Hundreds of Vietnamese children filled the halls of the Central Lions recreation centre in Edmonton City, Canada, on Saturday, many wearing traditional blue or orange robes as they rang in the Year of the Tiger.
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| Kids from the Edmonton Vietnamese School Centre on Saturday perform a fan dance at the Vietnamese community's Tet celebration at the Central Lion's Seniors Centre to welcome the Year of the Tiger. Photograph by: John Lucas, The Journal, Edmonton Journal |
The Tet festival, which marks the new year on the Vietnamese lunar calendar and anticipates the coming of spring, is a major holiday in the southeast Asian country. There, it spans three days of mass celebrations and revelry -- not unlike New Orleans' Mardi Gras, says Minh, 39, a Vietnamese-born Canadian who brought his two children to Edmonton's rather smaller one-day celebration.
While he hopes to one day take them to celebrate Tet in Vietnam, Minh says the local celebration has helped his children grow familiar with their heritage.
"It's a chance for the kids to see our culture a little bit, and to understand what the lunar new year is about ... They were both born in Canada, so they don't get exposed to it as much," he said.
His nine-year-old daughter Katryna is more than happy to oblige her father: "When it comes to a festival, and it means a lot to my parents, it means a lot to me."
Organized by the Edmonton Viets Association, the event is very much geared toward children like Katryna. Children play "bau cua ca cop," a traditional dice game, for prizes, and feast on a smorgasbord of traditional food. Many dress in the "ao dai khan dong," the coloured robe and open-topped hat of their ancestors, and are given lucky red envelopes with coins inside. More than a few talk their parents into buying them various made-in-Vietnam goods, from ceramic cats and ducks to Vietnamshaped clocks and glowing plastic "magic wands."
"There's a lot of families that bring their little kids in because they want them to be exposed to that culture," said second-generation Vietnamese Canadian Quyen Vu, who's been attending the Tet festival here since she was about 10. "Parents ... remember (experiencing) it as kids, and how much fun it was in Vietnam, and they just want to share a bit of that."
During the day's hours of performances, many children take the stage to sing Vietnamese songs, perform traditional or modernized dances, or even take part in a fashion show of historical clothes with modern twists.
But the highlight of the day, and a staple of the Tet festival, is the Lion Dance, in which dancers in huge Buddha and dragon costumes chase each other about in a performance meant to bring prosperity and good luck.
On Saturday, Edmonton's 10,000 Vietnamese were mostly looking ahead, hoping for success in a year symbolized by the zodiac animal known for ambition and passion.
"The Year of the Tiger means that you are eager to do things, especially in business," said Viets Association vice-president Bao Ton, one of the city's many Vietnamese business owners. "I hope that this year will bring our Canadian economy back."
