San Diego Tet Festival

By hosting this special day, families and friends were able to join together and celebrate each other’s cultural qualities.

There are huge decorated floats with pictures of Mary and Jesus Christ on them, and volunteers carry them on their heads and shoulders. Shrouded priests in black or white hoods and white or black robes bear crosses and incense, and follow behind the floats. There are also brass bands and drummers who follow behind them. People watching yell out devotional phrases and sometimes break into songs called saetas, which means 'darts', that describe the event in an a style similar to that of the flamenco. The festivities continue all week, day and night, and culminate on Easter

There is also a tradition called “Noj Pebcaug”. This is where the “Hmong” celebrate the New Year and ask our fore fathers for good luck in the upcoming New Year. The Hmong are not the only ones that have certain traditions that are important. The Jewish culture also has a tradition

Frisco, Texas has a population of over 100,000 people, and it's located approximately 25 miles from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. This bedroom community is home to many of the professionals who commute to the Dallas Fort Worth area.

You may have heard that “everything is bigger in Texas.” and if you really want to experience how everything is bigger, you go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR). The HLSR, or “Houston Rodeo” as it is referred to by Houstonians, is the largest event of its kind in the world and has been in session since 1932. In 2013, The HLSR had more people in attendance (approx 2.6 million) at the Rodeo than the entire population of the city of Houston (approx 2.1 million), which happens to be the 4th largest city in the United States as well as the most populated city in the state of Texas. The HLSR is held at Reliant Park for three weeks during March, and since parking is always a hassle, Reliant Park also happens to have one of the largest parking lots available as well.

The festival will roll out its very first red carpet at Ellie Caulkins Opera House to graciously welcome director-writer Damien Chazelle and actress Emma Stone arrival for “La La Land” (Nov. 2 at 8 p.m.).

Other events we attended throughout the semester included the Corrales Harvest Festival in October and the New Mexican Hispanic Arts Dialogue in November. The Harvest Festival is a village wide annual event that celebrates Corrales' agricultural roots. Corrales Road which is in the heart of Corrales, is closed down to traffic. The road is home to many businesses, studios, and restaurants. Some of the key events at the Harvest Festival include live music, arts and craft shows, business & non-profit exhibits,special events that celebrate horses and cowboys, an evening dance under the stars, a pet parade, wine tasting, growers market, and many more events attract visitors from around New Mexico. The city comes alive as families, pets, and farm

Come celebrate 26 years of the Tri-Valley’s largest street festival, featuring some of the best wines, brews, arts, crafts, shopping, dining and entertainment in the East Bay!

It has been believed that Virgin Mary miraculously appeared to an Indian man named Juan Diego from Tepeyac, Mexico centuries ago. Since the apparition many faithful believers have believed she is miraculous and has been portrayed with respect and honor. In December 12 of every year there is a celebration in her memory. Our family celebrates this day with great festivities. People from all over the world make a visit to the “Basilica De Guadalupe”, it’s a church located in Mexico City. In our church a mass ceremony is accompanied with mariachi musicians and other devotees gathering and singing expressing our gratitude and love. The visitors and the choir sing joyful songs to the Virgin Mary. “La Mananitas” is the traditional song sang to her. The church has an altar that is decorated with flowers all around symbolizing our devotion to her. After the mass, a traditional fiesta is held in the plaza at the church, there is food, crafts, holy jewelry and music. The most common food during the celebration are tamales, buñuelos (cinnamon sugar crisp), tortas (sandwiches) and coffee. Towards the end of the celebration a group of people dress as Indigenous Indians known as the “Matachines” perform a dance that is very traditional. The dance of the Indigenous Indians is a remembrance of the young man named Juan Diego who is believed who saw the

In addition, the period of New Year celebration between these two countries is not the same. New Years in the United States only has two days to celebrate. People celebrate on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. After New Year Day, everything will be back to normal, people are back to their work, and be ready for a new year ahead. However, the spirit of Tet in Vietnamese people usually lasts more than a week, but the Tet official is the first three days of January in lunar calendar. The first day of Tet is the day for family. People gather together to wish everybody in the family the best year ahead; then elderly people give red envelops that have money inside to younger people which is considering as“lucky money.” The second day is a day for visiting relative, teacher or special guest. The third day is a day for friends or just stay at home to enjoy the food and the spirit of Tet. Although Tet is only the first three days to celebrate; people are keep saying “Happy New Year” when they see each other during the following week. The atmosphere of Tet is still inside everybody.

There are many important traditions that were kept until this day. From generations to generations, the Lunar New Year was kept the same and we did not change anything about it or how we celebrate it. But the Lunar New Year, it is not only celebrated in the Vietnamese culture. It is also celebrated in many other Asian cultures, such as Korea and China. Korea celebrates their New Year on the same day as the American New Year is celebrated. I can tell that the most well known and popular holidays in the Viet culture is the Lunar New Year. Vietnamese culture called Lunar New Year as Têt. “In the Vietnamese old cultural beliefs, families believe that their activities during Têt must involve happiness, joy, and good luck.” Many families would have to prepare themselves ahead of time. Others would tell their children to behave on the day or week to avoid bad luck for the whole entire year. Vietnamese family take this old beliefs very seriously because it helped and motivated us that we have good lucks by our side throughout the year. That is why even before the beginning of Têt, families must prepare by cleaning and even painting their home in anticipation of spring, settle old debts and disputes, and pledge to behave nicely and work hard in the New Year. People also traditionally buy new clothes to usher in the New Year. Family goes visit our ancestors, like going to temple to pray or grave. The night before the New Year, families perform a ritual where incense sticks are burned, inviting the spirits of their ancestors to join them in celebration. “This is also a time to bid farewell to the family's Kitchen God (Ong Tao), who then returns to heaven to report on the family's behavior in the past year to the Jade Emperor.” This old belief will continues to spread throughout the country to new generations and will never be forgotten. During a Korean New Year, family comes together to celebrate. Family does

Contrary to what most people believe, this festival probably has less to do with harvest festivities than with the philosophically minded chinese of old. The union of man's spirit with nature in order to achieve perfect harmony was the fundamental canon of Taoism, so much so that contemplation of nature was a way of life.

The experience I chose for my first cultural experience this semester was the Lunar New Year Festival at Discovery Green this past weekend. I chose this event initially because I was expecting the event to inhabit a prominent Asian population and cultural traditions. However, as I share my experience, I will explain why I ended up having to do a comparison of the Houston Lunar New Year Festival, and the type of celebration that would be taking place in the one-fifth of the rest of the world in Asian cultures on the other side of the world.

One of my experience happened on 20th September 2013, the day when I celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. I had no idea about the Mid-Autumn Festival that time. The only thing I know is the happiness and joy were filling the celebration, totally similar like what I feel in Chinese New Year. When I joined the celebration in Causeway Bay (Tóngluówān), I could see a lot of people, not only the Chinese, try to share this pleasure moment with their families, relatives, or even friends. It was so extraordinary to feel this peaceful moment, when everyone with different culture can share their feeling without any discrimination. I really hoped someday everyone can feel the importance of sharing happiness among humanity like what I feel

Chinese New Year is the most widely celebrated tradition in Asia. The tradition is usually celebrated on the first day of the first month on the Chinese Lunar calendar. This tradition is rooted in centuries-old customs and is one of the most popular public holidays in China. Apart from China, this tradition is also celebrated in many Asian countries like Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. There are many values and rituals tied with this tradition. For example, people would wear red clothing, decorate the house with red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. According to legend, it is said that red can drive away bad luck, which is why the color red is highly emphasized. In myths, our ancestors would