Preserving the flavor of traditional Tet for Binh Ngo Spring 2026

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, the atmosphere of reunion has spread vibrantly across homes, living spaces, and residential areas throughout Dong Nai province.

Tran Bien ward’s residents take part in wrapping Chung cake and Tet cake for the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026. Photo: My Ny

Many traditional cultural values of Tet are being preserved and vividly rekindled through contests on wrapping chung cake and tet cake, arranging five fruit trays and decorating ancestral altars, which are being held widely across communes and wards. Through these activities, communities are brought closer together, the spirit of sharing is spread, and the traditional flavor of Tet is preserved amid the pace of modern life.

Touching the “soul” of traditional Tet

From early morning at Bien Hung Park in Tran Bien ward, thin wisps of smoke rising from pots of chung cake and tet cake blend into the bustling atmosphere of the year’s end. The cheerful chatter of residents from neighborhoods, mass organizations, and schools helps “awaken” the festive space of the ward’s cake-wrapping and cooking day.

Carefully smoothing each fresh green dong leaf, Ho Le Thi Thanh Trang, a teacher at Hoa Binh Kindergarten in Tran Bien ward, shared: “On ordinary days, everyone is busy, and most families buy chung cake and tet cake for convenience. But when the ward organizes this contest, we are very excited and participate in large numbers. Wrapping the cakes ourselves, lighting the fire, watching over the pot, and listening to stories about the legend of chung cake and giay cake make us feel as if we are returning to the Tet of the past and reliving our youth. That is truly touching the soul of Tet.”

Meanwhile, the lively atmosphere of the first Chung Cake and Tet Cake Festival 2026 in Dau Giay commune carried special significance as it was held right on the grounds of the commune’s Martyrs Temple. A total of 26 teams from hamlets, schools, and local agencies and units took part. The teams wrapped and cooked chung cake and tet cake, brought elaborately prepared trays of chung cake and tet cake, and arranged beautiful, intricate five-fruit trays, showing reverence, gratitude, and a sense of returning to their roots.

According to Vice Chairman of Dau Giay commune People’s Committee Nguyen Le Truong Son, on the occasion of celebrating the Party and welcoming the Lunar New Year Binh Ngo, the locality organized the festival to create a joyful, enthusiastic atmosphere among officials, Party members, and residents. The event also helps promote and educate people about national cultural traditions, enabling all strata of society, especially the younger generation, to better understand the culinary values of traditional Tet, thereby fostering pride and awareness of the importance of preserving local cultural identity.

Similarly, in Tan Khai commune, Dong Nai province, the chung cake and tet cake wrapping contest to celebrate the Lunar New Year Binh Ngo 2026 was held on February 8 at the commune’s Administrative Center. The activity not only created a joyful and warm atmosphere in the days leading up to Tet but also helped preserve and spread the nation’s cultural values. Notably, all cakes made after the contest were presented to poor households, disadvantaged families, and policy beneficiary families in the locality, reflecting a spirit of sharing and solidarity during Tet Nguyen dan.

Alongside cake wrapping and cooking, a contest on decorating ancestral altars was also organized. The offering trays were neatly and harmoniously arranged, blending tradition with creativity and reflecting continuity between generations as well as gratitude to ancestors. Encouragingly, many parents and teachers took this opportunity to guide young people and students about the meaning of each offering on the ancestral altar, how to arrange the five-fruit tray, and how to perform incense rituals in accordance with tradition. Such experiences help nurture awareness of preserving cultural identity whenever Tet and spring arrive.

“Traditional Tet of the Vietnamese people is evoked through familiar images such as fatty pork, pickled onions, and red couplets; the Neu tree and green chung cake. In Dong Nai, Tet also has distinctive features expressed through early spring festivals, book reading activities, and calligraphy giving, all of which contribute to preserving and spreading traditional cultural values.”

 M.A. Tran Quang Toai, Chairman of Dong Nai Historical Science Association

Connecting the community, sharing love

Beyond cultural preservation, these contests also serve as bridges of compassion. In Tam Hiep ward, after the chung cake and tet cake wrapping and cooking contest and the five-fruit tray arrangement competition, the offerings are paraded from Duong Tu Giang Park and presented at historical sites, including Tan Hiep Prison, Hung Vuong Temple, Doan Van Cu Temple, and Tran Hung Dao Temple.

According to the Vice Chairman of Tam Hiep ward People’s Committee, Luu Thi Hang, in addition to offering cakes at historical sites, the locality also presents cakes to policy beneficiary families and disadvantaged households in the area. This event is an occasion to widely communicate to residents the meaning of traditional Tet and the custom of wrapping and cooking chung cake and tet cake, expressing gratitude to heaven and earth and to ancestors, honoring the moral principle of remembering one’s roots, and rekindling a spirit of solidarity and mutual support within the community.

Meanwhile, in Tan Trieu ward, the cake-wrapping festival was combined with the program “Loving Spring – Compassionate Tet,” attracting many workers and young people from rental housing areas. After the contest concluded, the fragrant cakes made from newly harvested glutinous rice were directly handed to policy beneficiary families and disadvantaged workers.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Hong, a worker at Changshin Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Thanh Phu Industrial Park, Tan Trieu ward), shared: “My hometown is in the central region, and this year I am not returning home for Tet with my family. At first, I felt very sad and homesick. However, when I joined the cake-wrapping festival here, I felt much warmer at heart. The cakes are not only material gifts but also great encouragement for migrant workers like us, helping us feel the warmth of family and affection.”

During the Lunar New Year Binh Ngo 2026, communes and wards across Dong Nai province did not celebrate Tet in isolation; together, they created shared community cultural spaces. Preserving the traditional flavor of Tet does not come from grand slogans but begins with simple, everyday actions. From pots of chung cake and tet cake to five-fruit trays, and from giving cakes to policy families and disadvantaged households, Tet thus becomes warmer and more widely shared.

By Cam Thanh – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho