Fields Corner will be the place for celebrators of Tet holiday on Saturday

Traditional dancers from local universities performed at last year’s Tet in Boston celebration at the Harbor School. Photo courtesy Trieu Vu Ngo

Chúc Mung Nam Moi!

New Year’s greetings will be exchanged by thousands of Vietnamese this Saturday as they gather in Fields Corner to welcome in the Year of the Dragon during the annual Tet in Boston festivities.

Tet is the abbreviation of “Tet Nguyen Dan,” which means “the first morning of the first day of the new year.”  Technically the Lunar New Year arrived on January 23, but Asians mark the holiday over different days and in different ways.

Though attendance has dropped in recent years, the daylong celebration on January 28 at the Harbor Pilot School is still the largest Vietnamese gathering of any kind in New England.

“It’s like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all rolled into one!”says Lower Mills resident Nguyen Binh, president of the Vietnamese-American Community of Massachusetts (VACM), a 23-year-old organization often represented in the Dorchester Day Parade.

Nguyen notes that the VACM celebrated Tet at the Bayside Expo Center between 2000 and 2007. During those glory years, attendance fluctuated between 7,000 and 10,000. But when the Expo Center closed and the economy sputtered, the group sought a reasonably priced alternative space close to Dot’s Vietnamese community and public transportation.  The Harbor Pilot School filled the bill, but it can accommodate a maximum of 2,500 people.

At Bayside VACM had 70,000 square feet to play with so they were able to construct an entrance arch or gate and even a scaled down village. At the much smaller Harbor School, they rely on paper murals and backdrops with New Year’s motifs and traditional scenes to set the mood.

The Tet in Boston morning opening ceremonies involve the exchange of New Years greetings. Organizers expect several Boston City Councillors and other local pols to speak in person.  Last year organizers received best wishes from President Obama.

The rest of the day unfolds simultaneously in the auditorium and the gym. On the bill at the latter space are two professional singers from California and at least 7 acts by local amateurs.

Among the Dorchester residents who will be performing are Hoàng Thông, Thien Khán, Ngoc Diem, Hoàng Kate, and Ngoc Thanh. Vovinam of Boston, a St Gregory’s-based dojo that teaches a Vietnamese form of martial arts, will stage a lion dance. College students who live in Dorchester and who attend local colleges will be performing a variety of traditional dances.

Meanwhile, in the gym, vendors, exhibitors and community volunteers vie for attention. For example, a youth group from St Peter Parish’s on Meetinghouse Hill will run games and activities for the little children.

Annie Le, president of the Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association (IVSA), whose members volunteer on various committees says, “I’ve been in America for six years, so I have celebrated Tet in Vietnam. I think it’s very important to continue this celebration of our culture and heritage here in Boston, especially for those Vietnamese born here who don’t know as much about the traditional customs.”

Thus, passing on traditions seems to be a major focus of the gathering whether it’s grandparents giving the younger kids “lucky money” in red envelopes or everyone enjoying seasonal treats like square and round sticky rice cakes. What better way to welcome in the Dragon whose year is reputed to be filled with special good fortune?