Tet flowers of the past - Tet flowers of the present

From coins, dahlias...

Just about 20 years ago, when social life was not as developed as it is now, Tet in many families was limited to fatty meat, pickled onions, red parallel sentences, "hungry on the anniversary of the father's death, full for three days of Tet" was enough, let alone playing with flowers.

Back then, seeing dahlias and gerberas meant Tet. At most, there were pots of marigolds or the red of potted sedums. The gerberas back then did not have many colors of yellow, red, white, or double petals like today, but mostly only single-petaled red gerberas. The same goes for dahlias, which are easy to grow and easy to live, but not every house had them to display on the first day of Tet. I still remember back then, if a family had a few clumps of dahlias or gerberas, they would wait until early morning on the first day of Tet to cut them, put them in vases, and place them on the altar, which was also the surface of the rice chest in the middle of the house. Because if you cut them early, the next day the flowers would wither, because these types of flowers are not durable, especially in cold weather.

Then there is peach blossom - the flower that symbolizes spring but not every Tet, not every house has it, even in the city but not in the countryside. When I was a child, the whole village had hundreds of houses but no one had a peach tree. There was an old man named Nhu in the next village who planted a big peach tree, he loved my father so much that one year he gave him a small branch to display on Tet. Those were very small branches, not really shaped like anything. But that was very good. Being able to see peach blossoms on Tet was already very luxurious. To make the peach branches bright and long lasting, the peach branches had to be painted with lime or burned on fire at the place where they were just cut and then placed in warm water, so that the peach blossoms would bloom right on Tet.

"In the past, Tet was so tiring that we only had to worry about food, clothes, rice, and money. Just having banh chung was enough to make us happy. Who had the mind to play with flowers or ornamental plants? My family has lived in the city for generations. Even though Tet was more abundant than in the countryside, flowers were still secondary. Instead of buying peach blossoms or vases to decorate for Tet, we bought extra kilos of pork for our children. At that time, most families were in need, so the top priority was food," Mr. Le Thanh Hai, who lives in Cho Con street (Hai Duong city), recalled.

According to Mr. Hai, Tet today is more formal, reflected in the flower markets appearing on all the streets of the city, in every locality. But this shows that people's lives have become much more prosperous, with families willing to spend millions, even tens of millions, to buy flowers and ornamental plants for Tet. Flowers are no longer limited to Tet, but also appear everywhere on the streets on normal days.

... to "strange flowers and rare herbs"

A dozen days ago, flower markets in Hai Duong City and many other localities in the province began to bustle. Instead of families going shopping just before Tet, now every time the market opens, they bring flowers home. Some families buy peach blossoms several times during the New Year, before, during and after Tet.

To serve the Lunar New Year 2024, Hai Duong City opened 3 flower markets, but there are many small flower and ornamental plant selling points on many streets. The flower market on Truong Chinh Street, from the roundabout of Truong Chinh - Thong Nhat - Le Thanh Nghi to the roundabout of Truong Chinh - Ngo Quyen, is like a giant botanical garden, with all kinds of "strange flowers and rare plants". From gerberas, dahlias, sedums... for nostalgic people, a series of flowers and beautiful and strange ornamental plants serve the needs of people celebrating Tet.

Many years ago, Vietnamese scientists and gardeners were proactive in supplying flowers and ornamental plants for Tet, but with increasing demand, in recent years, more and more imported flowers have been brought in. Cyclamen, primrose, snow orchid, torch orchid, candle orchid, red apricot, seven-inch peach... are imported varieties, mainly of Chinese origin, for those who have a hobby of playing with strange flowers. For those who are more careful, there are peach blossoms, faded peaches, seven-inch peaches from Nhat Tan, yellow apricots from the South or the best apricot (Ta Phin, Sa Pa)... The price of each type of flower and ornamental plant is also extremely diverse, depending on the color, type of flower or time, but ranges from a few hundred thousand to a few tens of millions. Popular varieties, not much related to Tet such as rhododendrons, are also priced at 2 million VND per pot by the owner.

Mr. Pham Van Thanh, who has a stall at the flower market on Truong Chinh Street (Hai Duong City), said that many people come to the flower market just to find a pot of flowers or ornamental plants that they like, and are not too concerned about the price, but there are others who are the opposite. Currently, Mr. Thanh's stall is displaying more than a dozen pots of mai (Ta Phin, Sa Pa), the highest price is 6 million VND/pot. The mai trees were ordered directly by Mr. Thanh from a garden in Sa Pa about 3 months before Tet. These are all bonsai trees, with moss covering the trunk, white flowers with pink petals, so they are popular. Along with selling flowers and ornamental plants, Mr. Thanh also displays and sells feng shui stones at very high prices, for example, a Maitreya statue costs up to 200 million VND.

Social life has developed, every household is no longer struggling with the question "What to eat this Tet", but often cares about "What to play this Tet, where to go". The market of flowers and ornamental plants on Tet in the past and now is reflecting the picture of the economic and spiritual life of the people that has changed clearly.

Looking at the flower market on Tet now makes me miss Tet in the past!