Ringing in the New Year

Asian students celebrate the first day of Tet on a weekday this year — with or without their families

By Kim Wallace

Wednesday, February 9, 2005



Two cans of pho beef broth sit atop my cluttered pantry. Untouched for nearly two months, they seem foreign to my everyday ideas for lunch and dinner. But today is different — today more incentive exists to find the local Asian market on my own and buy all the trimmings to be able to open those cans and prepare a home-cooked meal with my new dorm family.

Just as many Americans start thinking about Christmas in July, Asian Americans prepare extensively for months in advance for their biggest holiday celebration of the year. Cooking and cleaning top the list of things to get done before the next year begins. Lunar New Year, often referred to as “Tet” in Vietnamese tradition, is a family-centered holiday. Its most important concern is honoring cultural roots. Tet begins today and will be celebrated in the United States for three days to a week. In its home lands, Tet is celebrated for up to two weeks.

“You could almost compare Tet to Christmas, where the focus is primarily on family,” Ronald Nguyen, Derby junior, says, “but what sets Tet apart is the emphasis on our ancestors and paying homage to them.”

Celebrating the Lunar New Year

The Vietnamese Student Association will hold The Tet Show 2005 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 19, at the Ballroom in the Kansas Union. All students are welcome and the event is free. The evening will begin with a free pre-show dinner at 5:30 p.m. in the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building, 1204 Oread.

Though Christmas falls on the same day every year, Lunar New Year differs each year, causing conflicts with family planning. This year, the celebration begins in the middle of the week, hindering travel for many students. For the first time, some Asian-American students will rely on their friends and student associations to help ring in the year of the rooster.

“It’s never easy being away from home and trying to celebrate an event that truly defines who we are as a culture, whether it be Vietnamese or Chinese,” Nguyen says. “Then again, that is what friends are for.”

Student unions on campus began planning early for 2005’s Tet celebration to include many of the homey traditions several students will miss because of long travel. The Vietnamese Student Association will present “Tet Show 2005” on Feb. 19, which will include the ever-popular dragon dance, traditional ribbon dances and a fashion show highlighting different forms of customary Asian style.

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“This year I’m in charge of the dragon dance, which is my favorite part of Tet, and hope to provide the audience a fun and memorable experience,” Nguyen says.

Groups of young boys and occasionally girls from ages 15 and older participate in the cultural dance. One person works as the head, and another works as the tail of an ornately decorated dragon. The dance symbolizes bringing good luck to wherever the dragon dances and scaring away any evil spirits or bad luck that may have remained from the previous year. In return for this, spectators can “feed” the dragon lucky money in red envelopes, called “li xi,” that is later donated to worthy causes such as local temples or other outlets for improving cultural awareness.

“I like participating in the dragon dance because it is a good way to represent my culture to others and gives me a chance to get involved while I’m away from home,” Duy Vu, Salina freshman, says.

Red-enveloped money does not always have to be fed to the dancing dragons. Older people usually give the money to youngsters to shower them with more wealth and prosperity in the coming year. Those who receive the li xi can opt to keep it until after the new year celebration is finished (usually about a week), and then spend it, or can keep it for the entire year in hopes of it growing. Spending the lucky money right away is not recommended because it foreshadows the way money may be blindly handled in the new year.

“As a youngster I usually saved my red-enveloped money in a piggy bank. When I get my red envelopes now I spend them immediately,” Jennifer Pham, Germantown, Md., freshman says. “I’m more of a shopper now than I was at the age of four.”

As with any other major festivity, food is a key ingredient in ringing in the new year. Though Americans eat turkey and dressing on Christmas and black-eyed peas on Jan. 1, Asian Americans enjoy traditional dishes such as rice cakes, rice waffles, sticky rice and various fruit candies. Food may be the biggest issue celebrating away from home, though, because most student-prepared meals can never compare to the goodness of mom or grandma’s passed-down recipes.

“A lot of the mothers of VSA members will be making traditional dinners before the Tet Show, which helps a lot,” Tu Le, Garden City junior, says.

Many students will rely on local restaurants or dining halls to accommodate their Tet plans.

“I’m not sure if Jump Asian Cuisine will be at Mrs. E’s, so to be safe, I’ve organized a dinner at Peking Taste for me and a group of close friends to celebrate the new year and have some good food,” Pham says.

Another respectful tradition of Tet is the visit to elders. Young people wish the older people in their families and communities a happy new year, or “chuc mung nam moi,” and have an opportunity to reconnect and receive advice from a different generation.

“Since it goes in order from eldest to youngest, I usually see my grandma first and then my parents,” Sam Park, Leavenworth freshman, says. “I bow and stay down while they speak to me and tell me what my goals should be this year, as well as the things that I should change and improve on in the new year.

“It could range from 15 seconds to two minutes. Afterward I get a gift of either lucky money or new clothes.”

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Being close to home, Park will be able to travel to pay respect to his elders, though it will be on the weekend when he has more time to travel. Because Tet celebrations usually run for at least a week, this is acceptable.

“I’ll be able to stay home for the weekend and celebrate with my family, but it won’t be the same as in years past,” Park says.

It really won’t be the same as in years past. My mom isn’t here to give me a handwritten grocery list to take to the Asian market. My dad won’t be around to slip me an extra red envelope. But what really matters is that I will be keeping my cultural traditions alive on my own, with a new family of people to share the luck, wealth and excitement that every New Year brings.

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