Happy Tet!

We celebrated the Tet holiday in Ema's class today. Tet is the most important Vietnamese holiday. It is the beginning of the new year, according to the Lunar Calendar. Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year. To celebrate, the kids created dragon puppets. They learned a little about the holiday and then tried out some jackfruit, rice and noodles. Ema wore her red Ao Dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress, to school.
Tet shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tet by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. On Tet, Vietnamese visit their families and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Children receive a red envelope containing money from their elders.
We are beginning the Year of the Rat, one of 12 animals that represent the lunar calendar. A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find. Rat is associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities.
Enjoy the Photos!