The Mt. Eden Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) took to San Francisco Chinatown for a field trip to celebrate Lunar New Year on Wednesday, January 29.
Senior Connie Chung, co-president of VSA, said she hopes the field trip helps teach Vietnamese students more about their culture, and encourages them to have confidence in embracing it. For non-Vietnamese students, she wishes they “learn something new.”
“Chinese New Year isn’t really talked about or isn’t really as popular here as it is in our home countries,” said Chung. “But I still think it’s important to embrace our roots, where we come from, and what we celebrate.”
Lunar New Year, or Tết in Vietnamese, is an annual celebration of the new year based on the lunar calendar. The holiday generally lasts seven days and often lands on the same day as Chinese New Year.
Tết traditions often include gathering with family and friends, feasting, fireworks and firecrackers, ancestor veneration, lion dancing, and giving out red envelopes.
This Lunar New Year, VSA celebrated by visiting the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and exploring Chinatown while completing a scavenger hunt. VSA requested club members to complete a checklist of pictures, including snapping photos outside a dim sum eatery or with a lion dancing performance.
Some students also wore áo dài, Vietnamese formal-wear, or red to celebrate the new year.
Rachel Carbone, field trip attendee, said the most memorable part of the event was seeing how it brought people together. She reported being able to learn more about Lunar New Year and immerse herself by conversing with shop owners in Chinatown.
“It was really nice seeing people connect with each other,” said Carbone.
