Mahatma Gandhi famously said that eye for an eye would make the whole world go blind. In other words, two wrongs don’t make a right. That the world is yet to heed the wisdom of those words is self-evident, but our country has been an outstanding example of forgiving while not forgetting the atrocities heaped on us for years by colonial and imperial forces.
Lunar New Year has past, and we’re back to normal days of work and school. But one Tết issue remains: who gets to keep the lucky money, and for what purpose can it be used?
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There is a lot of fire to the votive smoke that rises on every auspicious day in our country, and I guess, other places where this traditional ritual is observed.
The 1,000-year-old capital city, Ha Noi, has rapidly grown into one of the busiest and most crowded cities in the country and even in the region. Economic changes and continuous introduction of foreign culture over the past decades has brought about indispensable changes in the culture of the indigenous people as well.
There is no event in our country that does not involve flowers, and it is fitting that the biggest festival of them all sees some stupendous floral shows, the most prominent of them being the transformation of Nguyễn Huệ Street in HCM City for the Tết (Lunar New Year) Holiday.
When the Vietnamese celebrate Tết, they say ăn Tết, literally “eat the Lunar New Year”. During the festivities, which traditionally last a full month in Việt Nam, food is a primary focus.
For most Vietnamese people, the Tết (Lunar New Year) Festival symbolises the beginning of a new year and the accompanying hopes for a happy life.
Football stopped Việt Nam in its tracks several times in the last week or so as 90 million men, women, children - and babies in arms - soaked up the achievements of their nation's young football team.
Daniel Hauer, an American English teacher in Hà Nội and a Youtuber with over 1 million subscribers, provoked outrage across the country last week for writing rude words about General Võ Nguyên Giáp. He was summoned to the Ministry of Information and Communications on Tuesday afternoon.
Tết (Lunar New Year) will always be a time for Vietnamese families to get together, pay obeisance to ancestors, the Kitchen Gods and other deities, cook special dishes, wear new clothes, present gifts, visit friends and relatives. But now many families have chosen to travel outward, to other places in the country and beyond, giving the festival a completely different flavour.
Imagination is a good thing till it runs riot in the wrong places.
Women should only focus on things they do best, while not trying to do everything.
I think the Ministry of Education and Training is too ambitious by suggesting that nursery schools receive children who are only three-months' old.
People may disagree with a decision to award a singer, actor or beauty queen. But it is not acceptable that this subjectivity descends into shameful, discriminatory criticism, stained with racist overtones.
Many are too picky in preparation for Tết so they push themselves into hard work and their family members are accidentally swept into tiredness.
In the first days of New Year, many people prepare a wish list and check their futures. What does the future hold for me, my family, my love, my career?
An admittedly eye-catching work of art on a coach of the Cát Linh – Hà Đông elevated railway train has caught the eye for the wrong reasons as well.
Hà Nội and all the big cities are already celebrating Christmas.
A book company in Hà Nội drew a lot of attention last weekend with a marketing ploy that the country was seeing for the first time.
Television channels in the country have met the audience’s craving appetite for celebrity scandals with a number of shows delving into the private lives of famous people.
