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Catholic News Herald

Serving Christ and Connecting Catholics in Western North Carolina
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CHARLOTTE — All are invited to celebrate the lunar new year during St. Joseph Vietnamese Church’s annual Têt Festival, this year being held Friday to Sunday, Jan. 24-26.

The faithful will pray for God’s blessings in the new year during Masses on Sunday, Jan. 26. The weekend Têt Festival kicking off Friday night will include traditional Vietnamese cuisine, music, games and more. More than a hundred traditional dishes can be tasted only on this special occasion, including drinks and sweets.

Father Tri Truong, pastor, welcomes everyone to the parish for the festival as an opportunity “where we will be showing our Vietnamese culture and food that we wish to share with all of you.”

Foodies will be able to enjoy popular Vietnamese dishes including square rice cakes (bánh chung), sticky rice (xôi), Vietnamese ham/sausage (goi cha), Vietnamese soup (pho) and Vietnamese spring rolls (goi cuon).

The Têt Festival will feature performances by the parish’s Hidden Dragon Lion Dance team, a group of youth who perform the traditional acrobatic dances in elaborate lion costumes. The art requires tremendous physical effort, and members study and prepare for months in advance of each special performance.

The lion dance is one way the Vietnamese welcome the new year with joy and hope, Father Truong explained. “We, as humans, dance like other forms of God’s creation. Therefore, even the lion also dances happily together with us, for the arrival of the new year that we firmly believe God will bless with greater abundance than last year.”

The year 2020 is the “Year of the Rat,” which in the Eastern tradition is a symbol of protection and prosperity.

The annual the festival represents a great effort for the entire Catholic community of St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish. The planning work began several weeks ago and “the beautiful thing is that everyone joins and works together,” Father Truong said.

“As a community it is a blessing for us to share our Vietnamese heritage and culture, as well as our Catholic faith, with all of you.”

The Têt Festival will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, and Saturday, Jan. 25. On Sunday, Jan, 26, the festival will continue from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. St. Joseph Vietnamese Church is located at 4929 Sandy Porter Road in Charlotte.

— César Hurtado, Reporter