At 6 a.m. Friday, the 15th day of the first lunar month, Ly A Ton, 62, woke early to prepare offerings, including fresh flowers, fruit, incense, boiled chicken and fried cakes ( jian dui ) in front of his house on Tran Hung Dao Street in District 5. Instead of flocking to a Chinese-built pagoda with his offerings and burning incense to the gods as in previous years, Ton stayed home and set up a table to worship the deities for fear of gathering in crowds amid the new Covid-19 outbreak that began in the country in late January. He then hung red pieces of paper bearing Chinese characters on his walls to pray for peace and good fortune. "This is the most important ritual during Tet Nguyen Tieu ," he said, referring to the Lantern Festival, known as the biggest and most important festival of the year for ethnic Chinese, marking the final day of the traditional Lunar New Year ( Tet ) celebration. It is observed on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the first Full Moon day of the Lunar New Year. " Tet Nguyen Tieu to us is even more important than Lunar New Year’s Eve and Chinese like us always light incense to deities at pagodas and temples to pray for the removal of bad luck and a year of peace and happiness," Ton noted. "But the Covid-19 outbreak forced us to celebrate on a smaller scale this year. I am old and scared of contracting the virus or spreading it to my family members. Therefore, I limit going out and gathering in crowds." He also had to cancel a reunion party with his relatives and could not visit his friends during the festival, which is an occasion for reunited families to eat dumplings and floating rice cakes made of glutinous rice flour wrapped around a sweet filling. Inside the 250-year-old Lady Thien Hau Temple, which is dedicated to worship the Goddess of the Sea, the devout convey their prayers by lighting spiral incense sticks that can burn for weeks. Photo by VnExpress/Phong Vinh. Ton is one of thousands …
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Volleyball legend Hue starts new chapter in storied career
Despite nearly 20 years of difficulties and challenges in the sport, Pham Thi Kim Hue has never felt tired of volleyball. Middle blocker Pham Thi Kim Hue seen in her last national tournament in 2016 when her Vietinbank club won the championship title. — Photo laodong.vn She has just been hired as head coach of Vietinbank, one of the nation's strongest clubs, ahead of the new season. In her new role, national team legend Hue has the chance to write a new chapter in her storied career. Brilliant athletic career The 14-year-old girl knew nothing about volleyball when she was at the Military Signal Corps Command’s training course in 1996. Hue was invited to try out for the club after she impressed scouts with her height of about 1.7m. She immediately found that volleyball suited her better than the track-and-field events she had been training for. Her switch of sport marked a turning point in her life. Two years after that, Hue first played as a professional player. Three years later, she became the youngest ever skipper of the club at the age of 19. She also captained Vietinbank when she moved there in 2012. In 2002, the core player of the national team was given the captain's armband, making her the youngest national captain in history when she was nearly 20. The 1.81m player was considered the best middle blocker who could read matches and made powerful spikes from the backline in Southeast Asia in her peak of 2002-06. With an average of 20 points per match, she was called a point machine. At the club level, Hue is no doubt the country's most successful player. She has a record of 17 years in a row competing at the national championship. She has won all the best individual titles together with nine national trophies along with gold medals from national cups. With the national team, Hue pocketed six silvers and one bronze at the Southeast Asian Games. She also drew fans to the court to cheer on the team and to watch the …
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Hanoi students to enjoy 8-day school break on Lunar New Year
The Hanoitimes - The school break in Hanoi will begin on January 22 (the 28th day of the last lunar month) and last until January 29 (the fifth day of the first lunar month). Hanoi students will have an eight-day school break in the upcoming Tet holiday, according to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training. Accordingly, the school break in Hanoi will begin on January 22 (the 28th day of the last lunar month) and last until January 29 (the fifth day of the first lunar month). Illustrative photo The schools are asked to instruct the students to have proper behavior during the long school break and ensure social order and traffic safety. In particular, students are instructed not to engage in illegal racing, gambling or social evils. Meanwhile, government offices, state-owned companies and schools across the country will close for seven days. This is one of the two seven-day holiday options proposed by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in August. Under the second option, the holiday would start on January 24, a day before Tet, and run until January 30, the sixth day of the new lunar year. After considering the two options, the ministry considered the first more suitable as people working away from home will have two days off to travel and prepare for the most significant holiday of the year. Vietnam had a nine-day break for the last Tet festival that fell in February this year. There has been a long-lasting debate on whether Vietnam should merge the celebration of Lunar New Year holiday with the Gregorian New Year, or the Tet holiday should be shortened. Tet is the biggest and most important festival in Vietnam. Millions of migrant workers in major cities return to their homes before Lunar New Year's Eve. It is celebrated by Vietnamese and Chinese communities around the world. It is also a prolific season for the retail and travel businesses as the consumption and excursion demand is high during this time …
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