Lunar New Year!

This is an exciting topic for me to not only research, but also write about because I am half Vietnamese and my mother has always looked forward to this holiday every year. As a child we would shop for traditional Vietnamese ingredients to prepare the weeks different cuisines as well as any of the special treats they have during this time of year. My mom would also tell us about how exciting it is to be in Vietnam during this time of year as everyone is in a celebratory mood! One of my goals is to make it to Vietnam and celebrate Lunar New Year with my relatives that still live in Vietnam in 2012!

So this is the perfect time to research and plan – here is what I have found so far:

To start, the Vietnamese refer to the Lunar New Year as TET Holiday. 2011 is the year of the Cat and will take place from February 2-5, the year 2012 will be the year of the Dragon and will take place from January 22 – 25. Traditionally there are 4 days that comprise the holiday – TET Eve, The First Day of TET, the Second and Third. One thing to note if you will be traveling in Asia is that traditionally the holiday is celebrated from the 15^th day of the 12^th month to the 15^th day of the 1^st month and you will notice that even today business will slow the two weeks before and up to two weeks after TET. This also includes any kind of public transport – as one of the traditions is to travel “home” to see family. Most Vietnamese, especially the younger generations that have gone to the major cities for work will start to flock home to be with family during the New Year!

Here are some Do's and Don'ts to help you celebrate according to Wikipedia!

Do's

• One should give people lucky presents to enhance the relationship between themselves and others: new clothes, peach branches (for expelling evil), cocks/chickens (wishing for good manners), new rice (wishing for being well-fed), rice wine in a gourd (wishing for a rich and comfortable life), bánh chưng (or bánh tét) and bánh dày which symbolize sky and earth (for worshipping the ancestors), red things (red symbolizes happiness, luckiness, advantages) like watermelon, dogs (the bark – gâu gâu – sounds like the word giàu - richness in Vietnamese language), medicated oil (dầu in Vietnamese, also sounds similar to giàu).
• One should give lucky Dong Ho Paintings such as: "Gà đàn" (wishing for having many children), or "Vinh hoa", but should not give unlucky Dong Ho paintings like "Đánh ghen" related to legal proceedings.
• One should sprinkle lime powder around the house to expel evil.
• One should return all things borrowed, and pay debts before Tết.

 Don'ts

• One shouldn't say or do bad things during Tết.
• One shouldn't hurt or kill animals or plants but should set them free. The reason for this originates from Buddhism's causality.
• One shouldn't sweep the house or empty out the rubbish to avoid luck and benefits going with it, especially on the first day of the new year. One shouldn't let the broom in confusion if people don't want it to be stolen.
• One shouldn't give these presents to others: clock or watch (the recipient's time is going to pass), cats (mèo in Vietnamese language pronounced like nghèo, poverty), medicine (the receiver will get ill), cuttle fish (its ink is black, an unlucky colour), writing ink (for the same reason), scissors or knives (they bring incompatibility).
• One shouldn't have duck meat because it brings unluckiness.
• One shouldn't have shrimp in case one would move backwards like shrimp, in other words, one would not succeed.
• One shouldn't buy or wear white clothes because white is the colour of funerals in Vietnam.
• One shouldn't let the rice-hulling mill go empty because it symbolizes failed crops.
• One shouldn't refuse anything others give or wish you during Tết.

One of my fondest memories and my personal favorite things during TET are the roasted watermelon seeds (if you go to a local Asian market these are widely sold and appear red in color, be careful as the color will run).



I would love to hear if you’re going to be traveling to Asia or if you’ve ever been able to experience the Lunar New Year first hand!  Contact/Write me!

If you’re going this year, don’t forget your travel insurance!

Contact ISA today and we’ll be happy to assist you!

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New Year! New Resolutions!

First off – HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here’s to the optimistic side of me saying that 2011 will be the best yet!

So...New Year – obvious topic – RESOLUTIONS!

Every year millions of people join in on the tradition of making a New Year’s Resolution. I am included in this group and I must say that I’ve become one of those people that hate doing them, but I think that’s mostly because, as most of us do, I have put a negative connotation onto this tradition.  

I’ve decided this year. I will make whatever resolutions I come up with ones that I will not punish myself for failing at, because we need to have a positive association if we expect positive outcomes.

So to start here are the top 10 BROKEN resolutions (you are not alone!) according to TIME Magazine:

1.    Lose Weight/Get Fit

2.    Quit Smoking

3.    Learn Something New

4.    Eat Healthier/Diet

5.    Get Out of Debt/Save Money

6.    Spend More Time with Family

7.    Travel to New Places

8.    Be Less Stressed

9.    Volunteer

10.  Drink Less

Now, I must say that these are all too familiar to me. I must also say that I have broken these resolutions (Except  2 &10 – they were never resolutions of mine). Now, even though I haven’t made all 10 a resolution before, this list should still speak volumes, because we as a collective whole can pretty much say that at some point we have made one of these resolutions, only to end up FAILING!

Well, that’s why this year, I’ve decided it is going to be different for me. I have 2 very distinct resolutions. Yes. 2. I’ve decided that with these resolutions I needed some extra time to think of what they were going to be, because I refuse to fail at these resolutions, which is why they are being posted on the 4^th of January, not the 1^st! So, first up, easy: I vow to walk my puppy Madison at least 5 times a week. Now, most of you probably think that is silly, but to me it’s a big deal and most importantly it’s doable. This brings me to resolution #2- this is the difficult resolution: I vow to accomplish #1,3,4,5,6,7,8, & 9 on the list you read above. Why? Why would anyone go after the list of the most commonly broken resolutions? I don’t know why, but I do know this. I’m probably not going to be as mad at myself if I do 1 of the 9 resolutions because to me that’s better than I’ve done in the past and that’s all any of us can really hope for, accomplish a goal.  So below are the resolutions and my modified version on the resolution:

Resolution/My Specifics:

1.    Lose Weight/Get Fit – Walking my Puppy 5 days a week

2.    Learn Something New – Start my MEd. at ASU

3.    Eat Healthier/Diet – South Beach Diet (started Jan. 3, 2011)

4.    Get out of Debt/Save Money – Save an Extra $15/Month

5.    Spend More Time with Family – Modified Keep Up Correspondence w/ Family (FB, Twitter, Email, Blogging)

6.    Travel to New Places – NYC & San Diego (All on the Agenda this year!)

7.    Be Less Stressed – Required Bubble Bath at least 1 time a month with a Lush Bath Bomb!

8.    Volunteer – watch a niece/nephew for my brothers or sisters (obviously modified)

I think this is possible. What do you think? What are your resolutions?

GOOD LUCK to ALL PARTICIPANTS!