A Spring Tet Festival of Love
Chuc Mung Nam Moi!
Today is Tet–the Vietnamese Lunar New Year–and life in southern California is bustling. It is a warm 78 degrees Fahrenheit with the sun shining brightly. What better thing is there to do than the celebrate this beautiful day at the New Year Tet Festival in Orange County with loved ones!
Spring of Love, by UVSA: The Union of Vietnamese Student Associations (UVSA) has put together the festive 29th annual Tet Festival. The theme this year is “Spring of Love.” The goal of the festival is to celebrate the most observed holiday in the Vietnamese community through preserving culture by showcasing a vibrant array of traditional foods, ceremonies, and customs. UVSA staff and members dedicate thousands of hours to organizing this successful event that is both festive as well as a means to raise cultural awareness among the younger generation, to build future leaders in the Vietnamese community, and to financially help programs in the Southern California area. The dedication of students and community members in this event can be seen throughout the 29 years of the event’s history. Since 2002, UVSA has had exclusive rights to host the Tet Festival in Garden Grove Park which is annually attended by over 100,000 members in the community. The event is
Tuong Vi (Bolsa Grande High) and Thien Anh (Bolsa Grande High) adorn Ao Ba Ba as they sit in a boat replica during UVSA Tet Festival 2010
run entirely on volunteer efforts, and 50% of the profits that UVSA gains are distributed straight back into the community. The remaining profits are used to ensure the sustainability of future festivals and are given to the Vietnamese Student Associations of the participating universities. The Tet Festival of Southern California is the largest Lunar New Year Festival in the world outside of Vietnam.
White peach flowers grace every Vietnamese home during Tet. This picture is taken at my grandma's house during 2010 Year of the Tiger.
Vietnamese children dress in traditional clothing and carry flowers in preparation for their performance at UVSA 2010 Tet Festival
Festivals around the Country: Besides the Tet Festival in Orange County, there are Tet Festivals all around the United States. In Boston, the Vietnamese Community of Boston and New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association hold an annual festival to welcome in the New Year. In San Jose, the Coalition of Nationalist Vietnamese Organizations of Northern California hosts one of the largest festivals that is comparable to its SoCal counterpart. Tet festivals also occur in Chicago, DC, Dallas, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Maryland, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Florida, Minneapolis, New York, Louisiana, and multiple locations in Virginia.
Happy New Year from One Vietnam!
As we welcome in the Year of the Tiger, all of us at OneVietnam Network hope you and your family a prosperous and exciting new year! More pictures from the OC Tet Festival to come!
Students of Bolsa Grande High School wear traditional Vietnamese clothing
Elgine Rodriguez (Santa Ana College) and Johnny Nguyen (Bolsa Grande High) dress as Southern Vietnamese soldiers during UVSA Tet Festival 2010
Isabella is in a second year at Stanford School of Medicine. She graduated with honors from Harvard University, studying Neurobiology, Health Policy, and Spanish. At Harvard, Isabella served as the President of the Intercollegiate VIetnamese Student Association of New England and the Vice-Chairman of the Boston Tet Festival Committee. She was the Interim Editor-in-Chief for VTP from 2009-10.
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