Gathered around red envelopes and popular matcha-filled creamy Asian candies, club members and students of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) shared Lunar New Year traditions.
With around 25 people in attendance, VSA hosted a craft activity on Tuesday, Feb. 10, filling positive notes in red envelopes to symbolize luck and prosperity in celebration of the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 17. The tradition of placing money or items in red envelopes that is given to children or elders is called “lì xì,” or “lucky money.”
“We wanted to do something cost effective that will also give back to our school community, and those envelopes are a symbol of good luck and good wishes,” senior and VSA Co-President Sydney Nguyen said. “We don’t have the funds to give out money, so we decided to do something nice and uplifting.”
With the Lunar New Year being the Year of the Horse, VSA officers discussed the Vietnamese zodiac, which features two distinct animals from the Chinese zodiac. The Vietnamese zodiac replaces the rabbit with the cat, while the ox is replaced with the water buffalo. Through this difference in zodiacs, the contrasting elements of Lunar New Year celebrations across multiple Asian cultures are showcased, according to junior and Vice President Katherine Nguyen.
“In different Asian cultures like Chinese, Japanese and Korean, we all celebrate Lunar New Year differently,” Katherine Nguyen said. “So having a celebration specifically in VSA helps educate everybody on the different types of celebrations.”
Another popular custom in celebrating the new year is verbally wishing others luck and prosperity. Officers taught members how to say “happy new year” in Vietnamese, which is “chúc mừng năm mới,” specifically focusing on the pronunciation of the phrase. Traditions like these brought memories of family gatherings for junior Benjamin Nguyen, who comes from Vietnamese descent.
“Personally, it’s a time to be able to celebrate with my family, because I usually have cousins that come in from Austin or from different parts of the country,” Benjamin Nguyen said. “It’s just a way to celebrate a new year.”
The celebratory meeting was also a way to connect and share Vietnamese culture with other students on campus who are not particularly familiar with the traditions.
“I love bringing the new year, good wishes and good vibes with other students,” Sydney Nguyen said. “For me, it’s a symbol of new beginnings. It’s about family, love and respect, and showing that to the Bellaire community.”
For more information and updates on VSA’s future meetings, join their Remind @bhsvsa or follow their Instagram @bhs_vsa.
