My parents named me before I was born. And that was the sacred first gift that my father silently entrusted to his little son. A name not just to call, but to remember, to love and to grow up with the silent expectations of others.
My father is the eldest son in a family with three generations living in the suburbs of Hanoi . My grandfather was famous in the village for his knowledge and loyalty, so from a young age my father was taught to live a proper life and set an example for his younger siblings. In my father's mind, "eldest son" is not just a title but a responsibility, to maintain the family tradition and bring honor to the ancestors. When my mother gave birth to me, my father was extremely proud. He went around the village showing off and named me Viet Ha. According to my father's explanation, "Viet" is the country of Vietnam, the lineage of Lac and Hong descendants. "Ha" is Hanoi - the place where my father was born, where my grandfather settled down and made a living, where countless memories of a lifetime are kept. My father once said: "I named you Viet Ha because I want you to always remember that you are a Hanoian, a Vietnamese. No matter where you go or what you do in the future, as long as you mention that name, you will remember who you are and where you come from."
When I was little, I never cared about the meaning of my name “Viet Ha”. To me, it was simply a name for the teacher to call during roll call, for my friends to write down in their notebooks when on duty, nothing special. There were even times when I felt embarrassed and confused when the teacher mistakenly called me with a girl in the class with the same name. Every time that happened, the whole class would giggle, and I could only lower my head to the table, embarrassed and angry but not knowing who to be angry with...
However, as time passed, as I grew older, and began to encounter my first stumbles in life, I suddenly realized that my name contained many things that I could not understand when I was young. I still remember when I was in 9th grade, in a literature class, the teacher asked the whole class to write a short essay with the topic: "What do you think about your name?". At that time, the whole class was bustling, some kids were giggling, some were complaining "my name is so ordinary, what should I write?". I sat there silently. For the first time in my life, I thought about my name. I started writing, as if the emotions in my heart had been waiting to be released for a long time. I wrote about the meaning of my name as my father used to say, about how every time I heard my father call my full name, I felt something very familiar and warm, like a reminder of my roots. I submitted my essay in silence, without much expectation. A few days later, the teacher returned the papers and praised the essays of some students, including me, for being very emotional and sincere. Then, unexpectedly, she read my essay aloud in front of the class. I sat silently, my heart beating fast, both embarrassed and unfamiliar to hear someone else read my innermost thoughts. When she finished reading, a friend turned to me and whispered: “I didn’t expect your name to be so meaningful.” That statement made me extremely proud. For the first time, I clearly felt the value of my name.
From then on, I began to see that name had a very unique beauty. I practiced signing my name with quiet pride. Every time I wrote my name on papers and documents, I wrote each stroke carefully, as if I were carving a part of my father's origin and love onto the page.
When I went to college, I started living away from home. Living in a crowded and noisy city, I often felt lost among so many strange faces. Sometimes, when I missed home, I called my father. Although he was still serious and quiet, just hearing me call: "Dad, it's me - Viet Ha!", I knew he was smiling on the other end of the line. A quiet smile but full of pride.
Now that I have become a father, I understand more than ever the sacred meaning of naming a child. I have also chosen for my child a very simple name but it contains the love that I want to send, just like my father did for me. And if one day, my child sits on my lap and asks: "Dad! Why do I have this name? or "What does my name mean, Dad?" , I will smile and tell him with all my affection and pride that the name was born from love, trust and all the best things that parents want to send to their child. I believe that at some point, my child will also understand, as I did, that a name is not just a sound to call, but a mark of the origin, of silent love and a baggage that follows the child throughout life.
Hello love, season 4, theme "Father" officially launched from December 27, 2024 on four types of press and digital infrastructure of Radio - Television and Binh Phuoc Newspaper (BPTV), promising to bring to the public the wonderful values of sacred and noble fatherly love. |
Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/19/174443/ten-cha-dat-hanh-trang-con-mang
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