Vietnamese Communities Celebrate the Lunar New Year
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January 27, 2023Every year the Vietnamese New Year is celebrated, we share an article explaining how the Catholic Vietnamese commemorate the first three days of the New Year, culturally and religiously.
Past articles have mentioned the common practice of offering the first three days of the year to the members of the Trinity, an important tradition for Vietnamese Catholics to pass on to their descendants. We owe a debt of tremendous gratitude to Fr. Alexandre de Rhodes, a great missionary during the early years of Catholicism in Vietnam who introduced this tradition.
For generations, Vietnamese Catholics have devoted the first day of the year to giving thanks and praise to God, the Father, who created us and and gave us the gift of our families. Vietnamese Catholics remember in prayer their ancestors – those who have passed away and those who are still living – on this day. Children, especially those who live far from their parents, try to go home to express their love and offer their parents best wishes for the New Year.
On the next day, Vietnamese Catholics offer their deep gratitude to God’s Son, who came into the world to establish a country of peace based upon the rule of love: loving God and loving others as well. On this second day of the New Year, the Vietnamese faithful pray for the country’s stability and peace.
The third day of the New Year is offered to the Holy Spirit, as the Vietnamese pray for a great harvest and stable jobs for everyone throughout the year. In other words, the first three days of the year are celebrated in the spirit of joy, peace and prayer.
As Redemptorists of the Denver Province, we are pleased that Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio and Bishop James Johnston, Jr. of Kansas City- St. Joseph, ushered in the Year of the Cat with their Vietnamese Catholic communities. Fr. Luong Uong, C.Ss.R. and the Parish Council at Vietnamese Holy Martyrs Parish in San Antonio, and Fr. Francis Pham and Fr. Thanh Nguyen and their Parish Council at Church of the Holy Martyrs in Kansas City, brought the spirit of joy, peace, and prayer to participants in traditional celebrations.
Community members at St. Michael’s in Chicago also celebrated the Vietnamese New Year, enjoying an authentic Vietnamese meal. Of course they also received their ‘red envelopes,’ which symbolize prosperity and luck, at the end of the meal.
I will end this article with a beautiful wish that our Provincial Superior, Fr. Kevin Zubel, sent to our Vietnamese confreres on the Vietnamese New Year:
Dear Confreres,On the first day of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Cat, on behalf of the OPC members, I wish all the Vietnamese confreres a year of endless blessings of God. We also wish your families, whether near or far, every grace and joy in this turning of the year.
We are also keeping in prayer the people and events that took place in Monterey Park, CA. As we celebrate the gift of life and family, may we remain committed to our mission to walk in the footsteps of the Redeemer, striving with him for a world where all may celebrate these moments in joy, free from worry or fear of violence. As Redemptorist confreres, let us remain always available to the call of the Spirit, who shows us the only path to true peace.
May this New Year bring you good health, wisdom, and motivation to serve God’s people as our Holy Founder and the Holy Redeemer.Chúc mừng năm mới,Kevin, Aaron and Tony
Blessings of God to all of you throughout the Lunar New Year!