KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9. 2005 6A
Ringing in the NEW YEAR
Asian students celebrate the first day of Tet on a weekday this year — with or without their families
By Kim Wallace $ \diamond $ Kansan correspondent
T two cans of pho beef broth sit atop my cluttered pantry. Untouched for nearly two months, they seem foreign to my everyday ideas for lunch and dinner. But today is different — today more incentive exists to find the local Asian market on my
own and buy all the trimmings to be able to open those cans and prepare a home-cooked meal with my new dorm family.
Just as many Americans start thinking about Christmas in July, Asian Americans prepare extensively for months in advance for their biggest holiday celebration of the year. Cooking and cleaning top the list of things to get done before the next year begins. Lunar New Year, often referred to as "Tet" in Vietnamese tradition, is a family-centered holiday. Its most important concern is honoring cultural roots. Tet begins today and will be celebrated in the United States for three days to a week. In its home lands, Tet is celebrated for up to two weeks.
"You could almost compare Tet to Christmas, where the focus is primarily on family," Ronald Nguyen, Derby junior, says, "but what sets Tet apart is the emphasis on our ancestors and paving homage to them."
Though Christmas falls on the same day every year, Lunar New Year differs each year, causing conflicts with family planning. This year, the celebration begins in the middle of the week, hindering travel for many students. For the first time, some Asian-American students will rely on their friends and student associations to help ring in the year of the rooster.
"It's never easy being away from home and trying to celebrate an event that truly defines who we are as a culture, whether it be Vietnamese or Chinese," Nguyen says. "Then again, that is what friends are for."
Student unions on campus began planning early for 2005's Tet celebration to include many of the homey traditions several students will miss because of long travel. The Vietnamese Student Association will present "Tet Show 2005" on Feb.19, which will include the everpopular dragon dance, traditional ribbon dances and a fashion show highlighting different forms of customary Asian style.
CELEBRATE THE LUNAR NEW YEAR
The Vietnamese Student Association will hold The Tet Show 2005 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 19, at the Ballroom in the Kansas Union. All students are welcome and the event is free. The evening will begin with a free pre-show dinner at 5:30 p.m. in the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building, 1204 Dorea.
Have you ever attended a campus event celebrating a culture outside your own?
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"This year I'm in charge of the dragon dance, which is my favorite part of Tet, and hope to provide the audience a fun and memorable experience." Nguyen says.
Groups of young boys and occasionally girls from ages 15 and older participate in the cultural dance. One person works as the head, and another works as the tail of an ornately decorated dragon. The dance symbolizes bringing good luck to wherever the dragon dances and scaring away any evil spirits or bad luck that may have remained from the previous year. In return for this, spectators can "feed" the dragon lucky money in red envelopes, called "ii xi," that is later donated to worthy causes such as local temples or other outlets for improving cultural awareness.
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