Lunar New Year 2008 will be on February 7th, and this year is the auspicious Year of the Rat. Lunar New Year is celebrated in many countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, and several others, but, unfortunately, most people call it Chinese New Year. I'm Viet. So I get to call it Vietnamese New Year, and in Vietnamese, new year is called Tet Nguyen Dan. Because 2008 is the Year of the Rat, it is called Tet Mau Ty (Ty = rat). Last year was Tet Dinh Hoi (Year of the Pig). Tomorrow, we head to the Vietnamese quarter in San Jose, around the Century mall area, and will stock up on Li Xi envelopes, which are the red lucky envelopes. These days, they come in all varieties of shapes and sizes -- envelopes are no longer just red, but also velvet, gold, and of many different designs. I'm addicted to collecting as many envelopes as I can. Around this time of the year, I can't help but miss the celebrations in Viet Nam, which would undoubtedly be pretty exciting by now. To alleviate some of this longing, and since I won't be able to visit VN this time like last year, I've posted a pic that I took in Feb. 2005 during the fireworks display by Bach Dang River in Saigon.
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