According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Berlin, it has become a custom, every few days before the 23rd lunar month, which is called the “day” of the lunar calendar.Mr. Cong Mr. Tao“Pu Da Pagoda in Berlin, Germany, again organizes the Tet Chung cake package.
Not just activities charityThis familiar address is also a special destination for expatriates who want to maintain the tradition of wrapping banh chung of the Vietnamese people as well as beautify the culture of the national New Year in their second homeland. .
The atmosphere of wrapping banh chung is very bustling. In particular, there are students, international students, young people born and raised in Germany who also follow their parents to the temple to participate in charity activities to welcome this Spring.
The participants shared stories about the traditional Tet, about the homeland, about the joys and sorrows of life… all creating a warm picture, warming the cold space of winter.
Sharing with the VNA reporter, Ms. Vu Thi Hang confided that wrapping banh chung is a cultural feature of Vietnamese people. Every Spring, Vietnamese people in Germany in general and Berlin in particular eagerly welcome the New Year by wrapping banh chung.
[Nỗi nhớ Tết Việt của những người sống nơi lục địa Đen]
Preserving customs and practices during Tet is also one of the ways to preserve the cultural beauty of the nation.
According to Ms. Hang, to complete a banh chung, all stages are important, from washing the rice, making the filling, to wrapping the cake, and boiling the cake, all meticulously and elaborately.
A delicious cake means that the packer must put all their heart, joy and joy into it. All logical steps together to produce a perfect product.
Package activities Chung cake of Vietnamese in Germany. (Photo: Reporter VNA in Berlin)Ms. Pham Quynh Nga – an overseas Vietnamese living away from her hometown for more than 30 years, said with emotion: “Tet is an opportunity to have many memories with the homeland, parents, family…, when you sit and pack Chung cake, you have a lot of memories. most emotional. Over the past 10 years, I have been going to the temple on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, getting inspired by the activity of wrapping banh chung.”
These cakes become even more special spiritually when they are invited home to burn incense during Tet.
She said that when making offerings to ancestors, there are usually two types of banh chung in her hometown, banh chung and banh tet, that’s why Puta pagoda often packs both types to worship ancestors and families in the homeland. The second is imbued with the culture of the regions of Vietnam.
As one of the Vietnamese refugees from Ukraine, Ms. Vu Thanh Huong shared: “The activity of wrapping banh chung at Putu Pagoda is very meaningful. Although only participating, the sub-stages of Chung cake pack like wiping the leaves, washing the leaves, but I see the collective, the brothers and sisters of the Putu Temple as a cozy family.”
She said emotionally: “At first, the mood was very sad, even very shocked. But the first place I went in Berlin was Putuo Temple, with the desire to find peace, I felt attached and close.”
Although the time in Germany was only a few months, it cannot be compared with the time of living in Ukraine for several decades, but going to Putu Pagoda, especially being able to participate in activities towards the homeland, she felt a warm feeling. nothing strange. For her, this place is the place to practice and continue living.
The activity of wrapping banh chung organized by Master Thich Phap Nhan, abbot of Pho Da Pagoda every year, always attracts a large number of Vietnamese people.
It not only brings a happy and warm Tet atmosphere, but also creates a culture, a luggage for future descendants to maintain and keep.
Manh Hung – Phuong Hoa – Thanh Tung (VNA/Vietnam+)