Growing up with a steaming bowl of fragrant chicken pho at the alley entrance and the blaring sound of car horns at rush hour, the international student felt sorry for herself and burst into tears in the promised land of New York on New Year's Eve.

Because the Vietnamese New Year has penetrated deeply into the subconscious of the little girl, like a weightless but heavy luggage that she had to bury in the splendid land of dreams and ambitions. Also because the ancient and deep-rooted desire to return home, to be embraced and protected by loved ones, is more luxurious than the desire to make a living for a gentle and peaceful future.

Life is a trade-off. Everything inevitably changes. Tet is no exception to the law of movement and change. The international student picked up the phone and called her mother in tears on New Year's Eve: " Mom, I miss you, I miss home, and I miss Tet ."

“ I miss the color of Tet ”. The vibrant red color, the red color that seeps into my consciousness every night that I can’t sleep. The red lucky money envelopes, the red parallel sentences, my grandmother’s pot of poinsettias, my mother’s ao dai worn on the first morning of the new year or the paper I asked for calligraphy at the Temple of Literature when I was a little kid. Yellow and pink also compete to crowd my heart, blooming into apricot blossoms, peach branches showing off their bright colors. The color of Tet is the color of warmth and fullness, the color of fulfillment and overflowing happiness, of family reunion and love for each other for life. The color of Tet creeps into my memory picture like a distant yet familiar color. I long to immerse myself in the color of Tet.

“ I miss the smell of Tet ”. When the smell of Tet permeates my emotions, it stimulates and awakens a whole area of ​​warm and joyful memories. When the smell of Tet awakens the simple emotions that I have forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life, waves of memories keep pushing and crashing into the modern life but without Tet here. I miss eating banh chung as a snack every afternoon, eating half a plate of fried spring rolls alone at night, eating bowls of rice with bamboo shoot soup and slurping it up, my mother knew I was lazy to eat boiled chicken so she peeled it for me. Our family meals always smell of food, but only on Tet do they truly have their flavor and meaning.

“ I miss the sound of Tet ”. The neighbor’s house started playing ABBA’s Happy New Year from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Eve, karaoke singing echoed throughout the house, New Year greetings and New Year wishes roamed through the alleys, the sound of our whole family laughing while watching Tao Quan and the sound of children laughing when they met their beloved relatives again in the new year. The sound was like the resounding sound of fireworks, like the chirping of New Year’s greetings but also filled with joyful laughter.

I miss you so much, but where did Tet go now, Mom? Last year I came back, the first time I came home with a position that actually earned money, I found Tet so difficult! 3-4 months before Tet, people started to think about Tet preparations, the complicated steps like preparing new money to give lucky money, buying things to decorate, to nameless tasks like washing hair before New Year's Eve, what clothes to wear to wish a happy new year, washing dishes after eating. Suddenly, Tet becomes gloomy following the footsteps of adults. Is Tet only red, only fragrant, only exciting in the eyes of children?

No, my child, Tet is still there . Tet in the eyes of children and Tet in the eyes of those who miss home. People are busy preparing for Tet, because they love Tet, they are meticulous, and "all beginnings are difficult", the difficulty of preparation is the fullness of a peaceful and smooth new year. Tet is my child, my mother, my whole family, my relatives and my whole country shouting out a new beginning, welcoming the luck that will gently embrace us for the rest of the year. Tet is still there, our heart and mind are the ones who decide whether Tet is still fun or not, it's a pity that your soul is somewhat broken because you think that Tet is no longer the same as before. But it's also fortunate that when you are upset about that, it proves that you love Tet and crave the joy of the beginning to return. Tet embraces your family and everyone who looks forward to Tet, loves Tet, my child.

Tet today or Tet in the past, Tet has not changed at all .

PHAM LINH NHI

Thinh Quang Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi