General Secretary To Lam's wife and female ambassadors show off their Chung cake wrapping skills

On the morning of January 16, on the occasion of welcoming the new spring and preparing to celebrate the traditional Tet At Ty 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the Cultural Diplomacy Program "Vietnamese Tet Concert."

Attending the program were Ms. Ngo Phuong Ly, wife of General Secretary To Lam; Ms. Vu Thi Bich Ngoc, wife of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Permanent Deputy Chief of the Office of the Party Central Committee Lam Thi Phuong Thanh; Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu; Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Union Nguyen Thi Thu Hien; female ambassadors, ambassadors' spouses, heads of representative agencies in Vietnam and Vietnamese diplomats.

Just like other nations in the world express their own culture to honor the New Year, in the minds of Vietnamese people, Tet is an occasion for family reunion, gathering, promoting traditional cultural values ​​of the nation and wishing for a new year of peace and prosperity.

The program "Vietnamese Tet Concert" is a connection and exchange with international friends to look forward to a new year with peace, love, international solidarity and strong friendship between peoples around the world.

At the event, Madam Ngo Phuong Ly, female ambassadors, diplomats and delegates experienced the traditional Vietnamese Tet flavor like family members in a big family, gathering together, enjoying spring, enjoying folk songs, and visiting traditional craft village booths.

The ambassadors also visited the Tet flower market, asked for calligraphy, and experienced pottery making and hand embroidery. Madame Ngo Phuong Ly and the ambassadors experienced wrapping and boiling banh chung - the traditional Tet cake of the Vietnamese people.

The General Secretary's wife showed off her skillful wrapping of banh chung, from cutting the leaves, arranging them in a mold, tying them with string, to pouring a layer of sticky rice and a layer of green beans, placing them with delicious pieces of pork, to the admiration of foreign diplomats.

The lady also enthusiastically guided the diplomats through the stages of preparing the finished product, wrapping the cakes, boiling them, and scooping them out.

Ms. Ngo Phuong Ly shared with the ambassadors that every time Tet comes, from grandparents, parents, to children in the family, they are all very eager to wrap and boil banh chung; this is also an occasion for the whole family to gather and be warm.

Before Tet, families often prepare the ingredients for wrapping so that the whole family can gather in the yard, wipe the leaves, clean the beans, wash the rice, and marinate the meat to wrap the cakes. But perhaps the most enjoyable part is cooking the cakes and waiting for them to be done. Outside, the cold, frosty air cannot overcome the warm atmosphere around the red fire.

For many generations, banh chung is the joy of Tet, a time of reunion and gathering. Beautiful, thick, square cakes are chosen to be placed on the altar of ancestors, and there are also small, pretty cakes wrapped specifically for children as New Year gifts.

The lady said that in today's modern society, although banh chung is no longer enjoyed on Tet holiday, the custom of wrapping banh chung on Tet holiday is still an indispensable part of many Vietnamese families.

Speaking at the event, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu expressed his belief that through experiences and cultural exchange activities, international friends will increasingly love the country and people of Vietnam, and find Vietnam as close and warm as their second home.

On behalf of the diplomatic corps, Egyptian Ambassador to Vietnam Amal Abdel Kader Elmorsi Salama shared about Lunar New Year - the biggest and most meaningful festival of the year for Vietnamese people.

This is an occasion for families and friends to gather, show respect to the elderly, and mark the beginning of spring, bringing joy and happiness throughout Vietnam, encouraging the spirit of peace, cooperation and friendship among people.

The female ambassador highly appreciated the socio-economic achievements that Vietnam has achieved in recent years, with high growth rates and increasingly improved living standards.

Ambassador Amal Abdel Kader Elmorsi Salama wished Vietnam continued prosperity and success in its future socio-economic development plans.