Happy New Year

Happy New Year Thursday, January 29, 2009 Story and Photos by Diane Duyen Cu
CELEBRATION: The preparations are over. These days, Vietnamese families all over the world are ringing in the Lunar New Year.
Finally, the holiday has arrived, after weeks of preparation that sometimes have been just as colorful and delicious.
The traditions of cooking and cleaning before Tết are just some of the tasks Vietnamese stay busy with because eating well and having a clean house during the first days of the New Year are foreshadowing signs of good luck, fortune and prosperity for the rest of the year.
In Việt Nam, the arrival of Spring during Tết brings in a bounty of new blooms, buds and fruits. The welcoming of spring’s bounty of floral harvests and fruits are never forgotten .Vietnamese communities all around the world continue this tradition of adorning their homes with flowers and bearing these gifts of petals to family and friends.
To favor the good spirits and ensure a prosperous year, the bearer will give beautiful tokens of flowers, fruits, fruit trees, delicious foods and other luck-bearing gifts. The recipient will in turn receive good luck as well.
We have seen, before the official arrival of Tết, flower merchants showing their profusion of bulbs and fruit trees. In large Vietnamese American communities, the striking combination of yellow, gold and red chrysanthemums and even more colorful show of orchids lined the stretches of streets and shopping centers.
Excited buyers carefully selected the most appealing of draping orchid flowers, the brightest yellow of chrysanthemums and the most fruit laden of kumquat, mandarin and kalamansi lime trees. Homes now are adorned with these sights for the coming weeks to welcome the lucky spirits.
Anxious kids, sporting traditional garb, await their lucky red envelopes of crisp money. Yet giving money to children is not restricted just to children. Adults will gift money to each other as well, as a gesture of love and luck.
When available, exotic fruits such as rhambutans (chôm chôm) are a prized gift for all those who receive it. The irresistible red of this sweet fruit makes ideal gifts for special friends and family.
To add to the diversity of the presents, dried fruits, seeds and tea are wrapped in red cellophane to reflect the holiday theme.
Munching on candied treats and sipping gifted tea is a tradition that is loved by both young and old.
So, it’s all about the goodness and kindness of giving for the New Year. Gifts from the heart to make the home beautiful, the garden bountiful and the bellies full are sure signs of great things to come.
source
Nguoi Viet Online