Tết Festival was held on campus at Royce Hall and allowed for students of the Vietnamese community to come together and bond. Filled with food and activities, both staff and students were able to welcome the Lunar New Year amongst familiar faces.
TRANSCRIPT:
SOT: Lunar New Year is based off the positioning of the moon and the sun, wheras the Western calendar correlates with the Earth completeing its orbit around the sun. Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian cultures and usually lands around late January or early February. This year, Lunar New Year was celebrated on February 19th, and lasted for three days. Among the many Asian cultures that celebrate Lunar New Year, Tết is the Vietnamese version of new year. The Tết Festival was held on campus at Royce Hall B140 for the Vietnamese community at UCLA as a way to bond with other students and staff. Led by student leaders and guided by professors, the Tết festival was an event that allowed for students to come by and enjoy the new year on campus.
Bùi: Tết means the first day of the year. [2:14] This is most important for Vietnamese, because the meaning includes meaning of Thanksgiving, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Teacher Day, Boss Day and also birthdays because with Vietnamese, we celebrate the birthdays at the same time.
SOT: That was Professor Quyên Di Chúc Bùi who teaches Vietnamese at UCLA. The meaning of Tết basically encompasses all celebrations into one festival and is a time for celebrating and bonding with others. Students from all the Vietnamese language classes dropped by the festival, bringing along friends and experiencing the Lunar New Year together with food and music. Led by a student leader, icebreaker games were played to get to know each other. Students dressed up in the traditional áo dài and sung new year songs. It was a chance for students to take a break from school and play Tết festival activities that encourage a sense of togetherness and community.
Kelvin Lu, a transfer student studying biochemistry attends the Tết Festival for the first time at UCLA. He came to the United States from Vietnam 5 years ago.
LU : As a Vietnamese student, I thought it was important to follow my country’s tradition. Vietnamese often gather together on the Tết holiday and have some activities…It’s the first time I participated in the Tết holiday in UCLA, and people gather together and there is lots of activities. It’s very fun and it makes me feel like home in Vietnam.
SOT: The Tết Festival held at UCLA was attended by over 40 people, who wanted to take part in the activities and meet other fellow Vietnamese students.
NGUYEN: We come here to get the red envelopes for luck from our professors, usually we get food to eat and we play games during the Tết Festival. It’s hard for us to go home in the middle of the week, so it’s good that we are all gathered here.
SOT: Tram Nguyen is a third-year biology student who is a participant of the Tết festival at UCLA. She came because it was difficult for her to travel back home for Tết. Coming to the Tết Festival at UCLA gave her an opportunity to welcome the new year with her friends.
NGUYEN: We are gathered here as friends like a family, just like at home.
SOT: Although the festival was for only one day on campus, Tết is celebrated for 3 days. The Tết Festival at UCLA allowed for students in the Vietnamese community to celebrate and enjoy the new year together. For Daily Bruin Radio, I’m Nora Sot.