Our First Guest Bloggers are Dylan Ha and Brian Vu. Listen carefully to their explanation of Vietnamese New Year and why it is important to them. Mrs. Jordan
As you all know, promptly for the Asian ethnicity, is that Vietnamese New Year is coming about, or known as “Tet” in Vietnamese. Tet, this year is on February 2 - 7. The original origin of Tet is unknown, but a man of Tet Nguyen Dan brought about the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year.


It was recorded that Chinese started to celebrate Chinese New Year from about 2000 BC, though the celebrations were held on different times under different emperors. They started to celebrate Chinese New Year on the first day of the lunar calendar based on Emperor Wu Di's almanac of the Han Dynasty.

The days before the celebration of Tet are filled with bustling preparations. People must stock up on supplies, decorate their homes, and cook certain special foods that are eaten on Tet. Homes are decorated with flowers such as the hoa mai, hoa dao, and kumquat trees. On the hoa mai, little red envelopes filled with money called li xi are hung on the branches. Banh chung (a sticky rice cake filled with green bean filling and meat) and do thu are the main dishes that are eaten. Snacks include roasted watermelon seeds and mut(which are dried and candied fruits, most popularly coconut).


On Tet day, all family members gather together for the celebration. Children go to their elders and wish them a happy new year filled with good fortune. In return, they are given li xi. Then, the food is finally able to be eaten. People eat the mut and watermelon seeds while playing games. The most popular game is bau cua ca cop(translated literally into luffa, crab, fish, tiger, not included, the deer), which is a game where players bet money on an animal, and then dice are thrown. The players that bet on the animals that show up get their bet doubled and everybody else loses. Celebrations can last for up to 5 days, depending on where it is celebrated.

Every year, cities in the Orange County region, such as Garden Grove and Westminster, which have the most populated Vietnamese people other than Vietnam, celebrate Tet with great devotion. People decorate the city as a whole, showing their faith and optimism to a new year. Most significance of these celebrations lie at the Asian Garden Mall, located on Bolsa street, and Bolsa Grande High School, located on Westminster Avenue. If you aren’t Vietnamese, doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the Tet events. In fact, many people of all ethnicity come out to enjoy the excitement, entertaining events, games, music, etc! Happy New Year, or in Vietnamese, Chuc Mung Nam Moi!



Questions to think about:

Why is the Vietnamese New Year more highly praised than the American New Years?

How does the Vietnamese Near Year differ from the Chinese New Year?

About our Bloggers:We enjoy celebrating the New Years with our families due to the excitement it brings, as well as the money that children obtain. We both came from a family that has escaped death due to the Vietnam War, meaning even though we live in the U.S., we still cherish our Vietnamese heritage. We both would like to share why Tet is important to us and to others, because it really is a magnificent time of the year, and everyone should participate!