New Year pictures

Tulip · 03-01-2010, 09:11 PM

I took some pictures of the activities I did for Vietnamese New Year. There are lots more to tradition but what I took were the only things I did. I didn't label the pictures, so I'll explain briefly. In the morning, I went to temple and there was a New Year brunch meal. Afterwards, there was lion dancing. The apartment complex where I live is only a block away from the temple, so after the lion dance, many of the members of the temple went back to the apartment complex to visit each other's homes and socialize. As a note, everyone in the apartment complex are members of our temple. It is considered as good luck to have the lion dance in your home so we invited the lions in. Yes, that is my apartment in the pictures.

As tradition, we gamble on New Year.

We here only gamble three days of New Year. In one of the pictures, you can see we played right in the courtyard because a bunch of people were just hanging around. In some pictures, you can see people everywhere and kids running around. This is a scene you can only see during New Year. It's only during New Year that we visit each others homes. And since we seldom see each other during the year, people often hang around in the courtyard to talk and catch up. We decorated the complex with lights and lanterns to show festivity of New Year. The tree with pink flowers normally blooms in the spring and usually just in time of New Year. So, typically that plant signifies New Year, so people normally have branches of them decorated in their homes. I have a nice vase of it but never got around to taking pictures of it this year. I vainly posted many pictures of myself to show the traditional Vietnamese long dresses. This year I got two. Normally, I just have one made. Usually, there are performances of singing, martial arts, or whatever. This year, we didn't organize one. However, other temples and establishments organized them, but I didn't go.

Well, okay, ask if you have questions.

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...view=slideshow

Oh yeah, during the lion dance, these old women walked smack in the middle trying to li xi the lions. It was so funny I stopped taking pictures and videoed it. And people were laughing because the smallest lion tried to yank the li xi off the stick but it couldn't so it continued to dance with the stick hanging from the mouth.

Clodfobble · 03-01-2010, 09:30 PM

I like how everyone is using their cellphones to hold down the gambling money.

Undertoad · 03-01-2010, 09:57 PM

Excellent

zippyt · 03-01-2010, 10:16 PM

Cool pics Tulip !!

xoxoxoBruce · 03-01-2010, 11:01 PM

Sure is a lot of pretty women in the 'hood, especially Tulip.

classicman · 03-02-2010, 10:31 AM

Wonderful pics Tulip - thats for letting me into a world/culture I've never experienced IRL.

Gravdigr · 03-02-2010, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Sure is a lot of pretty women in the 'hood, especially Tulip.

Word.

Big Sarge · 03-02-2010, 05:56 PM

I like it! Were they fishing for dragons with that stick?

Elspode · 03-02-2010, 08:48 PM

What a beautiful little community that is! Is that where you live? Everyone seems so closely knit and happy. Does Vietnamese coincide with Chinese (Lunar) New Year? And how do you get to be a dragon or lion?

Tulip · 03-02-2010, 11:12 PM

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Sarge

I like it! Were they fishing for dragons with that stick?

Hihi....they weren't fishing for dragons. At the ends of the "fishing poles" are red envelopes filled with money called "li xi." The red envelopes are attached to a pole so it would be raised high up and force the dragon to do tricks and try to get it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elspode

What a beautiful little community that is! Is that where you live? Everyone seems so closely knit and happy. Does Vietnamese coincide with Chinese (Lunar) New Year? And how do you get to be a dragon or lion?

Thank you, it is where I live.

Vietnamese and Chinese both use the lunar calendar, so yes, our New Year are the exact day. And to be a dragon head, you'd have to know how to move (dance) it. Usually the dragon performers are martial artists, but sometimes, they just need to know the moves. I was once a dragon head in my twenties.

But after a year or two of performing, my mom (very conservative and old-fashioned) made me "retire" because I was getting too old.

I was in my late twenties then.

Griff · 03-03-2010, 05:50 AM

Wonderful Tulip! Thank you for the glimpse.

03-01-2010, 09:11 PM	#1
Tulip Professor Join Date: May 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,293	New Year pictures I took some pictures of the activities I did for Vietnamese New Year. There are lots more to tradition but what I took were the only things I did. I didn't label the pictures, so I'll explain briefly. In the morning, I went to temple and there was a New Year brunch meal. Afterwards, there was lion dancing. The apartment complex where I live is only a block away from the temple, so after the lion dance, many of the members of the temple went back to the apartment complex to visit each other's homes and socialize. As a note, everyone in the apartment complex are members of our temple. It is considered as good luck to have the lion dance in your home so we invited the lions in. Yes, that is my apartment in the pictures. As tradition, we gamble on New Year. We here only gamble three days of New Year. In one of the pictures, you can see we played right in the courtyard because a bunch of people were just hanging around. In some pictures, you can see people everywhere and kids running around. This is a scene you can only see during New Year. It's only during New Year that we visit each others homes. And since we seldom see each other during the year, people often hang around in the courtyard to talk and catch up. We decorated the complex with lights and lanterns to show festivity of New Year. The tree with pink flowers normally blooms in the spring and usually just in time of New Year. So, typically that plant signifies New Year, so people normally have branches of them decorated in their homes. I have a nice vase of it but never got around to taking pictures of it this year. I vainly posted many pictures of myself to show the traditional Vietnamese long dresses. This year I got two. Normally, I just have one made. Usually, there are performances of singing, martial arts, or whatever. This year, we didn't organize one. However, other temples and establishments organized them, but I didn't go. Well, okay, ask if you have questions. http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...view=slideshow Oh yeah, during the lion dance, these old women walked smack in the middle trying to li xi the lions. It was so funny I stopped taking pictures and videoed it. And people were laughing because the smallest lion tried to yank the li xi off the stick but it couldn't so it continued to dance with the stick hanging from the mouth. Last edited by xoxoxoBruce; 03-01-2010 at 11:06 PM.

03-01-2010, 09:30 PM	#2
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	I like how everyone is using their cellphones to hold down the gambling money. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

03-01-2010, 10:16 PM	#4
zippyt LONG LIVE KING ZIPPY! per Feetz Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arkansas Posts: 7,661	Cool pics Tulip !! __________________ "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. " Brother Dave Gardner

03-01-2010, 11:01 PM	#5
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Sure is a lot of pretty women in the 'hood, especially Tulip. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

03-02-2010, 10:31 AM	#6
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	Wonderful pics Tulip - thats for letting me into a world/culture I've never experienced IRL. __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

03-01-2010, 09:57 PM	#3
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Excellent

03-02-2010, 05:56 PM	#8
Big Sarge Werepandas - lurking in your shadows Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: In the Deep South Posts: 3,408	I like it! Were they fishing for dragons with that stick? __________________ Give a man a match, & he'll be warm for 20 seconds. But toss that man a white phosphorus grenade and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

03-02-2010, 08:48 PM	#9
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	What a beautiful little community that is! Is that where you live? Everyone seems so closely knit and happy. Does Vietnamese coincide with Chinese (Lunar) New Year? And how do you get to be a dragon or lion? __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

03-03-2010, 05:50 AM	#11
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Wonderful Tulip! Thank you for the glimpse. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

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