Annual event a three-day celebration of lunar new year
By Linda Lou
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
January 25, 2009
BALBOA PARK Thousands of people around the county are preparing to
ring in the Lunar New Year, which starts tomorrow and kicks off the
Year of the Ox.
Lunar New Year, which falls between late January and mid-February, is
a major holiday celebrated by the Chinese and other Asians around the
world. It's a time of honoring ancestors, feasting and bonding with
one's family.
In San Diego, the Tet Festival, a three-day celebration at Balboa
Park organized by the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance, ends today.
The event features carnival games, entertainment and about 100 vendors.
Kade Vo, 26, of Ontario said yesterday that her family attends the
three-day affair to enjoy "the food and the feeling."
Many women at the festival were wearing traditional Vietnamese
clothing the ao dai, a long-sleeved dress with side slits up to
the waist that is worn over pants. Vendors were selling Vietnamese
CDs, ethnic food and brightly colored orchids.
Yesterday's opening ceremony honored the efforts of the American and
South Vietnamese militaries during the Vietnam War. A solemn tribute
paid respect to ancestors, with incense and people kneeling and
bowing before an altar. Prayers spoken in Vietnamese called on
ancestors to bless the people and land of Vietnam.
Finally, loud pops, orange sparks and smoke signaled that it was time
to party. Eight strands of firecrackers, each about 10 feet long,
were lighted. When they fizzled, four teams of two people performed a
traditional lion dance, each team encased in a brilliantly colored
costume resembling a fantastic, shimmering creature.
As one person held up the heavy lion's head, a partner controlled the
body. The dance required plenty of coordination, particularly when
one person climbed atop his partner's thighs so the lion could stand tall.
What makes the holiday special is the abundance of food, several
people said. Vendors were selling a variety, including pork and
shrimp mini-crepes, meatballs on sticks, egg rolls, pho noodle soup
and boba drinks, which come with chewy tapioca balls.
"We get to eat a feast after we pray," said Tina Tran, 13, of San Diego.
But if you're young, like Tina, the traditional red envelopes with
cash stand out, too.
George Do, 70, of east San Diego said he hands them to his seven
grandchildren.
"I give them red envelopes to remember the culture," he said.
Do said he fought for the South Vietnamese military but wasn't able
to flee when the war ended. In 1985, he escaped by boat to Malaysia
and was sponsored by a Lutheran church in Chicago. He arrived in
Chicago in 1987. His four children arrived as refugees in 1989, and
his wife followed in 1990.
This year's Tet Festival is the fourth annual event held by the
Vietnamese American Youth Alliance, a nonprofit group founded in
2004. The group pulled off the festival, which attracts about 25,000
people, with about 500 volunteers and more than six months of
planning, said Kristiana Nguyen, an event coordinator.
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Linda Lou: (760) 737-7574; linda.lou@uniontrib.com
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