By Truman Dickerson, Special to the Reporter
For Jiachao Chen, a 15-year-old immigrant from China, the 37th annual “Tết in Boston” Lunar New Year celebration reminded him of the importance of keeping cultural traditions alive, even when you’re far from home.
“It’s comforting because it shows people not forgetting their roots,” the Malden resident said. “It shows our unity as a community.”
More that 6,000 people attended this year’s Tết in Boston celebration, held last Sunday in the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center. Attendees, many of whom wore traditional Vietnamese “Ao Dai” dresses, snacked on East Asian sweets, sipped on matcha, and listened to live music in the spacious hall.
Among the revelers was US Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who said in an interview that the event’s festivities stood in stark contrast to President Trump’s “xenophobic and anti-immigrant” rhetoric.
“I love that people are choosing community, and I love that people again are celebrating, or being unapologetic in their expressions of cultural pride and heritage,” the Democratic congresswoman said. “Everyone is feeling vulnerable, and it’s very important that we continue to be strong.”
Several East Asian countries, including Vietnam, China, and Korea, use the lunar calendar for the observance of holidays. This year’s Tết in Boston was organized by the Vietnamese-American Community of Massachusetts and the New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association.
“It’s a special time for families to connect, reunite, honor ancestors, uphold years of traditions, and prepare to bring good fortune into the home,” organizers wrote in the official Tết in Boston magazine. “The year of the Horse ignites strength, ambition, and the perseverance of hard work.”
Theresa Tran, 30, of Dorchester, was in years past on the festival’s planning committee. This year’s gathering was the first to be held in Boston’s largest convention hall “because it’s growing so big,” she said.
“Dorchester is a home of many Vietnamese refugees and many Vietnamese immigrants,” she said. “Coming together to celebrate the New Year is very important.”
One of the sponsors of the festival was Boston Little Saigon, which, according to its website, aims to “highlight, recognize, and preserve” the Vietnamese “community’s significant contributions to Dorchester’s unique history of immigrant experiences.”
Many Vietnamese people migrated to Dorchester after Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975, Tran said. The Tết in Boston festival, she noted, helps to bring out this “older generation” of Vietnamese immigrants together with immigrant communities from other parts of Massachusetts.
“I’ve been a part of Dorchester ever since I was a kid, because that’s where I went to Vietnamese school,” she said. “I got baptized at the church there.”
Sally Nguyen, the co-president of Suffolk University’s Vietnamese Student Association, said the presence of several collegiate organizations at the event helps Massachusetts’ Vietnamese community. “It’s a good way for us to stay in touch with our culture and the broader community outside of our school,” the 22-year-old said.
Dozens of East Asian small businesses set up shop in the large hall, selling food items to lines of customers. In one booth, employees pushed stalks of sugar cane into compactors. At another, about 30 people waited in line to buy Japanese matcha.
“I really want to go downstairs and just try all the food,” said Deven Dang, 19, of Hyde Park. “But I have to stay up here and check all these people in.”
Dang and Isabel Nguyen, both students at UMass Boston with Vietnamese heritage, wore traditional Vietnamese “Ao Dai” outfits, which translates to “long dress,” Nguyen said.
“It’s formal. There are different styles,” said the 19-year-old Dorchester resident. “It’s really something that represents our culture and our community.”
Dang said the festival offered a rare space to feel connected rather than fractured, saying, “Even in this country, even though it’s kind of divided as of right now, we still want to come together as a community.”
This story is the product of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
