A new year means a new beginning. It is a mystery what this beginning has in store, so many people have rituals to secure a lucky new year. Vietnamese New Year(Tet) is practiced to ensure a lucky new year . Before any celebration is held, it is crucial that one’s house is tended properly to bring good fortune. The house must first be thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom. It is believed that by sweeping the floor, that one is sweeping away the bad luck from last year. Hence, it is common for brooms to be widely sold during this time. It is must be noted, however, that sweeping on the day of Tet itself is considered bad luck because one may be sweeping away the new, good luck. Once the house has been cleaned, it must be decorated. Red and yellow
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Tet is no exception. Children must go up to the adults and say, “Chuc bac mot nam an khang thinh vuong” or, “ I wish you a prosperous and healthy new year ”. Once the adults are pleased with the good luck wishes, they will hand Li Xi out to the children. Li Xi come in red envelopes, decorated elaborately with gold accents on them as they are lucky colors. Each Li Xi contains a small amount of money and represents an amount of luck. As a child receives more Li Xi, the luckier they will be. Money from the Li Xi will also give the child more luck as they will use it to buy books and clothing. It is a cycle of luck since the children want more Li Xi and will continue to give to good luck wishes to all of the adults in the community to get …show more content…
Mua Lan is a dance in which two performers wear a lion costume and dance to imitate a lion’s movements. This dance is Chinese in origin. Stories tell of a naughty lion up in heaven. Being disobedient, the lion angered the Jade Emperor, who sliced off the lion’s head and dumped its remains onto Earth. Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, felt sorry for the lion and came to Earth to help it. She tied its head back onto its body with an enchanted ribbon that would protect the lion and scare away evil spirits. This story has made its way to Vietnam, where the Lion Dance is performed yearly during Tet. Since it is said that the enchanted ribbon used to tie the lion together had magical properties, the dancing of the lion is believed to frighten away bad spirits and give good luck. Along with the lion are musicians playing drums, gongs and cymbals that scare away bad spirits as
Tet is no exception. Children must go up to the adults and say, “Chuc bac mot nam an khang thinh vuong” or, “ I wish you a prosperous and healthy new year ”. Once the adults are pleased with the good luck wishes, they will hand Li Xi out to the children. Li Xi come in red envelopes, decorated elaborately with gold accents on them as they are lucky colors. Each Li Xi contains a small amount of money and represents an amount of luck. As a child receives more Li Xi, the luckier they will be. Money from the Li Xi will also give the child more luck as they will use it to buy books and clothing. It is a cycle of luck since the children want more Li Xi and will continue to give to good luck wishes to all of the adults in the community to get …show more content…
Mua Lan is a dance in which two performers wear a lion costume and dance to imitate a lion’s movements. This dance is Chinese in origin. Stories tell of a naughty lion up in heaven. Being disobedient, the lion angered the Jade Emperor, who sliced off the lion’s head and dumped its remains onto Earth. Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, felt sorry for the lion and came to Earth to help it. She tied its head back onto its body with an enchanted ribbon that would protect the lion and scare away evil spirits. This story has made its way to Vietnam, where the Lion Dance is performed yearly during Tet. Since it is said that the enchanted ribbon used to tie the lion together had magical properties, the dancing of the lion is believed to frighten away bad spirits and give good luck. Along with the lion are musicians playing drums, gongs and cymbals that scare away bad spirits as