Post by admin on Jan 26, 2009 16:34:17 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20090126/NEWS01/90126003/1285/LOCAL09
FREEHOLD — The St. Rose of Lima Parish Center was a flurry of activity Friday night, with young girls talking about their colorful long tunics and silky pantaloons, children amusing
themselves with hand-held video or card games and a knot of men gazing up earnestly as they tried to find just the right place to hang a bright yellow poster.
"Another year is coming," said Oanh Pham of Red Bank.
Members of a small Vietnamese Catholic community gathered for a relaxed evening of preparations and performance rehearsals Friday for a celebration this weekend of the Lunar New Year, also known as Tet Nguyen Dan. The holiday begins on Monday.
Community members had planned a dinner and party with traditional singing and dancing to be performed by the women.
On Friday, a few of the women who would be performing tried on multicolored outfits and hung small red drums around their necks. Several men, meanwhile, were busily hanging a bright yellow poster emblazoned with the words — in Vietnamese — "Happy New Year," "Peaceful Year," and "Year of the Ox 2009."
Phuong Nguyen, leader of the Vietnamese Catholic community, said he and his staff hold a New Year party every year "so everyone can enjoy the happiest day of the year and to remind the young generation about the Vietnamese culture."
Ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese around the world have been preparing in recent days for the Lunar New Year, one of the biggest events of the year for celebrants.
"It's one of the major holidays that we value," said Van Le, chairman of the New Jersey Vietnamese-American Community Association. The Vietnamese New Year is generally celebrated on the same day as the Chinese New Year.
Monday will usher in the Year of the Ox, or Water Buffalo, depending on whom you ask. It is the second year in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle.
The Ox generally signifies new beginnings and is also marked by success through discipline and hard work, according to several Web sites. The new year begins just six days after the inauguration of arguably one of the most famous people born during the Year of the Ox, President Barack Obama.
In anticipation of the holiday, local families like the Nguyens have been indulging in traditions such as making banh chung, special rice cakes stuffed with beans and meat and wrapped in banana leaves.
The Nguyens, of Marlboro, usually gives the cakes away to friends, said 13-year-old Matt Nguyen (no relation to Phuong Nguyen).
As a child growing up in Vietnam, Lam Dinh of Marlboro said the Lunar New Year was a huge event.
Businesses would close during the three days of the Vietnamese celebration, children wore new clothes and everyone would gather to eat special foods, like banh chung, that were only made at that time of year, Dinh said.
On the first day of the holiday, people would stay home with their families. On the second and third days, people would generally leave their homes to visit with relatives and wish them well in the New Year, Dinh said.
In the United States, such extended celebrations are not feasible, though Dinh says he usually allows his children to stay home from school on the first day of the New Year.
Some traditions have survived the move to this country, however.
Children can still expect red envelopes filled with money from older, married relatives, for example. The gifts are meant to bestow good luck on their recipients.
Red signifies fortune or prosperity, according to Ching-I Tu, director of the Confucius Institute at Rutgers University, which promotes Chinese language and cultural education.
New Year celebrants traditionally gather on New Year's Eve for an elaborate dinner with their families, Tu said.
The Lunar New Year "is the only holiday that brings people together," said Le, the
Vietnamese-American community leader.
And much like the new year celebrated on Jan. 1, Monday will be a time for both reflection and anticipation for many.
"This is like a new beginning for us," Nguyen said.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
FREEHOLD — The St. Rose of Lima Parish Center was a flurry of activity Friday night, with young girls talking about their colorful long tunics and silky pantaloons, children amusing
themselves with hand-held video or card games and a knot of men gazing up earnestly as they tried to find just the right place to hang a bright yellow poster.
"Another year is coming," said Oanh Pham of Red Bank.
Members of a small Vietnamese Catholic community gathered for a relaxed evening of preparations and performance rehearsals Friday for a celebration this weekend of the Lunar New Year, also known as Tet Nguyen Dan. The holiday begins on Monday.
Community members had planned a dinner and party with traditional singing and dancing to be performed by the women.
On Friday, a few of the women who would be performing tried on multicolored outfits and hung small red drums around their necks. Several men, meanwhile, were busily hanging a bright yellow poster emblazoned with the words — in Vietnamese — "Happy New Year," "Peaceful Year," and "Year of the Ox 2009."
Phuong Nguyen, leader of the Vietnamese Catholic community, said he and his staff hold a New Year party every year "so everyone can enjoy the happiest day of the year and to remind the young generation about the Vietnamese culture."
Ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese around the world have been preparing in recent days for the Lunar New Year, one of the biggest events of the year for celebrants.
"It's one of the major holidays that we value," said Van Le, chairman of the New Jersey Vietnamese-American Community Association. The Vietnamese New Year is generally celebrated on the same day as the Chinese New Year.
Monday will usher in the Year of the Ox, or Water Buffalo, depending on whom you ask. It is the second year in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle.
The Ox generally signifies new beginnings and is also marked by success through discipline and hard work, according to several Web sites. The new year begins just six days after the inauguration of arguably one of the most famous people born during the Year of the Ox, President Barack Obama.
In anticipation of the holiday, local families like the Nguyens have been indulging in traditions such as making banh chung, special rice cakes stuffed with beans and meat and wrapped in banana leaves.
The Nguyens, of Marlboro, usually gives the cakes away to friends, said 13-year-old Matt Nguyen (no relation to Phuong Nguyen).
As a child growing up in Vietnam, Lam Dinh of Marlboro said the Lunar New Year was a huge event.
Businesses would close during the three days of the Vietnamese celebration, children wore new clothes and everyone would gather to eat special foods, like banh chung, that were only made at that time of year, Dinh said.
On the first day of the holiday, people would stay home with their families. On the second and third days, people would generally leave their homes to visit with relatives and wish them well in the New Year, Dinh said.
In the United States, such extended celebrations are not feasible, though Dinh says he usually allows his children to stay home from school on the first day of the New Year.
Some traditions have survived the move to this country, however.
Children can still expect red envelopes filled with money from older, married relatives, for example. The gifts are meant to bestow good luck on their recipients.
Red signifies fortune or prosperity, according to Ching-I Tu, director of the Confucius Institute at Rutgers University, which promotes Chinese language and cultural education.
New Year celebrants traditionally gather on New Year's Eve for an elaborate dinner with their families, Tu said.
The Lunar New Year "is the only holiday that brings people together," said Le, the
Vietnamese-American community leader.
And much like the new year celebrated on Jan. 1, Monday will be a time for both reflection and anticipation for many.
"This is like a new beginning for us," Nguyen said.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com