From Muong Gongs to Open Pharmacies: Communities Sound the Call for año nuevo lunar
As communities mark the año nuevo lunar, tradition and public services converge: in Vietnam’s Muong villages the ceremonial gongs are being revived and taught to younger generations, while elsewhere health authorities have mobilized pharmacies and urgent-care centers to keep citizens safe and supplied through the holiday.
The sound that wakes spring: Muong gong rituals and craft
In Muong communes the gong is more than music; it is a vessel of memory and a ritual instrument that announces seasonal transitions. Artisans in Cao Phong are actively passing the craft of playing and making Muong gongs to a new generation, ensuring a living chain of practice that links families and their landscape.
During traditional ceremonies elders remove the gong from its prominent place in the stilt house, rub their hands with rice wine, and stroke the handle in a deliberate gesture meant to awaken the instrument’s spirit. The sound begins as a soft breath—like a forest breeze—then swells into a full, resonant welcome for the new year. Once the gong is awake, a measured series of strikes greets spring and draws the entire village into the ritual moment.
Gongs are crafted from copper using casting and hand-forging techniques. Each piece blends technical skill with generations of local knowledge: decorative patterns, simple yet symbolic, tell stories of humanity, nature and the cosmos within Muong belief. For many families a gong hangs in the main house as a sacred possession; its tone is understood to carry the spirit of mountains and forests and to link the living with the supernatural.
Beyond ceremonial use, the instrument has long functioned as a communal signal. Gongs accompany shamans at spring festivals and lifecycle rites, bless newlyweds, mark funerals, and call the community together for important announcements. Cultural researchers trace the gong tradition back millennia to the Dong Son civilization, and local histories indicate the Muong played a formative role in maintaining and adapting that heritage over centuries.
Public services on call: pharmacies and urgent care through the holiday
While rituals call people to their roots, governments and health systems are preparing for the practical realities of a major holiday. On the morning of Feb. 17 ET, the prime minister visited a community pharmacy to thank pharmacists who are keeping services running during the celebrations. Health officials note that more than 2, 000 pharmacies across the country opened from the first day of the lunar year, supported by 13 urgent-care centers to handle minor emergencies.
The holiday typically spans nine days and often coincides with the lowest number of open clinics. To prevent disruptions in access to medicines and basic care, authorities coordinated with professional associations to ensure minimum coverage and to bolster hospital capacity ahead of the celebrations. Early indicators suggested wait times at major medical centers remained manageable between the eve and the morning of the first day, while a higher patient flow is expected on the second and third days.
Policymakers also put financial incentives in place to sustain care: a special fund of NT$1. 6 billion—roughly US$51. 6 million—was allocated to double fees for hospitalization and emergency services during the holiday period. The move aims to encourage facilities and staff to maintain preparedness when demand can spike unexpectedly.
For residents, the dual message during the año nuevo lunar is clear. Communities are preserving the intangible heritage that binds people to place, embodied by the gong’s sonorous call, even as health systems and frontline workers ensure that essential services remain available through the festival days. Tradition and public service are meeting in the same moment of transition—one sound that both celebrates and safeguards the new year.
