VIETNAM’S REUNIFICATION DAY IN COVID19

CONTEXT
Thursday, April 29, 2021, 11:28 GMT+7 by Stivi Cooke / Tuoi Tre News Contributor

The red flags will be out in forcei for the long weekend coming at the end of April. It’s going to be busy with
people on the move to hometowns to celebrate two holidays this weekend.

April 30 marks the end of the American war in Vietnam, as Westerners sometimes call it.

The date is known among Vietnamese as Reunification Dayii – one of the final moments in the process of north
and south becoming reunified.

The names surrounding April 30 can be confusing. It is sometimes also called ‘Victory Day’ or ‘Liberation Day,’
depending on whether it is used in an official title iiior as locals prefer to name it.

Foreigners sometimes confuse the occasion with ‘National Day’ or ‘Independence Day,’ which occurs on
September 2 and celebrates Vietnamese independence declared by President Ho Chi Minh on September 2,
1945 following the end of the Japanese occupationiv of Vietnam.

Got all that?!

It’s handyv to remember if you’re trying to impress people in a pub with your knowledge of the local history!

The long holiday weekend basically runs from April 30 until May 3 and if you haven’t made any travel bookings
yet then you’re stuck! Trains will be full, already the two major airports in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are
experiencing major crowding problems and buses will be full, too.

But probably the best way as usual with Vietnamese events is to stay close to home and just enjoy life where
you are with family and friends. There’s no better demonstration of peace than that, hey?

Unlike Independence Day, which very official and serious, Reunification Day is a more celebratory occasionvi
with the parades, festivals, and public festivitiesvii we’re familiar with prior to viiiCOVID-19. You could see the
military parades but there’s also a very strong visual emphasis on Vietnam’s long history, its variety of ethnic
groups, and the traditional songs and costumes of the nation.

Looking around a bit at the posters strungix across the top of the roads will give you a good clue to local events
associated with Liberation Day.

With both Reunification Day and May 1, or International Workers’ Day, coming back to back, this creates quite
a long weekend for the population with many heading to the beaches, taking rural holidays or just sleeping over
it! I like the upbeat moodx at this time and for sure, anyone who has the opportunity and money will do their
best to enjoy it after so much stress during our ongoing COVID-19 situation in Vietnam. It’s the perfect time to
travel anyway before the sweltering heat of high summer hits. I do feel, having lived here for fourteen years,
that it’s just getting hotter every year so it’s best to get your suntan early.

For Hoi An and Da Nang, it should be a very revitalizingxi time for the tourism industry with lots of bookings
from the local area as well as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. While wearing masks and social distancing are still
recommended, I doubt it will feel over-bearingxii for most visitors.

I guess you could also celebrate Vietnam’s continuing success at keeping the coronavirus at bay and managing
to still grow the economy in the middle of so much financial pressure on both the general public and the nation’s
purse stringsxiii. I’ll ‘mot, hai, ba, yo!’ (one, two, three, drink!) to that!

Last year, I wrote about this day, commenting at the time on Vietnamese resiliencexiv during times of crisisxv
and the ability of this country to work together on common goals without people going off in multiple directions
on how to handle the resolutions of social problems. That this still holds truexvi is unsurprising given what I
have experienced of Vietnamese toughness, often with far less grumblingxvii and complaining than in the
Western world. Solidarity, albeitxviii a dirty word in Western culture, is sorelyxix needed worldwide and at least
Vietnam is showing a good example of that.
Vietnam’s future, in spite of the health crisis escalatingxx around the world, looks pretty rosyxxi at the moment
to my eye. We all know that millions have lost jobs and businesses and it will be some time before life gets back
to anything near normal. However, it’s growing economically faster than most of the developed world. Industry
is picking up customers again and it’s rapidly attracting foreign investment and manufacturingxxii to shiftxxiii
here as world supply chainsxxiv repositionxxv themselves against the economic falloutxxvi from the virus.

I think Liberation Day will feel much more special this year since the nation celebrates this achievement after
such a rough time last year. So there’s a lot to be thankful for if you’re Vietnamese. And if you’re not Vietnamese?
You’re still lucky to be living here than anywhere else!

(https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/city-diary/20210429/vietnams-reunification-day-in-covid19-
context/60628.html)

i in force (phrase): có hiệu lực

ii Reunification Day (n): Ngày Thống Nhất Đất Nước
iii official title (n): cái tên chính thức
iv occupation (n): sự chiếm đóng
v handy (adj): thuận tiện

phrase: come in handy: trở nên thuận tiện đúng lúc

vi celebratory occasion (n): dịp kỉ niệm
vii public festivities (plural n): những lễ hội ở cộng đồng
viii prior to (adv): trước
ix strung (vPII) (thức hoàng thành của string): được treo bằng dây
x upbeat mood (n): tâm trạng vui tươi
xi revitalizing (adj): đưa sức sống mới
xii over-bearing (adj): hống hách
xiii purse strings (n): việc chi tiêu
xiv resilience (n): sự kiên cường
xv crisis (n): khủng hoảng
xvi hold true (v): vẫn luôn đúng
xvii grumble (v): càu nhàu
xviii albeit (adv): mặc dù
xix sorely (adv): một cách nghiêm trọng
xx escalate (v): leo thang
xxi rosy (adj): lạc quan
xxii manufacture (v): sản xuất
xxiii shift (v): dịch chuyển
xxiv supply chains (n): chuỗi cung ứng
xxv reposition (v): đặt lại
xxvi fallout (n): tác dụng phụ không mong muốn