[jackbl]

Tết to me
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This year marks the seventh time that I will celebrate Tết in Vietnam. With each year, I have learned a little bit more about the holiday. With each year, traditions have taken root within me and I have come to appreciate the holiday more and more.

During my first Tết in Vietnam, in 2005, I treated the holiday as most other expatriates do: It was time off to relax, eat fried SPAM and play computer games. As the years went by, I was invited to people’s houses and offices to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and got a taste of unique holiday foods.

Now that I am married and have Vietnamese in-laws, the holiday is much more meaningful. The bus ride back to Long Xuyên, An Giang, fills me with anticipation. Giao thừa is a time for my brother and sister-in-law, my wife and me to mingle with the throngs of people in the streets watching the fireworks. A vegetarian meal and trip to the local pagoda to start the New Year on Mùng Một refreshes me and fills me with hope for a better year ahead.

And I can’t begin to describe the wonderful food and festive times with family and old friends in the Mekong Delta. Savory thịt kho, cooked for at least 24 hours, bánh tét, fried lạp xưởng, and of course some refreshing beer are the flavors that I associate with Tết at my in-laws house. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In 2008, I was not in Vietnam during Tết, I was in rural Ohio, where most people were not even aware of such a thing as a Lunar New Year celebration. I was working on Mùng Một and a friend called me from Vietnam to wish me a Happy New Year. It was wonderful to hear my friend’s voice, but my heart sank. I felt isolated because there was no one to celebrate with and no one nearby who even understood anything about Tết. Back in Vietnam, the joy I feel during Tết is equal only to the incredible feeling I have on Christmas morning - I feel like a kid again.

Then again, perhaps I am just a person who loves holiday tradition. During the Christmas season every year, I watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” and shed tears. The star has to be the final decoration placed on the tree. Dad is the last person to open his Christmas presents. Tết is always in Long Xuyên.

Eric Burdette