Christmas, like Vietnamese Tết, is a time to celebrate family. In the culture of Vietnam, there is nothing more important.
We’ve all seen how, in modern times, our family values have come under threat. The closeness and joy we once celebrated every holiday has lost some of its power, as we watch both parents and children lose themselves in their devices.
Those nights when families used to stay up late together enjoying traditional food and playing games have drifted into lonely nights lying alone in hammocks, scrolling social media feeds.
This Christmas Eve, as we anticipate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam, let’s take a little time to appreciate the power of the Vietnamese family.
My writing bureau, Metro Writers, was established to help authors create written works about people’s lives and memories, for all kinds of different purposes. One of those purposes is to record stories about our families.
I’ve met many people who’ve told me they’ve always dreamed of writing a book about their parents.
Christmas this year is just over a month before Tết. This year, let’s take a moment to think about our parents and realise their struggles, dreams and achievements of the past 50 years.
For those of you who’ve always wanted to write stories about your family, now is the perfect time to challenge yourself to write down some inspiring narratives about your parents’ life in this proudly developing nation. Remember that when you write their story, it creates a permanent record. They will never be forgotten.
Yêu thương còn mãi trong lời viết — love lives on in the written word.