Craft villages in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and garden houses in the southern province of Binh Phuoc are busy at the moment preparing for Tet holiday, which falls on February 19th, reported by The Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

Thanh Tien village of Phu Mau commune in Thua Thien-Hue province, has been making paper flowers for 300 years. Its products sell particularly well before Tet to be placed on ancestral altars and for religious rituals at pagodas and temples.

Village chief Nguyen Hoa said each local household produces 5,000 paper flowers for Tet, earning approximately USD 2,500.

Making paper flowers in Thanh Tien village. Photo: baodientu.chinhphu.com

“Apart from farming, people make paper flowers to earn extra income. Although the revenue from flower making is not high, we keep doing it to maintain and honor our traditional craft,” Hoa told VOV.

Meanwhile, people in Sinh village in Phu Mau commune are also busy making folk paintings for Tet.

These local works, which have been in existence for 500 years, are used for rituals during Tet and the 1st and 15th days of every lunar month. Votive paintings are printed with wooden moulds and coloured.

Artisan Ky Huu Phuoc, who has been in the trade for 60 years, said villagers have also been involved in making decorative paintings and wall calendars for tourists.

“Sinh paintings are used mainly for rituals, which will then be burned. The demand for Sinh paintings during Tet is very high. Our products sell well throughout the central region,” Phuoc said.

Kim Long ginger jams are made from a secret recipe. Gingers grown in Hue are small but have a strong fragrance.

According to Truong Dinh Thu, who has been making ginger jams for 50 years, all the ginger jam making facilities in Kim Long are busy at this time of the year.

“Kim Long ginger jams have a unique flavour. As other places also produce ginger jams, we have had to reduce our production. My family made 3-4 tons last year but this year we will make less. We can’t just give up our craft although revenues from it are not considerable,” Thu said.

Luu Chi Cuong and his wife of Tan Phu ward, Binh Phuoc province, have been trimming and shaping more than 250 kumquat trees for Tet.

He said the trees grow well because of favourable weather by the end of the year. The trees have born fruits, some of which have ripened.

According to Cuong, it takes them nearly 5 years to grow 1m high kumquat trees.

“If the price is as high as last year we will make a fortune. An one-metre high kumquat tree was sold at USD 150 last year. My trees look good this year but I don’t know about the market demand,” he said.

The family of Do Van Tuyen of Son Giang ward, Binh Phuoc province, chose to grow sunflowers for Tet this year. Their 500 sunflowers have developed buds and promise to produce great benefits.

“We began to grow sunflowers three months ago so that they should bear buds 25 days before Tet. If we want the buds to come out later, we water a lot. Growing this kind of flower depends largely on the weather.”

Craft villages in Thua Thien Hue and Binh Phuoc and others throughout Vietnam are preparing to make Tet more unique and colourful.

Source: VNA