assault on the Thang Long Royal Citadel, “Tet lai” is still a major cultural celebration in many parts of Hanoi.