Lunar New Year--that which the Vietnamese call "Tet"--is my favorite holiday. The house has been cleaned, incense burns on the altar to welcome home the spirit of ancestors, fresh flowers decorate altars and tabletops, and an abundance of festive food is served, rare to find any other day of the year. The celebration lasts for three days, in which time people go around their relatives' houses to wish them a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year, and to give and receive little red envelopes with money. Red is considered lucky and auspicious, so from firecrackers to florals, it is a common decorative color. 2010 welcomes the Year of the Tiger, a bold year, a strong year, a year to go after what you want and take it without qualms or misgivings. Here are some pictures to brighten the blog wall for Tet.
Fruit and tea offerings sit on the altar. The red candles stay lit for all three days.
Red gladiolus are common flowers on display, along with cherry blossoms or quince for their pink-reddish hue.
Yellow chrysanthemums are another popular decorative flower. My name in Vietnamese means "pink chrysanthemum." These typically bloom in the autumn, when I was born.
Red firecrackers littering the ground are a common site for the first of New Year's. People traditionally light them during New Year's Eve to scare away bad spirits and to welcome in the new.
Happy Year of the Tiger!
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