Tag Archives for lunar new year

Learning and unlearning ethnicity

Chinese New Year decorations in Dublin, Ireland. Photo: William Murphy (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Two articles about assimilation and ethnic revival caught my attention this morning. The first, an article in UCLA’s student paper about the Vietnamese Language and Culture club’s Tết celebrations (emphases mine):

“I came from an area back home with very few Asians or Vietnamese (people) in general, so I was never really in touch with my culture besides from what my parents told me,” Ta said. “When I came (to UCLA), I met people who are more like me and (who) shared the things that my parents taught me. [...] VNLC is really near and dear to me, especially the Tet Festival because it brings out a childhood I never experienced growing up. It really makes me feel at home.”

The second, a post for the Hyphen Magazine blog by Melanie Tom, who writes of her family’s experiences with discrimination in the US and her own decision to go to China to discover her roots: Continue reading →

「新年快樂，莫忘傳統」(“Happy new year – don’t forget tradition!”)

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy year of the dragon! Cung chúc tân xuân, vạn sự như ý! 恭喜發財，利是逗來！:P

To start the day off, here’s a short Chinese New Year PSA from Malaysia, directed by Eu Yan Sang (余仁生). The video is in Cantonese with a smattering of Hokkien, but the message about elders, tradition, and upward mobility should be clear no matter what language you speak.

Lee’s Sandwiches-branded red envelopes

Image by Lee's Sandwiches. Chúc mừng năm mới = happy new year.

Yesterday I went to Lee’s Sandwiches, a bánh mì chain started by the Le family (one “e”) in San Jose that has spread to Vietnamese communities all over the country. The company is trying hard to become the McDonald’s of bánh mì and cà phê sữa đá and to break into the mainstream fast food market.

As it expands, Lee’s has put its name and logo on just about every food-related product you can think of: tumblers, drip coffee filters, and its own brand of packaged, freezer-friendly Vietnamese foods. Still, I was quite shocked to see Lee’s Sandwiches-branded lunar new year red envelopes (紅包 in Mandarin, 利是 in Cantonese, lì xì in Vietnamese) when I went to pick up some coffee there yesterday.

It was very early in the morning and the shop was nearly empty so I didn’t want to make a scene by snapping photos (though with the food blogging phenomenon in the San Gabriel Valley they might even expect it). Thankfully, the adorably retro Lee’s Sandwiches website lets you send similar designs as e-cards.

Continue reading →