Growing up, Tết (or Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year) was always a fun time to celebrate the new year, give thanks for the past year, and wish our parents and those older than us good health, prosperity, and happiness in the year to come. As a kid, it was the time of year to add to the "riches" of Christmas with the little "red envelops" of cash (bao lì xì). LOL 😁
Then, in college, Tết was a time for múa lân (or lion dancing) with the Vietnamese Students Association (VSA) at UT-Austin. It was after one of these 3-hour performances, at the Hong Kong Supermarket, that I introduced my girlfriend (and future wife) to my parents. She was not pleased with me for doing that because she was all sweaty, her hair was a mess, and she smelled like sulfur from all the fireworks. But, then again, we all were. LOL 😁
As an adult, I have not celebrated Tết as I once did; although, I still call and wish our parents a happy and prosperous new year and good health in my best tiếng Việt. However, it is always a fun time when we do have a chance to get together with our families to celebrate. One year, we celebrated at the Chinatown in Austin with my family. Another year, we celebrated at my wife's aunt's house in Houston. We also had a chance to attend Mass at the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church, on Yager Lane, one Tết and it was wonderful to see Bishop Vásquez celebrate the Mass and offer a blessing in his best tiếng Việt. At our parish of Saint Albert the Great, we started an English-Vietnamese bilingual Mass for the feast of the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs last November. We hope to keep that as an annual event and build from there.
This year, I look forward to watching my soon-to-be-9-yrs-old goddaughter read at Mass for the first time. Come to think of it, I get to celebrate three new years - liturgical new year, traditional new year, and Lunar New Year (Tết). . . Chúc mừng năm mới, everyone!
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