Hoang Anh arrived in the United States as a baby after his family escaped from Vietnam in a fishing boat. Describing his new life in America, Hoang Anh tells about his home and school. Like other kids his age, Hoang Anh rides a bike, plays football, listens to popular music, eats pizza, and enjoys video games. But he also participates in the customs and rituals that his family have brought from Vietnam. He eats traditional food at mealtimes and speaks Vietnamese around the house.
Hoang Anh feels closest to his Vietnamese heritage, however, when he attends the TET festival, a three-day celebration of the New Year. During TET, Hoang Anh visits an elder who practices the art of calligraphy and gives him a handwritten Vietnamese greeting for Prosperity, Wealth, and Longevity. There are other signs and sounds of the Vietnamese culture in America, too--temples built to honor ancestors, martial arts competitions, and people dressed in ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese costume.
As Hoang Anh celebrates the TET season of new beginnings, his voice joins other that for thousands of years have been saying, "Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy New Year!"
Hoang Anh feels closest to his Vietnamese heritage, however, when he attends the TET festival, a three-day celebration of the New Year. During TET, Hoang Anh visits an elder who practices the art of calligraphy and gives him a handwritten Vietnamese greeting for Prosperity, Wealth, and Longevity. There are other signs and sounds of the Vietnamese culture in America, too--temples built to honor ancestors, martial arts competitions, and people dressed in ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese costume.
As Hoang Anh celebrates the TET season of new beginnings, his voice joins other that for thousands of years have been saying, "Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy New Year!"