Spring doesn't wait for the calendar.

I traveled along National Highway 6 while the winding roads were still shrouded in mist. My destination was a reunion with "Nào Pê Chầu" – the Lunar New Year celebration on the 30th day of the lunar month for the Hmong people.

Unlike the Kinh people, the Hmong in Hang Kia or Moc Chau don't wait for the peach blossoms and apricot blossoms to signal the arrival of Tet. When the harvest is over, the granaries are full of corn and rice, and the plum blossoms bloom white on the hillsides, that's when Tet arrives.

The ritual of offering sacrifices to the Nêu tree is an indispensable part of the Gầu Tào festival in Hang Kia commune, Phu Tho province.

In Hang Kia, where fog blankets the roads, Tet (Lunar New Year) arrives a month earlier than in the lowlands. There are no dazzling fireworks, no noisy countdowns. The moment of transition into the new year here is quiet and sacred, marked by the first rooster crow on the first day of the new year. That is when the head of the family lights incense at the ancestral altar, closing the chapter on old hardships and opening a new cycle of life.

In the biting cold, the rhythmic pounding of wooden pestles against the steaming hot sticky rice echoed like the heartbeat of the village. Mùa A Phong, a son of Chà Đáy village, wiped away his sweat and said to me, "These sticky rice cakes are for offering to our ancestors and sharing with family. They're so precious that we only let you take them home; we won't sell them!"

Tourists experience pounding sticky rice cakes with the Hmong people during a festival in Moc Chau (Son La).

That statement was startling. In the whirlwind of tourism commercialization, where sticky rice cakes have become ubiquitous in local markets as a common snack, here, they still retain their status as a spiritual "treasure"—round like the moon and the sun, symbolizing the primordial source of life.

"Living museums" on the plateau

Leaving the tranquility of Hang Kia for Moc Chau (Son La), the Mong New Year explodes with color and sound. If Hang Kia is a somber note, then Moc Chau is a vibrant symphony.

Pao throwing is a unique and indispensable traditional game of the Hmong people during Tet (Lunar New Year).

On the open fields, the Hmong Hoa skirts flutter like moving flowers, contrasting sharply with the simplicity of the Hmong White attire. Here, the Pao ball is not just a game; it's a thread of love weaving together romantic relationships. But behind the hustle and bustle lie deeply moving and humane customs. I was speechless when I witnessed the ceremony of "affixing red paper" to farming tools.

The plow, the hoe, the knife... these inanimate objects, which have accompanied humans "toiling under the sun and rain" for a whole year, are now given new clothes, allowed to rest, and appreciated like friends. This is a philosophy of harmonious living, of respecting all things, which people in the lowlands have sometimes forgotten.

A performance of Hmong flute dance at the beginning of spring on the Ta Phin rocky plateau, Sinh Phinh commune, Dien Bien province.

Ms. Dao Phuong Mai, a tourist from Hai Phong, shared: "Sitting by the fire, listening to the sound of the Hmong flute echoing through the mountain mist, I understand why the Hmong people are not in a hurry. Here, Tet is not about showing off, but about slowing down."

Avoid eating vegetables during Tet (Lunar New Year).

My final journey took me deep into the ancient rocky region of Tủa Chùa (Điện Biên). In this place where rocks are more abundant than soil, Tet (Lunar New Year) arrives later and is also more "thorny" with strict taboos.

The traditional folk game tu lu showcases the strength and skill of the Hmong men.

Mr. Vu Phai Sua, the owner of a smoke-stained wooden house in the Tua Chua rocky plateau, pointed to his simple altar and instructed: "Absolutely no vegetables are eaten during Tet. Eating vegetables is a bad omen, signaling poverty and a new year when weeds will overrun the rice fields."

The strictness in their rituals, from forbidding sweeping and spilling water to the order of worship, reflects an extreme but necessary sense of preserving their identity. These rules have created a solid cultural framework, preventing the Hmong people of Tủa Chùa from being assimilated even as modern life infiltrates every corner of their lives.

Visiting a Hmong village to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year), I realized there are things that money can't buy. For the Hmong, Tet isn't a commodity to display. It's about memories, beliefs, and how they balance their spiritual lives amidst a harsh natural environment.

No matter where they go or what they do, the Hmong people always find their way home when spring arrives. This return is not only about family reunions, but also about reaffirming their cultural identity. Then, when the sound of the flute resonates and the hearth blazes, they gain renewed faith to sow seeds of hope in the rocky mountains, awaiting another season of abundance.