Vietnamese Catholics celebrate new year
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
PHILADELPHIA — Out with the pig and in with the rat. Members of
the Vietnamese community at Visitation B.V.M. Parish, along with their
countrymen throughout the Archdiocese, celebrated Tet, the Vietnamese
New Year, this past week.
Although it long predates Christianity in Vietnam, that country’s
sizable Catholic community has thoroughly Christianized the ancient festival.
In Vietnam, Tet is a major, three-day festival, but because it is not
a holiday in the United States it was celebrated one day — Sunday,
Feb. 10 — at Visitation.
More than 300 Vietnamese Americans attended a Mass celebrated by Redemptorist
Father Dominic Nguyen. To a Western ear, the liturgy seemed to be beautifully
sung, but Father Nguyen explained the lovely sound was not singing: “It’s
the cadence of the language and, of course, the Holy Spirit.”
Father Nguyen was born in Vietnam and is part of the Redemptorists’
Vietnamese province, although he is now on loan to Philadelphia. The Church
in Vietnam, which experienced communist persecution after the Vietnam
War, is growing and has many vocations.
“I believe Vietnamese keep the faith here, too, and I pray for it,”
Father Nguyen said.
After Mass, the traditional lion dance was performed in the courtyard
by young men of the parish, to the beat of a drum and the crackle of an
enormous string of firecrackers that took about 10 minutes to explode
completely.
In the parish hall, Father Bruce Lewandowski, Visitation’s pastor,
began the feasting with a prayer.
“I hope the Year of the Rat brings you prosperity,” he told
the people. “God bless all of you, and may He keep you in His care.”
Tet is part of a lunar calendar that has a 12-year cycle; each year represents
a separate animal, beginning with the rat, a rodent not held in high regard
in Western culture.
“The rat was chosen because, although it is very small, it is very
fast and very smart,” said Deacon Luyan Bau. “On the first
day of Tet, we pray for peace. On the second day [we pray] for our ancestors
and on the third for success and prosperity in the new year.
“It is also a time to forgive each other,” Deacon Bau added. Born in Vietnam, he will be ordained a Redemptorist priest in May.
“There are very few [Vietnamese]who are here more than 30 years,”
he said. “Most came after the Vietnam War to start a new life, and
some are still coming.”
Andy Trong, a young adult, has been in this country since early childhood.
“It’s important to keep our culture and, of course, it helps
us keep our faith,” he said.
Duc Nguyen, here 15 years, still misses his homeland but has adjusted
to his new life. His daughter, Thuy Nguyen, now 24, is an American citizen.
She remembers that their adjustment to this country was hard for her family.
In Vietnam, families are very close, she said, but in America there is
more freedom. And, she added: “The clothes are more stylish here.”
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.
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