Tet Market

Seeing Ao Dai is seeing Tet

Asia Times Square, located in a prime location between Grand Prairie and Arlington, has long been a shopping destination for the Asian community in Texas. Known for its diverse cuisine , specialty shops, and cultural events, it is also an ideal place for people to experience the authentic traditional Vietnamese Tet atmosphere. The day I visited, Asia Times Square was holding a colorful and vibrant festival, recreating the traditional Tet atmosphere of the Vietnamese people.

“ Please help me take a souvenir photo for my family. Wow, this place is so beautiful!” A Hue family asked me to help them capture the moment of shopping for Tet in front of the gate of Asia Times Square shopping center. I took perfect photos at every angle, not forgetting to joke, “ How can I make my Dong Ba market gate as beautiful as yours, auntie! ”. The whole family burst into laughter, expressing their gratitude for their homeland in a foreign land.

Having celebrated Tet away from home for nearly ten times, this is the first time I have felt the traditional Tet atmosphere most clearly because in the previous times I studied and worked in several cities with few Vietnamese people living. This time I came to "celebrate Tet" in the Dallas - Fortworth - Arlington city cluster, where the most Vietnamese people live in Texas, one of the states with the largest Vietnamese population, where the air is hotter than other states.

In this cluster of cities with a large Vietnamese population, many public places such as libraries and schools, in addition to English and Spanish, also have Vietnamese in the city's announcements as a recognition of the large presence of the community. Therefore, in the poster of the Tet service program, the parallel sentences hanging are both in English and Vietnamese, which also warms the hearts of the elderly here.

And what really surprised me was that among the thousands of people attending the festival, the colorful Ao Dai appeared everywhere in the event center even though the temperature outside was sometimes 0 degrees. The girls who were of mixed American and Vietnamese blood wore Ao Dai very gracefully, standing and taking pictures next to rows of yellow daisies or branches of honeysuckle. Perhaps the difference between Vietnamese Tet and other Asian countries celebrating Lunar New Year is the appearance of the Ao Dai, the national costume of Vietnam.

Vietnamese Tet atmosphere in Grand Prairie

Highlights of Vietnamese Tet festival

This year’s Tet At Ty Festival at Asia Times Square offers a variety of activities and exciting programs, captivating visitors of all ages. Sponsored by more than 20 famous brands and nearly 50 food stalls, along with hundreds of large and small activities, everyone has the opportunity to enjoy Tet from 10am to nearly midnight.

For the elderly who enjoy spiritual activities, a temporary altar has been set up for visitors to burn incense and pray for health, happiness and success in the new year. At the same time, a giant snake with lucky envelopes stuck to its fin is for visitors sponsored by Choctaw Casino & Resort. In addition, martial arts performances of Vovinam or some other martial arts from the famous Sentinel martial arts school in Arlington will help everyone enjoy this space more vividly.

Booths displaying calligraphy, handmade ornaments, and traditional Vietnamese ao dai costumes offer American visitors an insight into the artistry and craftsmanship of the Vietnamese people. Visitors can also learn more about the history and significance of Tet through food stalls serving a variety of traditional dishes such as banh chung and banh tet, grilled seafood, banh khot, cha gio, banh mi, banh loc, and sweets such as che Hue, sugarcane juice, etc. The aroma of grilled dishes permeates the air, stimulating the taste buds, making it impossible for anyone to stop.

Lion and Ao Dai display

Music on the main stage includes folk performances, modern K-pop music, saxophone, fashion show, interaction with Miss International Asia USA and the audience. Especially, the music shows are performed continuously, creating a bustling atmosphere of Tet. With the participation of many famous singers of the time such as Don Ho, Bonneur Trinh, Mai Thien Van... helping the variety show to be more attractive.

At this festival, children can participate in mask painting activities, participate in Tet games and make Tet-inspired crafts. What is unique about this experience that children in Vietnam do not have is that here they can play with many types of firecrackers that make small, crackling sounds.

Just throw the firecracker on the ground or step on it and it will explode with a very pleasant sound. If you want to see real fireworks, you have to wait until 11am on the 1st and 2nd of February when the organizers will have a lion dance and firecrackers to celebrate Tet in the parking lot and recommend that everyone wear earplugs when watching the fireworks explode.

The highlight of the festival program was the lion dance troupe of nearly twenty people performing to the sound of drums throughout the center's booths. I was very impressed with Macie, a white-skinned, blonde-haired teenage girl in the lion dance team, so I took the opportunity to walk next to her and chat. She said she had been participating in the lion dance troupe during New Year's celebrations for several years now and was very happy to learn new things about Vietnamese culture. The young girl also really wanted to visit Vietnam one day. And of course, I did not forget to invite her to visit Hue, especially during Tet, to understand and love Vietnamese culture and Hue culture more.

Phan Quoc Vinh