Tết Celebration 2022 attracts diplomats, business leaders

Foreign guests learn to make bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) at Tết Celebration 2022, a special event in HCM City to celebrate Tết (Lunar New Year). The event attracted foreign diplomats based in the city and business executives. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

HCM CITY — Foreign diplomats based in HCM City and business executives have joined a special event in the city to celebrate Tết (Lunar New Year).

The event “Tết Celebration 2022” was hosted recently by Lê Thị Quỳnh Trang, chairwoman of Vietnam International Fashion Week (VIFW) and president of the Council of ASEAN Fashion Designers organised by the Việt Nam Fashion Week.

It attracted Madan Mohan Sethi, Consul General of India in HCM City; Daniél Stork, Consul General of The Netherlands in HCM City; and Natthapol NaSongkhla, Acting Consul General of Thailand to HCM City. 

It included Michele D’Ercole, the executive director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (ICHAM), and Delphine Rousselet, project director of the EU-Vietnam Business Network. 

A number of Vietnamese fashion designers and celebrities were also in attendance.

They wore áo dài (traditional Vietnamese dress) and took part in traditional Tết activities like making bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake), learning thư pháp (Vietnamese calligraphy), and listening to folk songs and music.  

They watched artisans make Vietnamese toys and cook Tết dishes like bánh chưng, thịt kho trứng (caramelised braised pork and eggs), and dưa hành muối (pickled onion).

The event included a fashion show featuring áo dài designs by Bảo Bảo House and Golden Era – two leading brand names in Vietnamese fashion.

The designs in silk, satin and cotton highlighted Vietnamese culture and lifestyle. 

“2021 was a tough year for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tết is the time for Vietnamese people and foreigners who live and work here to think and hope for a better future in 2022 – the Year of Tiger,” the event’s host Trang said. 

“We hope our event, Tết Celebration 2022, is an opportunity for expatriates to discover Vietnamese traditions and culture.” 

Trang was honoured as the Brand Ambassador for the project True Italian Taste 2021 by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (ICHAM). 

The project is promoted and financed by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It aims to enhance and safeguard authentic Italian agri-food products. It has involved 36 Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad in 22 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Trang received a master’s degree in finance at Swinburne University in Australia.

She was named in the Top 50 Most Influential Women list selected by Forbes Vietnam in 2017.

Trang is President of CAFD, the first fashion association established by the ASEAN Secretariat in 2020. — VnExpress News