SOME OF MY FAVORITE TET (LUNAR NEW YEAR) TRADITIONS (part 1)
Hot coriander bath on the 30th
Winter is the best season to grow coriander in Vietnam. At the end of January, all the coriander plants have already grown tall, their white flowers have bloomed, and you can see their green seeds like peppers. Be patient for a week more, until the seeds turn a dark green, after that they can be harvested and used for a lot of purposes besides cooking, perhaps a hot bath!
I love walking along the coriander fields in Spring, there’s a mix of refreshing coriander along with an earthy smell from the musty soil. Imagine you could bring that amazing fragrance home with you, in a relaxing bath? It is a special tradition during Tet Lunar New Year that Vietnamese people (especially in the North, where the four seasons are more distinct) must buy bundles of coriander to make their hot baths on the last afternoon of the old lunar year. This is done in order to cast away all the unhappiness and worries of the old year and be refreshed to welcome a new year ahead.
For me, a coriander bath means home. When I return each year for Tet, my mother always welcomes me with a steamy pot of boiled coriander, she also adds some sea salt, or a little bit of crushed ginger, and even white rice wine in my hot bathtub. Instantly my heart feels at ease, and I know it doesn’t matter how crazy the world out there can be, I will always have a peaceful place to come back to.
Illustration by Le Rin
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