When I heard that it was the Year of the Cat, I could hear the jokes coming. Growing up, I heard plenty of jokes about Vietnamese people eating cats and dogs and I always wondered where people got this from.
Vietnamese New Year also known as TET, is the biggest and most celebrated holiday in Vietnam. The Vietnamese people prepare for weeks in advance and are on holiday for days celebrating with family and friends surrounded by specialties that takes hours and sometimes over night to prepare.
According to the Vietnamese horoscope, those born in the years: 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, and 1999 are Cats. The Year of the Cat symbolizes a year of sensitivity, gentleness and kindness.
Growing up in Beloit, Wisconsin, TET became an anticipated holiday by the small Vietnamese community that had developed and grew. My parents were a part of the planning committee and somehow my siblings and I always ended up being a part of the talent show, singing and dancing.
As much as we hemmed and hawed and hated attending long hours of rehearsals, those were some fun memories. All of my favorite Vietnamese cuisine were in abundance. From eggrolls to sticky stuffed rice, to dried fruit candies, and of course, hot & spicy soups, seafood and beef delicacies.
Photo by Calvin Lee www.mayhemstudios.com
My favorite memory was receiving little red square envelops from my parents friends filled with cash, ranging anywhere from $1-$10 each. If it was a good year, every now and then I’d receive a $20 bill. It was customary for adults to hand out little red envelops to other children. By the end of the night, my siblings and felt like we hit the jack pot. Well, when you’re little, $70-100 was a lot of dough!
After I got married, my husband and I incorporated the Vietnamese New Year as a part of our annual tradition and returned home to attend the Vietnamese New Year’s community celebration. Hubs loved being a part of the festivities, as it’s the only time he gets to indulge in all of the delicious cuisine that I don’t know how to prepare.
Eventually, my parents began spending Vietnamese New Year’s back in their home country as they spent the winter months with my brother Ho Chi Minh City. Due to my dad’s health, as of this year they weren’t able to make the twenty six hour flight with layovers and instead are celebrating TET on the west coast where they are enjoying a little milder winter.
With that said, Vietnamese New Year hasn’t been the same without them and I haven’t mastered any specialties.
No cat platters here.
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! {Happy New Year!}
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I love the Vietnamese sticky stuffed rice, and it’s so hard to find — I’d love to attend these celebrations just to eat this treat!