I’ve run into hundreds, even thousands, of notice boards in Hanoi. Most of them are left blank during Tet holiday. Then, only about 10% are decorated. And in that 10%, there are a lot of simply-embellished boards. Sometimes, locals don’t bother to use colored chalk. Maybe because they don’t have enough graphic skills. Maybe they think words would be enough to celebrate. After all, it’s still better than leaving the boards blank, or vice versa?

In a residential area named Dormitory of Hanoi Mechanical Factory, Thanh Xuan district. This is one of not so many boards on which they wrote a poem. Vietnamese people love composing poetry regardless of their talentedness (or untalentedness).
A simply neat board in a lane of Tan Mai street, Hoang Mai district. The smaller text reminds every household to hang the national flag during the Lunar New Year holiday.
This board in a sub-lane of a lane in Lang road, Dong Da district also included the smaller text reminding locals of hanging national flag. As you can see, people in the area took it seriously.
The board at the head of a lane in Cau Giay street, Cau Giay district.
This is one of the most messy board designs I’ve ever taken. Wait, should I call it a design?