Having been married to a Da Nang native for three years, Pim Gilles Felix Pluut has grown accustomed to celebrating Vietnamese Lunar New Year with his wife’s family.

However, he still finds certain customs, like "xong dat" (first visitor of the year), complex and difficult to understand. He also wishes he could experience Tet as it was in the past, just as his wife remembers from her childhood.

Celebrating Tet far from home with a taste of tradition

This year, Pim and his wife, My Quyen, traveled to Belgium during Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, marking Quyen’s first Tet away from home.

“To keep the tradition alive, we sent lucky money to Quyen’s family in Vietnam. While shopping at a supermarket in Belgium, we happened to meet a Vietnamese family who had been living here for decades. Quyen invited them over to make Banh Chung (square sticky rice cakes) and traditional marinated pork together, just like they would in Vietnam,” Pim shared.

Quyen explained that Madame Nguyet, a member of the Vietnamese community in Belgium, hadn’t made Banh Chung or marinated pork for nearly 40 years. Seeing her joy as she tasted the homemade dish again after decades made the experience even more meaningful.

For Pim, the process of making Banh Chung was surprisingly intricate and time-consuming.

“I never realized how detailed and complicated it was to wrap a Banh Chung! But once Quyen guided me step by step, and I followed along with a YouTube tutorial, my cake ended up being the best-looking one of the batch,” he laughed.

The families cooked, ate, and chatted from early afternoon until late evening, preparing multiple types of sticky rice cakes. While Vietnamese ingredients were available in Belgium, they were costly, requiring Pim and Quyen to travel between two stores to find everything they needed. Even so, making the cakes at home was still cheaper than buying pre-made ones, which cost $13–16 per piece.

Pim’s first Tet experience in Vietnam

Pim’s first Vietnamese New Year was in 2023, when he and Quyen lived just 300 meters from her parents' house. In the days leading up to Tet, he and Quyen bought flowers to decorate their balcony, while Quyen’s mother prepared homemade marinated pork, pickled onions, and sticky rice cakes.

On New Year's Eve, Pim prepared a special Belgian dish called "boulettes sauce lapin" (rabbit sauce meatballs) - despite the name, it contains no rabbit. As they waited for the meal to cook, Quyen fried banana fritters for neighbors, creating a lively, communal atmosphere.

“We gathered around a fire pit in an empty lot, cooking and chatting until 1 or 2 a.m., celebrating the new year with fireworks and laughter,” Pim recalled.

On the first morning of the new year, the couple was woken by the sounds of neighbors exchanging greetings and playing festive music. Since Quyen’s family is Catholic, they attended morning mass before visiting relatives and returning home to enjoy Pim’s homemade meal.

Over the years, Pim has become fluent in Vietnamese and comfortable using complex family terms like "co," "di," "chu," and "bac" (aunt and uncle). However, with Tet bringing so many relatives together, he still needed Quyen to remind him of names and relationships.

“My whole family adores Pim. He’s handsome, speaks Vietnamese well, and integrates seamlessly. Now, I even leave him alone to chat with relatives without translating for him - and he keeps everyone entertained with his humor,” Quyen said.

A longing for ‘old-fashioned Tet’

In 2023, Pim and Quyen traveled to Dak Lak on the third day of Tet and stopped in Quang Ngai along the way. There, Quyen remarked how the Tet atmosphere reminded her of Da Nang in the past - lively, with affordable food and bustling streets.

She often told Pim stories about how, in the past, Tet preparations were much more elaborate. Families would spend days cleaning, painting their houses, making homemade jams and pickles, and boiling sticky rice cakes over an open fire in large barrels.

“These days, people just buy everything ready-made from the market. Families only do a quick cleanup instead of repainting their homes. My mother still cooks sticky rice cakes, but only for our own family,” Quyen said.

Hearing these stories made Pim long to experience Tet as it once was.

Struggles with Tet traditions

While Pim enjoys most Vietnamese New Year customs, he finds some traditions difficult to grasp, particularly “xong dat” (first visitor of the year).

“As I understand it, many people believe that their luck for the entire year depends on who or what enters their house first. They even choose a visitor whose zodiac sign is compatible with the family. It seems complicated and a bit superstitious to me,” Pim admitted.

This year, Pim and Quyen celebrated Tet in Belgium, where they visited Madame Nguyet’s family and cooked traditional Vietnamese dishes, including Braised Pork with Eggs.

“Tet for those far from home is much simpler, but even a small gathering is enough to remind us of our roots and traditions,” Quyen reflected.

Nguyen Thao