Celebrating the Snake :: Happy Lunar New Year!
Four weeks after the world has celebrated New Year’s Day, our family will celebrate the Lunar New Year on January 29. My husband’s Vietnamese family will ring in the Year of the Snake, and we will join in a fun cultural celebration, including a trip to the Tết festival in New Orleans East.
How my family celebrates:
On the weekend after January 29, my three sons will dress in traditional Vietnamese outfits, called áo dàis, before wishing their grandparents and older family members a happy New Year in Vietnamese. We will present their grandparents with fruit and then receive lucky red envelopes with money in them, called lì xì. We will also present our nieces and nephews (or any younger family members) with lì xì.
For the first time since I started celebrating Tết with my in-laws, my husband and I will also wear our áo dàis. (I last wore an áo dài at my wedding over a decade ago!) When we are finished exchanging New Year greetings, we will change into red clothes for luck and head out to Mary Queen of Vietnam parish in New Orleans East for their two-day festival.
We’ll feast on Vietnamese dishes, play all of the games at the festival booths, dance to Vietnamese or American music depending on which band is onstage at the time, and enjoy the New Year fun! There are usually bounce houses and train rides for the kids, along with a large walk-through display of Vietnamese cultural items. After, we’ll head home to count out the kids’ lucky money and help them put it away for saving.
How your family can celebrate:
If your family hasn’t celebrated Lunar New Year before, here are some fun ideas for how you can join in the festivities!
- Wear red on January 29: Red is the lucky color of the New Year.
- Gift lì xì: Surprise your children with a red envelope with some cash in it! If you don’t have a red envelope, which can be found at most Asian groceries, any envelope will do. Our family traditionally exchanges lucky $2 bills, so you may need a quick trip to the bank if you want to keep with tradition, but even a single unexpected dollar is a fun surprise for a kid.
- Visit a local Asian market: Look for traditional New Year’s foods, or have a meal out at a Vietnamese restaurant. (Our family often frequents Phở Bằng.) If your kids aren’t adventurous eaters, I’d suggest making a special trip to Dong Phuong for a taste of their famous king cake!
- Find your zodiac animal: Were you or your child born in the year of the snake? Give it a Google and see if this is your zodiac animal, and if not, what yours might be. Then look up qualities related to that animal and have a just-for-fun conversation about how you are or are not like that animal.
- Make a snake craft: Have your kids decorate a paper plate, then cut it in a spiral starting from the outside edge to the center. Add eyes and a tongue to one end and punch a hole in the center of the plate where the spiral ends. Tie a string through the hole, and you can hang your snake anywhere for decoration! Have fun searching Pinterest for other snake crafts or Lunar New Year decoration crafts.
- Join us at Mary Queen of Vietnam’s Tết festival! The evening of January 31 will include fireworks and dragon or lion dances, or come during the day on February 1 or February 2 for some weekend fun! Enjoy the delicious food, games, prizes, and music!