Vietnamese Tet in America: Easing Homesickness for the Flavors of Home

Tet shopping at the Phuoc Loc Tho market, making banh chung and preparing the Tet feast: these are the images of Vietnamese Tet in America for those living far from their homeland.

Every Tet, instead of working hard as Americans do at that time of year, Vietnamese communities across the US are busy preparing a traditional Tet just as in Vietnam, to ease their homesickness and preserve Vietnamese customs. Though not as bustling and festive as Tet in Vietnam, Vietnamese Tet in America is just as lively and complete with all the rituals of Vietnamese culture.

Vietnamese Americans happily shop for Tet at the Phuoc Loc Tho mall

Located on Bolsa Avenue near Magnolia in Southern California, the Phuoc Loc Tho market is built entirely in East Asian style. It is one of the outstanding achievements of the Vietnamese community since they arrived in the United States in the 1970s, and a symbol of the success of the Vietnamese community and culture in America.

Inside, the market sells all kinds of goods, from clothing, food and toys to music stores, all run by Vietnamese people. All around are many businesses, from restaurants and bookstores to clinics, serving the needs of the local community.

In the days leading up to the traditional Vietnamese Tet, the Phuoc Loc Tho mall sells everything you need, from banh chung ingredients and apricot and peach blossoms to decorations for the five-fruit tray. It's not as abundant as in Vietnam, but it's enough for a traditional Tet just like back home.

There is also a Spring Flower Market that runs for about 2 weeks before Tet according to the Vietnamese calendar, where Vietnamese communities from Orange County, Little Saigon and Southern California gather to shop and admire Tet flowers in a lively, bustling atmosphere. The flower fair at Phuoc Loc Tho also features many lively lion dances, making Vietnamese Tet in America just as festive as in Vietnam.

Strolling around the Tet market and flower market in the days before Tet, you can really feel an atmosphere just like Tet in Vietnam. The sight of girls in wooden clogs and conical hats, holding branches of peach blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums and apricot blossoms along with red envelopes, feels as familiar as the old days in Vietnam.

The Phuoc Loc Tho mall also sells many dishes from home, such as gio lua pork roll, Tet banh chung and nem, at reasonable prices, and the friendly service among fellow Vietnamese promises you the happiest moments of a hometown Tet in America.

How overseas Vietnamese celebrate Tet in America

To preserve the customs of the traditional Vietnamese Tet, overseas Vietnamese in America also organize many festivals to help people ease their longing for the flavors of a hometown Tet.

You can visit the Tet fair at Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie, Texas, held every year in the days before Tet. It is one of the largest Tet festivals of Vietnamese Americans, drawing large numbers of Vietnamese from across the US. The festival offers many fun activities steeped in Vietnamese culture, such as lion dances, conical hat dances and ao dai shows. Many famous singers from Vietnam and abroad also come to perform and celebrate with the overseas Vietnamese.

The Vietnamese Tet festival in San Jose in Northern California is also held every year when "Tet comes and spring returns" according to the Vietnamese calendar. The local Vietnamese community holds the festival at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds, with familiar Tet sights such as banh chung and apricot and peach blossoms, plus many performances such as lion dances, ao dai contests and Tet stalls, along with many famous singers, all very lively.

The Tet festival in Little Saigon in Southern California is also always bustling, with many Tet markets such as Phuoc Loc Tho and Tan Mai market. The restaurants in Little Saigon are always packed with Vietnamese diners in the days before and during Tet. At the Crown hotel, Little Saigon Radio also hosts a New Year's Eve gala according to the Vietnamese calendar for the local Vietnamese community. The program is broadcast live for 6 hours, from 10:30 pm on New Year's Eve to 4 am on the first day of Tet, so everyone can celebrate together and relive memories of Tet in Vietnam.

Overseas Vietnamese in America come together to wrap meaningful Tet banh chung

Banh chung is one of the traditional cakes of Vietnamese Tet. So wherever overseas Vietnamese in America live or travel, green banh chung are never missing from their traditional Tet feast. For Vietnamese people anywhere, banh chung is a national, traditional dish that helps ease their homesickness and their memories of the old days in Vietnam.

Vietnamese families in America usually gather on the 27th and 28th of the 12th lunar month to wrap banh chung together, a time to make delicious cakes by hand with family and friends to offer to their ancestors and enjoy at Tet. Banh chung made by Vietnamese Americans are just as delicious; the only difference is that they're mostly wrapped in banana leaves rather than dong leaves as in Vietnam, but the flavor is still rich.

Overseas Vietnamese in America gather warmly around the Tet feast

One custom Vietnamese people never skip is the Tet feast, which they hold in high regard. It is a time for everyone to gather, reunite and share stories of the old year as they welcome the new. For those far from home, homesickness surely burns all the more intensely, so they invite friends and relatives to gather and celebrate Tet with them.

On the Tet feast of overseas Vietnamese in America, they prepare all the traditional Vietnamese dishes, such as banh chung, pickled shallots, gio cha (pork rolls), braised pork with eggs and Tet candied fruits. Even if they have to travel half a day, they still hunt down everything to complete the Tet feast. Though far from home, their feast is still full of traditional dishes, simple yet brimming with the flavors of home for those living abroad. Because for them, the Tet feast is not just about preparing food; it is also a way to bring people together and a moment for everyone to remember Vietnam.

The Vietnamese artists and singers living in America whom the author has had the chance to meet also keep Vietnamese traditions alive. Singer Bang Kieu shares: "My family celebrates Tet very traditionally. Every year, on the 28th we wrap banh chung, on the 30th everyone helps clean the house and we invite the kids over for dinner, then give them lucky money. After the New Year's Eve offering, I take my mother to the pagoda, then come home to be the first to step into the house. If I have to fly to shows on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd day, I visit friends and relatives once I'm back."

Miss Ao Dai Kieu Khanh and her extended family also dearly love the traditional Vietnamese Tet. "My family and I celebrate Tet just like the old days in Saigon. I always buy peach and apricot blossoms and hang red couplets in the days before Tet. I love giving Tet gifts and lucky money to the little ones to make the atmosphere more festive. Every Tet, our big family gets together to eat, wear ao dai and play bau cua, laughing until our sides ache. Tet is a time to reunite with all our family and friends, a time to show more love and stay close to each other even though we live far from Vietnam," Kieu Khanh confides.

Every Tet brings a deep longing for family to those living far from home. But for them, wherever they are, the customs of their roots never change, and they strive to preserve them, especially during Vietnamese Tet in America.