Among the majority of overseas Vietnamese living abroad, in the Year of the Dragon, some people return to their hometowns, while others, due to health reasons or economic difficulties, cannot celebrate the traditional Tet holiday with their families.

The joy, excitement, and happiness of returning to their homeland were reflected on the faces, eyes, and smiles of each artist. Through phone calls, they all expressed their feelings on the eve of the Year of the Dragon, with a deep longing for the audience and the domestic stage.

Artist Phuong Lien: I missed my appointment with the audience this spring.

The Lunar New Year of Giap Thin was supposed to have the appearance of artist Phuong Lien in Ho Chi Minh City to perform a live show with many excerpts of Cai Luong that the public loves. She said that health reasons forced the show to be postponed to a suitable time. Talking about Tet away from home, artist Phuong Lien's family in the US is always a space of reunion.

She said that if the first day of Tet falls on a weekend, her children take her to pagodas to burn incense. This year, some places are organizing art performances, so overseas audiences will gather in large numbers to participate. She herself often goes to pagodas during the traditional Tet holiday to find the Tet atmosphere in her hometown. One year, she celebrated Tet at home with friends and colleagues, and the audience sent her many Tet dishes.

"It must be said that it is joyful and memorable. I long to hear the applause instead of the audience's New Year's greetings for the Cai Luong stage. Tet also carries the wishes of our generation of artists towards a Cai Luong stage with a young generation of artists capable of inheriting, worthy of the public's love for the Cai Luong stage" - artist Phuong Lien sincerely confided.

Artist Cam Thu: Tet performance of Vietnamese historical plays

Artist Cam Thu lives in the US but her heart always turns to her homeland. Every year, when Tet comes, she misses the family reunion atmosphere. Recently, in San Jose, there was a big concert to welcome the new year. Despite the heavy rain, artist Cam Thu and her husband, artist Philip Nam, still drove from Orange County to the performance venue. Both performed excerpts from Vietnamese history, praising the beautiful love story of Quang Trung Nguyen Hue and Princess Ngoc Han.

Artist Cam Thu shared: "Tet is an occasion for overseas artists to participate in public performances. We are always asked by overseas audiences to perform Vietnamese historical roles or sing vọng cổ and articles about traditional Tết. Overseas audiences love ca cổ and cải lương, which are indispensable spiritual food for Vietnamese people living abroad."

Artist Cam Thu said that her family planned to return home to celebrate the spring this year, but because the shows were previously booked, they had to go to serve the audience. Although celebrating Tet far from home, her family still maintains the traditional Vietnamese culture, which means that during the three days of Tet, they offer rice to welcome their ancestors. Before that, they still offer sacrifices to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven and make offerings on New Year's Eve with all kinds of cakes and candies.

Last year, the artist group "Southern Traditional Music" where artist Cam Thu and her husband have been together for more than 10 years had continuous shows. Each show's revenue was sent back to the country to help artists in difficulty.

She also said that in the past few days, she and her husband, artist Philip Nam, have been working on new excerpts so that after Tet, they can return home to make music videos in their homeland. These include excerpts from traditional operas praising national heroes such as Ly Thuong Kiet, Ngo Quyen, Nguyen Hue, Ngoc Han, Bui Thi Xuan, Trieu Thi Trinh, etc. to serve overseas Vietnamese who love the opera.

Artists Kieu Le Mai - Minh Duc: Vietnamese Tet holiday misses domestic audiences

Having lived in France for nearly 50 years, before Tet, artist couple Kieu Le Mai - Minh Duc returned to visit their hometown. "I want to visit friends, colleagues and relatives before Tet, then return to France to take care of Tet for my family and children living in Paris. This year, returning home and seeing Ho Chi Minh City develop rapidly, the stages flourishing, I am very excited" - artist Kieu Le Mai said.

Artist Minh Duc said that despite the difficult economic situation this year, it still cannot stop the Vietnamese community from celebrating the traditional New Year.

Artists in France gathered to chat and express their feelings about spring wishes through performances organized by pagodas and the Vietnamese community in France. Artist Kieu Le Mai said she was in high demand for performing excerpts from reformed opera written about Buddhism.

She wishes that in the new year 2024, everything in her family will go smoothly. She and her husband always remember the domestic audience who have given them a lot of love, especially when mentioning the play "Chim Viet Canh Nam" that she and her husband participated in on the stage of Tran Huu Trang Theater.

Artist Kieu Le Mai is a housewife, she always likes to prepare delicious dishes for Tet to remind her children and husband of their homeland. My family cannot miss braised pork with duck eggs, pickled cucumbers, and onions during Tet. My husband loves braised fish. During Tet, we cannot forget to hang spring greeting couplets in the house.

"The ancestral altar on the traditional New Year's Day is always displayed according to the traditions and customs of the Cai Luong stage. On New Year's Eve, I often burn incense to pray for the country to be prosperous and strong, for all families to overcome common difficulties. And pray that those who follow the singing profession will remain steadfast in performing to serve the audience" - artist Kieu Le Mai shared.

Singer Le Thu Nguyen: "Paris celebrates Vietnamese New Year in reunion!"

Singer Le Thu Nguyen has been away from her homeland and Vietnamese Tet for more than 20 years. She said that although she married a French man, she still maintains traditional Tet customs and every year, no matter where she is, she looks forward to the family reunion Tet.

"This year's Tet in France has many art shows, so the overseas audience is excited. For many years, my husband has loved traditional Vietnamese Tet dishes. Besides, he also likes to decorate the house beautifully to welcome Tet. Recently, I toured some northern European countries, the audience was very happy, because I brought spring songs to them and recalled the Tet days away from home with the nostalgia of children living far away from home. This year's Tet, I waited for New Year's Eve to see my grandchildren on the phone to wish their grandparents a happy new year" - singer Le Thu Nguyen confided.

As an artist with a charitable heart, even though she is far from home, singer Le Thu Nguyen still quietly sends gifts and money to help her colleagues in the country through the program "Loving Heart" to buy gifts, books, clothes, and medicine for orphans and disabled children.

Meritorious Artist Thanh Thanh Tam: Missing Tet in my hometown, looking forward to returning one day

This year, Meritorious Artist Thanh Thanh Tam prepared many Tet dishes for her two children. She said that the Vietnamese Tet atmosphere in the US these past days has become almost like that of her homeland, with no shortage of Tet dishes. There are also quite a few Tet performances, often held at Vietnamese temples.

"I miss the Tet atmosphere in my hometown so much. I hope to return soon to welcome spring to meet my colleagues and dear audience" - Meritorious Artist Thanh Thanh Tam said.

Recently, when she returned to Vietnam, she burned incense and visited the grave of Meritorious Artist Vu Linh, her brother and close co-star. She then visited the graves of her mother - the late artist Thanh Thanh Hoa and her father - the late Meritorious Artist Nam Hung.

"My loved ones have passed away one by one, so every spring I am filled with nostalgia. During Tet in the US, I miss the late Meritorious Artist Ngoc Dang, artist Van Chung, artist Huong Huyen... It is hard to describe all the memories of being away from home when we toured together. Now those performances are only in my memory" - Meritorious Artist Thanh Thanh Tam was moved.