While most Americans celebrate the New Year on Jan. 1, many Asian cultures, including Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese communities, celebrate their start of the year following the Lunar calendar.
The date changes yearly.
This year, the Lunar New Year lands on Feb. 10.
Orange County’s home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities outside of Vietnam, meaning the Lunar New Year is celebrated annually in what’s known as Tết in the community.
Some celebrations start weeks in advance like the Little Saigon Flower Festival, where people start preparing their homes for the new year, decorating them with items to bring good luck for the new year to celebrate the year of the Dragon.
Items like bonsai trees, chrysanthemums, marigolds, orchids, and other cultural items to honor ancestors or bring in good luck for the new year can routinely be seen.
This year, Orange County residents can experience a host of annual celebrations throughout the county.
And some new ones.
Santa Ana is hosting their inaugural Tết and Lunar New Year festival.
For some Santa Ana Asian residents, it’s been a long time coming.
Residents like the seniors visiting Santa Ana’s Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center could not remember a time when there was a city-level celebration of the Lunar New Year, said Jennifer Wang, the group’s executive director.
“Santa Ana has stepped up,” said Wang, whose nonprofit has partnered with the city to put on the event.
“For me, it means that on a personal level and professionally, our community is being seen and recognized. You know, it goes beyond just the celebration of it, but the acknowledgment and appreciation for the contribution that the Asian American community has provided.”
The celebration in Santa Ana is personal for many in the Vietnamese community.
“Most of us did not come here by choice. And when you feel, when you feel unmoored, or without home, you create a home wherever you are. And I think these cultural events are what helps us build this community that in some ways were taken away from us or forced away from us,” said Santa Ana Councilmember Thai Viet Phan, a first-generation Vietnamese refugee.
Here’s where Lunar New Year celebrations are happening throughout Orange County:
Saturday, February 3
Tết Lunar New Year Festival
Where: Centennial Park, 3000, W. Edinger Avenue, Santa Ana
When: 2:00- 7:00 p.m.
Cost: Free
Saturday, February 3,
Family Festivals: Lunar New Year Festival
Where: Bowers Museum, 2002 North Main Street
Santa Ana
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Cost: Free
Friday- Sunday, February 9-11
UVSA Tết Festival
Where: OC Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa
Time:
Friday, February 9
4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 10
11:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, February 11
11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Cost: $8.00
Saturday, February 10
Tết Parade
Where: Bolsa Ave. between Magnolia St. and Bushard St.
Time: Opening Ceremony 8:30 a.m., parade, 9:30 a.m.
Cost: Free
Saturday, February 10
Lunar New Year with the Pacific Symphony
Where: Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $72.00-$79.00, buy tickets here
Santa Ana officials plan on making the Tet Festival a yearly tradition, said city spokesman Paul Eakins.
Additionally, just this last week, Santa Ana celebrated the Vietnamese community by unveiling a new Little Saigon monument.
The monument drew community protests years back amidst resident concerns about branding downtown and was later destroyed in a car accident.
The monument, which was destroyed by a car crash, drew community protests years ago during talks of restoration, with residents claiming the branding was divisive.
Last weekend, the monument was formally restored.
“The sign, located on a median on West 1st Street just west of Harbor Boulevard, honors the important contributions of the Vietnamese community to Santa Ana,” reads a Santa Ana city news release,
“It also provides an entry point into the Little Saigon area of Santa Ana and neighboring cities, replacing a similar monument damaged by a car crash in 2008,” officials said in the news release.
Phan said the monument helps the Vietnamese community feel welcomed.
“Growing up on the westside, many of us in the Vietnamese American community felt invisible. Rebuilding this sign is a symbol of this refugee community’s resilience and the cross cultural collaboration that makes our city a wonderful place to live,” Phan said.
Other Orange County cities like Westminster, home to some of the biggest Tết street parades, are on track to host their annual Tết Parade this year on Feb. 10.
“The city loves to have every opportunity to serve its community, especially with the meaningful event as the Tet Parade,” stated Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen in an email response to Voice of OC.
“The Vietnamese community have contributed to the prosperity of this city over the years,” Nugyen added. “We are proud to put up this event, not only for the Vietnamese community but for all residents in the city of Westminster and all the globe.”
With the help of student-led organizations, the annual Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California Festival at the OC Fair and Westminster’s parade make up some of the largest local celebrations.
“The goal is for the festival to feel like you are transported back to the homeland: Vietnam. We want to bring back that environment because many of our attendees haven’t had the chance to go back,” said Annie Trầm, 26, UVSA Tết Festival Co-Chair
“If we give them a slice of home for the holiday season, which is a big part of our culture, we have achieved our goal.”
The Lunar New Year begins with the first new moon between the end of January and February and the 15 following days until a full moon rises.
One of the 12 Zodiac animals is generally commemorated each year, including this year’s Dragon, which this year is being recognized by the Lunar New Year calender.
While many Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year, it’s known by many different names.
In China, it called the Spring Festival; in South and North Korea, Seollal; in Tibet, Losar; in Mongolia, Tsagaan Sar.
In Vietnam, it is called Tết.
The celebration continues to become more solidified in California.
Last year, Governor Newsom made the Lunar New Year a statewide holiday.
Where to celebrate:
