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Show Page 4 The West View Year of the Monkey Promises N ew Light By Dan Tham In a vertigo of color and frenzy; many ~<Chinese’ and Vietnamese people around the world anticipate the joyful, renewing day of Chinese New Year, January 22. _ The name Chinese New Year usually implies the ludicrous thought that it is a holiday strictly for the Chinese. If you thought so, you are dreadfully and recklessly wrong, for this day is a celebration for everyone. Traditionally, family friends purchase and small, red pouches from their local Asian supermarket, called li x1 (pronounced lee See. in Vietnamese), to give to the chil- dren. Although small, may I remind you that looks can be deceiving, for in this small, red pouch is a treat that every child (either covertly or overtly) longs for — money! “I can’t wait for .. each Chinese New Chau Year,” says Nguyen, “Every year I receive a bunch of “dough” rang- ing from $50 — 100!” But besides New Year money, is a time togetherness, Chinese for family, renewal, and change. The dark times of the past year are forgotten on this day and the light of the New Year is welcomed into each home. Before Chinese New Year, it is mandatory to clean out your house to welcome good and beneficial chi. The Tran/Tham extended family gathers together at the home of Phu Nguyen to welcome the New. Year. On the night before Chinese ‘New Year, people celebrate at various places around the city. Fireworks and firecrackers are lit. There is dancing, music making, and eating while everyone waits for that joyful moment when the Chinese New Year dragon comes out and dances. People wear bright red on this day, which means happiness and prosperity. An animal from the Chinese Zodiac represents each year. The animals make up the 12-year cycle, and after every 12 years, Photo by Kent Miles the cycle starts over again. 2004 is the year of the monkey. So if you are a. monkey, this. year is your year. Chun Ye Fat Choi to everyone! Happy New Year! Vietnamese Celebrate Tet with Food and Family TRAIL continued from page promised Additionally, | their _ safety. the survey found that urban trails are regarded by more than 90 percent of real estate agents as an amenity that helps to attract buyers and sell property. | king had to choose one of his 18 sons to inherit the throne. He had no idea how to choose just one son, so he told them that the son who brought him the best food would be his successor. : The sons looked deep in the sea and high in the mountains for the strangest, most expensive, and best food, each one trying to out do the rest to become the next king. But the youngest son, the good son, had no idea where to look for such a delicious dish. That night in his sleep a fairy came to him and told him to look to the local people for the best and easiest food. The youngest son found the simple and tasty sticky rice in the nearby village and brought it to his father, who ate one bite and declared the boy king. | Interviews with police offiThe preparation of the sticky rice for this holiday celebration actualcers indicated that public safety ly began two days ago when members of the family gathered to make the issues regarding the trail involve dish. Kim and others assembled the sticky rice squares, wrapping layers illegitimate trail users commit- — of rice, mung beans and pork in banana leaves and tin foil. Then, approxting non-violent crimes such as imately fifty of the rice squares were stacked in huge pots and cooked drug use, sex solicitation, and over a flame for ten to twelve hours. , | vagrant habitation. These illegitiKim Hoa Tran talks about her immigration story at her As a family far away from Vietnam, the celebration of a holiday such mate trail users tend to congrefamily’s Chinese (Vietnamese) New Year celebration. as Tet and the cooking of traditional foods like sticky rice are important gate where there is little trail use Photo by Kent Miles to Kim and her twelve brothers and sisters, who all live in Utah. It is a and a lack of police presence. tool both to teach the younger generations about their heritage and for the Police officers believe that more By Beth Hoffman. adults to enjoy a culture they have left behind. : legitimate activity on the trail But the memories are not all sweet. As Kim tells of her journey from could help reduce crime. The It’s the Saturday before the Chinese New Year, also known to the Vietnam her eyes begin to fill with tears and she pauses a long time general feeling from police offiVietnamese as Tet, and the family of Kim Hoa Nguyen has gathered before being able to speak. cers is that the Jordan River at her brother Phu’s immaculate Glendale home to celebrate. Huge ~ She tells of a time when she was 21, a young woman unable to conParkway Trail is not a ee vases of pink and yellow silk flowers, reminiscent of the budding trees tinue her education in Vietnam in a Communist country with few ecopigee that bloom every New Year in Vietnam, decorate the house. nomic opportunities. In what appears to have been a very painful deci“[The findings of] this survey Small children chase each other across the white tile basement. sion, Kim’s parents decided to send her to the United States to try and dispelled a lot of negative myths floor while older cousins sit in circles on the floor looking at Pokemon find work, and so she set out from Lee on an unforgettable 14-day out there concerning urban and Yugioh cards. The downstairs kitchen is full of men gathered boat trip to Taiwan. trails,” said Lynne Olson, secrearound a long table, and next door the women sit on sofas, talking and After a year in Taiwan, a cousin in the U.S. sponsored Kim, and she tary of Parley’s Rails, Trails and laughing. set out again - this time for America. Young and alone, not able to speak Tunnels (PRATT). Yet regardless of where in the house or with whom they sit, everyEnglish, the first four or five years in Utah were very difficult and Kim Overall, residents living near one in this large family is eating — roasted pork and fried rice, thin missed her culture, family and language.. the Jordan River Parkway Trail noodles with vegetables and the featured dish of the evening, the traNow, over 20 years later, Kim has grown to love Salt Lake City perceived it as valuable open ditional New Year meal, sticky rice. and considers it her home, and, like many in the United States, has space and a positive asset to their Phu explains that sticky rice, known as banh tet, has a long histolearned to integrate two very a cue into her life as an community. | ry in Vietnam. Legend says that two thousand years ago a Vietnamese American. | |
