DRAWING SESSION – THE STUFFED STICKY RICE CAKE POT IN THE NEW YEAR’S EVE

On January 12, 2023, the Center for Research and Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CED) had a meaningful drawing lesson for students with hearing loss.

The topic of the preparatory class was: The stuffed sticky rice cake pot in the New Year's Eve. This was a topic very close to the childhood memories of those who lived and grew up in a peaceful and quiet countryside during Tet and spring time. In particular, the wrapping of the stuffed sticky rice cakes (banh chung or banh tet) to offer to ancestors was very necessary to show the customs and practices of ancestor worship of the Vietnamese people in the traditional Tet holidays.

At first, teacher showed the students a drawing that she had drawn. Through close and detailed observation, she guided the basic lines for students to shape and adjust the size to fit the A4 paper frame. Due to one-on-one instruction, she could talk directly with the students about identifying the image of the stuffed sticky rice pot that would be drawn on the fire. Then, the teacher asked the students to expand their knowledge, such as: which flowers, apricot or peach blossoms usually displayed at their home during Tet. If the students answered peach blossom, the flower branch in the picture will be guided to paint in pink and vice versa, yellow for apricot blossoms. In addition, for students with weak eyesight and poor observation, the teacher would draw magnified drawings on the board so that they could follow and observe each stroke.

After finishing, the paintings recreated the quietly welcoming New Year's Eve scene with a stuffed sticky rice cake pot and in the distance, the image of fireworks resounding with loud bangs to mark the end of the old year and the beginning of the coming new year.