2008 Blogs

Lunar New Year Festivities and new friends

01/19/2009

 

What a lucky person I am!  I get to celebrate the new year twice in the same month, first with good friends in Richmond and now with new friends in Nha Trang!  I recently received an invitation from the People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province inviting me to a Lunar New Year celebration at the Yasaka Hotel.  By the way, did you know that this is going to be the year of the ox (the translator last night said buffalo, but I looked it up and think that here buffalo and ox may be synonymous)?  Tonight’s reception seemed to be a special event for foreigners (and a few other folks) who are living and conducting business in Nha Trang. 

I'm learning about the Lunar New Year, also called Tet, as I experience it and will pass along my perceptions (and hopefully not too many errors).  A number of countries in this part of the world celebrat the Lunar New Year, for instance, China, Japan, and Korea, and in Vietnam it is called Tet.  The date fluctuates because it occurs on the second new moon after the winter solstice, so it can be from late January to mid-February.   I will write more about the traditions of Tet, or the Lunar New Year, as I learn about them, but it does seem like a much bigger event than the American New Year. 

On the way downtown I had the opportunity to meet and get to know some of the graduate students living in my dormitory as we traveled together by van.  Aren’t they a lovely group!  These students, who are enrolled in a two-year program called NOMA, are from Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China, and Bangladesh, and I look forward to getting to know them better in the coming weeks. 

After the opening speeches by dignitaries, the evening was filled with delicious food, music, dancing, and many colorful costumes.  I can’t recall all of the dishes we had, but I'm growing quite fond of the fried spring rolls and I loved the ending our dinner with a lovely fresh fruit buffet for and candied coconut and ginger (for the digestion).  There also was frequent toasting to the new year as dignitaries and friends made the rounds from table to table. 

For our entertainment, young women and men in a variety of traditional costumes presented dances from Vietnam, Japan, and possibly a few other Asian countries.  At one point they danced to the Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie song, “We are the World,” which I have always liked:  “We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day. So let’s start givin’…”   The message seems timeless.

As I write this at the end of the evening, I realize that words simply are not adequate enough to capture the colorful sights, sounds, tastes, and most of all, the warmth and friendliness of my companions for the evening.  On top of that, my gecko made another appearance tonight when I returned home!  I think he wants to see if I can tune into a broadcast of Barak Obama's inauguration.  Here's hoping that the year of the buffalo will be a good one for us all!

(Just a little reminder, I posting more pictures at:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jpasset1)