ORANGE COUNTY VOICES : A Cause for Celebration

As I was preparing recently for my role as master of ceremonies for the Tet Festival Opening Ceremony at Golden West College, memories of the first several Tet holidays in the United States came alive.

For a number of years after my family’s arrival in 1975, Tet was not celebrated publicly as during the weekend festival last month. We lived in Oxnard. And it was no Little Saigon. Nor were we close to many Vietnamese, let alone a community--an entire community, like today. We usually had small Tet celebrations at home. For my sisters and me, young Vietnamese children 20 years ago, a Tet without firecrackers, lion dances and relatives was like a Thanksgiving without a sit-down turkey dinner or a Christmas without a tree, without Santa and without presents. Looking back, those Tets were similar to holidays spent away from home.

But during those early years in America, I also distinctly remember other cultural days celebrated by fellow students. I recall getting blindfolded once, and then swinging a bat aimlessly, trying to strike a moving papier-mache, confetti-covered animal filled with candy. The day was Cinco de Mayo.

And I’ll never forget to wear green again for that special day in March. I had pinch marks from childhood friends, reminding me about the luck of the Irish and St. Patrick’s Day.

We, the new Americans, the recently arrived refugees and immigrants, are extremely fortunate to live in a land where many ceremonies of cultural and religious significance are allowed to be celebrated publicly so all can enjoy. Not many countries in the world can attest to the same. Here, differences are recognized and accepted; diversity is valued and people from all backgrounds come together to unite and to share--as Americans.

In preparing for the ceremony, I searched for information on Tet in American history books, in college textbooks and on the Internet. Everywhere I looked, Tet was listed under such titles as: Also see Vietnam War; “The Turning Point, 1968--The War Reaches Saigon.” One notable history book even devoted 50 pages to a chapter titled, “The Tet Offensive.”

Most of us here today remember the events of Tet, 1968. Either we were there or saw television coverage in the states. But as for the young American students today, regardless of race, I sincerely hope that they will learn that Tet is not a battle. Tet is not a military offensive.

Tet is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Our New Year. Every year. It is a celebration that holds the greatest cultural and religious importance for the Vietnamese community. Tet will be here next year and for many years to come.