[ad_1]
“I’ve determined to remain in Hanoi to work this Lunar New 12 months as an alternative of going house,” stated Hoang Tung, 24, from the northern province of Nam Dinh. Tet (Lunar New 12 months),Vietnam’s greatest and most vital competition, will final from Feb. 8 to 14, 2024. The standard competition will peak on Feb. 10.
Tung talked about that he had obtained his college diploma two years in the past however has not but discovered a job, so he’s at the moment working as a ride-hailing driver. Each time he goes house for Tet, he feels susceptible to questions from kinfolk about his job and earnings, and comparisons with extra profitable members of the family. Due to this fact, he has progressively developed a dislike for celebrating Tet in his hometown and prefers to remain within the metropolis to work, seeing it as his solely choice for a cushty vacation.
One other motivation for Tung staying in Hanoi for Tet is funds.
“Going house means spending a lot of money on presents for kinfolk and choices,” he stated, including that working in Hanoi throughout Tet can earn him two to 3 instances his regular wage, as much as VND15 million (US$616) in only one week.
“My household suggests going house, however I select work over household reunions for a happier and extra comfy vacation.”
 |
|
The development of Vietnamese youth selecting to not return to their hometowns for Tet is changing into more and more frequent. Illustration photograph by Freepik |
Statistics from the Ho Chi Minh Metropolis Division of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs present that throughout the 2022 Tet Lunar New 12 months vacation, 1 million employees selected to remain within the metropolis. These included 420,000 industrial park employees, a 30% improve from 2021.
Southeastern Binh Duong province’s labor union information for Tet 2023 additionally recorded over 450,000 employees staying at their workplaces, almost double the determine of 250,000 in 2021.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Loc, head of the Social Life Analysis Institute, believes the development of younger folks avoiding returning to their hometowns for Tet has grow to be frequent over the past 5 years, primarily as a result of financial pressures ensuing from the gloomy large image and concern of household expectations.
Sharing Tung’s sentiments, Thuy Hien, a 27-year-old workplace employee in Hanoi, has chosen to keep away from Tet for the final two years, partly as a result of she feels the cash saved from a 12 months’s work isn’t sufficient for a Tet homecoming.
“I labored exhausting final 12 months and saved about VND40 million,” she stated. “However spending on snacks, meals, peach blossoms, garments, home decorations, and giving fortunate cash throughout journeys to my hometown for Tet could shortly deplete this quantity, leaving nothing for financial savings.”
Furthermore, Hien is uninterested in repetitive questions from kinfolk about her “love life, job, and wage,” which makes her exhausted, she stated.
Due to that, regardless of realizing she is going to face criticism from kinfolk, Hien accepts it as a way to be within the capital all through Tet for a extra relaxed vacation. Along with her mother and father’ assist, she has deliberate a solo journey throughout this 12 months’s vacation to each unwind after a tough 12 months and lower your expenses for future wants.
Tourism statistics present that touring throughout Tet is changing into more and more widespread in Vietnam. The Ministry of Transport of Vietnam recorded 9 million home vacationers throughout Tet 2023, almost a 50% improve from 2022.
Nguyen Minh Man, advertising director of journey firm TST Vacationer, famous that Tet tour bookings are rising sharply, with vacationers preferring all-inclusive packages to distant locations.
Whereas this development appears to profit some younger folks, Loc warns of its downsides, such because the erosion of conventional customs.
In keeping with the knowledgeable, Tet reunions are usually not solely an event for celebrations but additionally essential for passing down cultural data and collective recollections to future generations.
“If younger folks select to remain in cities for Tet not due to stress however to reside in a different way from conventional customs,” he stated, “it will likely be a regarding social phenomenon associated to the disruption of custom and the discontinuation of passing down conventional tales, an idea that sociologists have identified.”
Due to this fact, he suggests that every household, neighborhood, and area wants extra appropriate cultural practices in order that younger folks really feel the Lunar New 12 months reunion is extra of a pleasure than a burden of stress, facilitating the continuation and transmission of cultural data and collective reminiscence in every place.
In any other case, younger folks will proceed to expertise what Tung and Hien did.
“If I say I don’t have a boyfriend, they are saying I’m not competent,” Hien stated. “If I say I’ve one, they proceed to ask what his identify is, the place he lives, what his job is, how outdated he’s, and so forth.”
“Each household gathering throughout Tet seems like an disagreeable interrogation.”