On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, in every house of the Southern people in general, the people of Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City in particular, the apricot tree or branch is placed in the most solemn position.
As a city in the South, first of all, Tet in Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City cannot help but bring characteristic nuances in the indispensable customs of the South. And among the many “indispensable” is the yellow apricot, the messenger of the southern spring, a “fairy” of luck and prosperity in the new year.
It is also strange, the origin of apricot tree is in the central mountainous forest, with its “primitive” shape, rough, sinuous, wild, but when down to the Southern Delta, it is immersed in the alluvial of the Me River. Kong, it becomes a splendid and noble flower plant, and as a spring flower, a symbol of wealth, wealth, and wealth … For the people of the South, three days of Tet, in each family, whether rich or poor, there is at least one apricot branch, as a hope, a wish for the new year to have many blessings and fortune. And the apricot blossom did not know when it became the most luxurious of all flowers. When the rains of the season have just ended, the weather is lucky at night to warm the apricot stalks, the sun is like a gentle claw to awaken the sprout of apricot buds .. And when the swarms of swallows make their nests to signal Spring. Tet comes. Tet in the South has two specialties that are unmatched: watermelon – yellow apricot. Without yellow apricot, it is no longer Tet. The flowers only bloom in 3 days of Tet, but the golden color is sunny throughout the year. In the early days of spring, apricot flowers from the orchards flock to the town center, to the market street, the apricot trees are full of round green buds, glistening with a few green young leaves, dotted with a few golden buds, creating air festival. The rich bring the apricot tree home. The poor, no matter how poor, try to find a small branch of apricot on the altar of their ancestors. Yellow Plum is not only a flower to decorate the Tet colors, but also a symbol of Phuc – Loc in the year. Mai is like a god that predicts the future in the new year. If the apricot blossom bloom in three days of Tet, its petals are steady, and the color is bright yellow, that year the owner will be happy and happy. If the flower buds wilt, fall, the petals are curled, the homeowner will have many difficulties. Mai is sad and happy for a new year… so for mai, not only is she feeling awkward, “inspiring flowers”, but also the tacit reverence like “flower spirit” of Xuan. Cheese blossoms are not as beautiful as other flowers, but discreetly show their hidden beauty, only eyes can see that beauty. From the tree shape following the symbolic positions: Long – Phung – Phong – Van – Son – Thuy …, branch shape Tam Tai: Thien – Dia – Nhan, Four directions: Thuong – Ha – Ta – Huu, to the buds on the tree: bud Round like beads are bunches of yellow flowers are hiding waiting for the right moment to bloom, chicken-hooves bud is the hiding place of young green leaves like pearls. When the flowers bloom, the bud leaves dotted them for a more attractive apricot yellow color. And the scent of flowers, not everyone knows the scent of yellow apricot. It is a kind of incense called “haunted incense”, only when night falls, the weather is a bit seizure, everything sleeps peacefully, then the human mind must also be calm and not moved to feel the pure fragrance full of mystery. lurking, the purer, the more the aroma radiates … This also creates the essence of apricot. The purchase of Tet apricots is usually done by the head of the family (a man), expressing his aesthetic conception to choose apricot. Depending on the interior space or the family situation, the homeowner chooses a tree or branch, big or small, with such poses as: straight shape, draining wind, waterfall, five blessings, dragon, father, mother or father. multi, three-talented, .vv … to put in pots, round, flat, oval, square, hexagonal. According to books and folklore, there are many types of apricot blossom, 14-15 basic types, but basically all kinds of apricot: Khanh khat mai, Ha hoa mai, sandalwood, Ban Mai mai, Crane sign mai … of course, according to normal practice, the player of apricot, buying apricot blossom only focuses on 2 types: quarter-quarter plum, four-season blooming with 5 wings, big flower, and a hybrid apricot with 10 or more wings up to 120 wings and redolent. “Play” tomorrow is also an elegant and sophisticated hobby that not everyone can know “play”. Plum is an aura flower, even its scent is very discreet and selective, it can only “capture” its scent deeply at night, cool and dewy air, human mind is also real. New stillness can receive the faint scent of apricot blossom. Right from the “Christmas season”, tomorrow has been cared for by the gardeners, under the hands of famous artisans in areas specializing in the decoration in the southwestern region such as Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Sa Dec, Kien Giang, Can Tho. … And some long-standing traditional apricot villages in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City such as: Hiep Binh Chanh apricot village, Binh Trieu, Binh Chanh 1, Binh Chanh 2, Go Vap flower village, Hiep Binh Chanh flower village (Thu Duc) Mai to “play” is also very meticulous and stylish, not only choosing apricot varieties, but also having to choose “how” of apricot trees (including the stump and branches), so that if “playing” the whole tree or pruning a branch is beautiful. as the. According to the general conception of bonsai: best picture, second generation, tam chi, four messages. In order to get an apricot tree according to the “like” way, the apricot planter has to take many years of care and pruning for all floors and branches like the basic “position”: The yin and yang, the yin tree below must have 3 floor, 1 top; Poplar trees above must have 5 floors, 1 top … Usually the chosen apricot root has the basic characteristics: “old” root, big, rough skin, maybe even moss, with “like” forms: Father, brother, friend, mother death, woodcutter, Diep, volunteer, best when heaven, … Small but strong apricot branches, with shapes such as: kneeling feet, flying cranes, phoenix … In addition to the above features, apricot also focuses on the division of branches on a apricot root such as: Big branches, small branches, the arrangement of branches .. creating “internal air” of apricot branches: Branches dividing layers , evenly spread cotton, strong branches, flexible branches, plump buds, young leaves buds … The “playing” tomorrow of the artisan line also distinguishes many other things such as: stigma and yin and yang, four-quarter branches. The stigmata is directing husband and wife, branching from the fourth quarter of Spring, Summer and Fall … The apricot family is diverse and plentiful, but tomorrow is also seen as a symbol of nobility, purity, purity, gratitude and soulfulness. Moreover, apricot is said to bring luck to homeowners with apricot buds blossoming at the right time of New Year’s Eve. On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, in every house of the Southern people in general, the people of Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City in particular, the apricot tree or branch is placed in the most solemn position. And in the parks, even on the street, apricot is the most important element to decorate the Tet space. Without the golden apricot color, the Lunar New Year in the South will not be complete enough to be called Tet.
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