O.C. Tet Celebration Ushers In the Year of the Politi--er, Dragon

Dancing dragons, crackling firecrackers and a centuries-old Vietnamese tale marked Tet, the beginning of the Lunar New Year on Saturday at Garden Grove Park.

Organizers said as many as 40,000 people gathered at the daylong event, which sparkled with music, fun, food and family--and a heavy dose of politicians.

There was a collage of tradition and modernism in the day’s events. The band Ha Trang, or White Summer, performed a medley of tunes, from “Xuan Yeu Thuong,”or “Love in Spring,” to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” Quynh Lan, one of the group’s three female lead singers, said they performed a variety of tunes to appeal to different segments of the crowd.

This year’s celebration was quite a change from last year’s, which occurred amid a nearly two-month protest over a Westminster merchant’s display of a communist Vietnamese flag and picture of that nation’s late leader, Ho Chi Minh.

But aside from that one, large showing of unity, the local Vietnamese community has been prone to factional infighting, a factor that led to the cancellation of this year’s Tet parade. Yet, they came together to hold Saturday’s celebration, something leaders say must happen more often.

For the new year, “I wish the community will unify into one and [destroy] the regime of Vietnam,” said Thang Ngoc Tran, co-president of the Vietnamese Community of Southern California. “My last wish is that we can all gather in Vietnam and celebrate Tet with liberty, freedom and justice.”

Those cries for freedom and unity--and the enormous crowd--attracted politicians who were all happy to join in the celebration.

“You have contributed so much to what we have here--economic prosperity and cultural richness in the United States,” said Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). “I wish everyone a healthy, prosperous and wonderful New Year of the Dragon. Chuc mung nam moi!”

That Vietnamese new year’s greeting was uttered by nearly every speaker. In addition to leaders from the Vietnamese community, participants included Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Fullerton), state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) and politicians from Westminster and Garden Grove.

Additionally, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is running for reelection, and Republican presidential hopeful Texas Gov. George W. Bush sent letters expressing new year’s greetings.

The presence of so many local, state and federal representatives may be evidence of the Vietnamese community’s growing clout. Orange County is home to 200,000 Vietnamese Americans--the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam and part of 300,000 throughout Southern California.

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The day was more than just solemn speeches.

Visitors milled between carnival rides, games and hundreds of booths.

Census workers, planning for the March nationwide population count, used Saturday’s event to reach untapped residents.

Nhi Ho, a community partnership specialist with the Bureau of Census, said the census is often feared among immigrant populations. His job, he said, is to dispel myths and emphasize that it is a tool to ensure that the community receives its fair share of funding for health, education, job training and other local programs.

Other booths featured everything from long-distance telephone plans to traditional Vietnamese food.

The crowd also watched a reenactment of Vinh Qui Bai To, an ancient tale of a successful man returning to his village with the king’s daughter as his wife. A narrator said the play emphasized the importance of marriage, family and ancestors.

In the end, all things related to Tet ended with family.

Lori Tran of Anaheim was preparing to take her son, Zachary Tran, 3, and daughter Candace Board, 13, to a family gathering of about two dozen people in Norwalk.

After a family elder offers a blessing of prosperity for the new year, the family will eat a traditional meal of goy, or chicken, served with salt and lemon; bamboa, or sweetbread with egg and ground meat stuffed inside; noodles, seafood, rice and other dishes.

Children will be given red envelopes containing money by their elders, she said.

Then, Tran said, “we gamble.” Though the stakes are low--$1 bets--the quality of the time spent with family is high.

“You forget the hustle and bustle of the week,” she said. “You take time off and enjoy family and friends.”