Vietnam has two Women's Days, and tomorrow is the other one

This afternoon, if you look out at the street, you'll see flowers in places where there were none yesterday. On the corner of the intersection. In front of the market gate. On the back seats of motorbikes, wrapped in newspaper. Because tomorrow is October 20th.

Foreigners who have lived in Vietnam for a few years are still often surprised by this: they've just given flowers in March, and then in October they see the whole country out buying flowers again. Vietnam has two Women's Days.

March 8 is an international day that every country observes. October 20, on the other hand, belongs to Vietnam alone, marking the founding of the Vietnam Women's Union in 1930. It's not a public holiday — tomorrow people still go to work and school as usual. But almost no one forgets it.

What do you see out on the street

Ready-made rose bouquets are laid out on a tarp spread right on the sidewalk, the seller sitting on a plastic stool and selling until late at night. Students carry flowers to give to their teachers. Restaurants are already fully booked for tomorrow evening as of today. At the office, a few male colleagues awkwardly chip in to buy flowers for the whole department. And phones buzz nonstop with mass-sent congratulatory messages.

Compared with March 8, October 20 usually feels closer to home. March tends to feel formal: the company organizes an event, there are speeches, and everyone gets the same gift. October is a family affair: children give gifts to their mothers, husbands to their wives, students to their teachers. There are fewer flowers, but they are remembered longer.

For people coming from elsewhere

No one is asking you to do anything at all. But a single flower, or even just a well-wish on the right day, sent to a female colleague, to your landlady, or to the woman at your usual rice stall — is often remembered far longer than you think. Here, people notice little things like that, just as they notice who insists on paying the bill.

One thing worth knowing before you head to the flower shop: don't choose white chrysanthemums or all-white flowers. Those are funeral flowers. Roses, sunflowers, carnations, or anything colorful are all fine.

When you go to work tomorrow, if the whole office smells of flowers, it's not because it's someone's birthday.

Photos: Dragfyre, Richard Mortel, giladr — Wikimedia Commons.