lunar new year

Tết: Climax of a Long Holiday Season

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Happy Year of the Cat! Below is the English version of my latest essay for VNExpress Kỳ nghỉ siêu dài, published on 22.1.23, Lunar New Year's Day. It's a continuation and elaboration of this 12-21 article for VNExpress International about Christmas as the beginning of a long holiday season in Vietnam. Shalom (שלום), MAA One of … Continue reading Tết: Climax of a Long Holiday Season

Season’s Greetings 2022/Happy New Year 2023!

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To all of you who celebrate, wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, Rewarding, & Peaceful Solar New Year! Here's an article I wrote last year about Christmas in Vietnam as the kickoff to a long holiday season that culminates Tết, the celebration of the Lunar New Year, which falls on … Continue reading Season’s Greetings 2022/Happy New Year 2023!

Christmas in Vietnam: bookending a long festival season

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Here's my latest essay for VNExpress International. Even though the percentage of Vietnamese who celebrate December 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ is in the single digits, Christmas has evolved into a full-fledged secular holiday in recent years. A sure sign Christmas is approaching is when elaborate and colorful holiday displays at banks and … Continue reading Christmas in Vietnam: bookending a long festival season

Of Fish & Kitchen Gods: A Tết Ritual Needs To Be Carried Out in a Humane & Non-Polluting Manner

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Dead carp floating in the To Lich River in Hanoi on Thursday. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh (February 2018) On a recent commute to my office, I noticed numerous signs on the bridge over the Red River. They asked people not to throw fish into water river below. As this 2018 article notes, "the ritual is an … Continue reading Of Fish & Kitchen Gods: A Tết Ritual Needs To Be Carried Out in a Humane & Non-Polluting Manner

Christmas in Viet Nam

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St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi. Photo by MAA Having lived in Viet Nam for over 15 years, I can say with absolute certainty that I enjoy Christmas here more than in the US. Even though most Vietnamese are not Christian, it is still a special and even magical time. You see children (and adults!) posing for photos … Continue reading Christmas in Viet Nam

Chinese vs. Lunar New Year: A Mini-Lesson in Cultural Sensitivity

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Image courtesy of Báo giao thông Since it's that time of year again and the Lunar Year of the Rat is right around the corner, I feel compelled to state the obvious. With all due respect to China, it does not have a monopoly on this or any other Lunar New Year. Tết Nguyên Đán … Continue reading Chinese vs. Lunar New Year: A Mini-Lesson in Cultural Sensitivity