| Feb |
| 14 |
UPDATE: Tết (or Lunar New Year) will be celebrated this Saturday, Feb. 13th beginning at 10am at Pho My Loi, which is located at 10439 16th Ave SW .
The Lieu Quan Lion Dance Group will be performing, and while there apparently will be no firecrackers at this performance, we’re sure it’ll be exciting nonetheless – in fact, our Photographer Michael Brunk will be there to take pics!
2010 will be the Year of the Tiger, and according to Wikipedia:
Tết is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year though exceptions arise due to the one-hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tết shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart, having been derived from it. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tết by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. There are a lot of customs practiced during Tết, like visiting a person’s house on the first day of the new year (xông nhà), ancestral worshipping, wishing New Year’s greetings, giving lucky money to children and elderly people, and opening a shop.
Tết is also an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. During Tết, Vietnamese visit their relatives and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. They consider Tết to be the first day of spring and the festival is often called Hội xuân (spring festival).
And for those who think of the Tết Offensive when we hear this word, here are some things NOT to do on Feb. 14th:
- One shouldn’t say or do bad things during Tết.
- One shouldn’t hurt or kill animals or plants but should set them free. The reason for this originates from Buddhism’s causality.
- One shouldn’t sweep the house or empty out the rubbish to avoid luck and benefits going with it, especially on the first day of the new year. One shouldn’t let the broom in confusion if people don’t want it to be stolen.
- One shouldn’t give these presents to others: clock or watch (the recipient’s time is going to pass), cats (mèo in Vietnamese language pronounced like nghèo, poverty), medicine (the receiver will get ill), cuttle fish (its ink is black, an unlucky colour), writing ink (for the same reason), scissors or knives (they bring incompatibility).
- One shouldn’t have duck meat because it brings unluckiness.
- One shouldn’t have shrimp in case one would move backwards like shrimp, in other words, one would not succeed.
- One shouldn’t buy or wear white clothes because white is the colour of funerals in Vietnam.
- One shouldn’t let the rice-hulling mill go empty because it symbolizes failed crops.
- One shouldn’t refuse anything others give or wish you during Tết.
Here are two videos from last year’s performance from the Lieu Quan Lion Dance Group:
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We hope we didn't offend anyone with our original posting, which included the red-star North Vietnamese flag; we have since corrected it!]
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