Hanoi (VNA) - Turning pages of his brand new Tet book, a special book released on the occasion of Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, Hanoian resident Nguyen Van Tuan feels a sense of nostalgia. “Tet editions of newspapers and magazines are plenty but it’s been a long time now I could have in hand a Tet book. Reading it slows my pace of life,” he said.

A glorious page of history

According to culture researcher Trinh Bach, buying, reading and keeping Tet books used to be a trend among Vietnamese people in the 1920s. Exhibiting a Tet book besides peach blossoms, parallels and fruit trays was a symbol for Lunar New Year holiday then. The first book of this kind was ‘Xem Tet’ (literally ‘Watch Tet’) (1928) by Tan Dan Thu Quan publishing house. It was followed by dozens of interesting Tet books, especially Mung Tet moi-Xuan Ky Hoi, literally Happy Lunar New Year - Year of Pig (1959), which consists of several cool articles and illustrations on a strange yet meaningful campaign of collecting waste metals to make ploughshare as a gift for Tet. “Tet books during this period often including poets and comedy articles on daily life, which offer readers smiles or bring them nostalgia as touching people’s childhood memories in Tet holiday,” Trinh Bach said. However, the habit had started fading since 1960s due to several economic and historical conditions. They had been published less frequently and lost their fans, said Trinh Bach.

Journey to revive Tet books

After nearly six decades vanishing from the market, a Tet book entitled ‘Sach Tet Dinh Dau-Vui nhu Tet’, literally ‘Year of Chicken’s Tet Books - As Happy as Tet’ stormed book shelves in 2017. Following that edition, several Tet books by different publishing houses were introduced, such as ‘Sach Tet Ky Hoi’, literally Year of Pig’s Tet book, by Dong A Books, ‘Tet Doan Vien’, literally Tet of Reunion, by Alpha Books, ‘Sach Tet Canh Ty’, literally Year of Rat’s Tet book, by Dong A books, or ‘Nham Nhi Tet’, literally ‘Sipping a Tet holiday’ by Kim Dong publishing house. Commenting on the books, writer Trung Sy said “In my opinion, they are special books exclusively for Spring, through which readers could slowly contemplate and enjoy.” The books integrate both articles on traditional rites and customs that evoke people’s nostalgia and ones with contemporary issues, Trung Sy said, adding that the integration of both topics not only leads readers to the beautiful past but also guides them to a bright future. Echoing the viewpoint, Nguyen Quang Thieu, Vice Chairman of Vietnamese Association of Authors said Tet books bear an enormous amount of knowledge on culture, traditional customs, cuisine, Vietnamese people’s etiquette, etc. Let’s take an example of ‘Nham Nhi Tet’ by Kim Dong publishing house. Besides an interesting story about King Duy Tan, a renowned king who was born in the Year of Rat, the book also tells a story on how naval soldiers in Truong Sa (Spartly) archipelago enjoy Tet. Not only do current Tet books introduce stories and articles, they also print captivating paintings by top-notch Vietnamese artists, including Thanh Chuong, Le Tri Dung, Nguyen Hoang Tuong, Dang Tien, so on. “Printing such paintings is not only to illustrate the written contents. Otherwise, they could stand as independent elements in the books,” Nguyen Anh Vu, Director of Literature Publishing House said. According to Vice Chairman of Vietnamese Association of Authors Nguyen Quang Thieu, the meticulous graphics and contents of Tet books recently show publishing houses’ strenuous efforts in reviving Tet books. He also advises publishing houses to continually renovate contents and keep balance between traditional and modern values in the books./.