The following comes from a January 28 Diocese of Orange press release:
The Most Rev. Kevin W. Vann, Bishop of Orange and the Most Rev. Dominic M. Luong, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Orange, will preside over a mass and celebration marking the lunar new year and the traditional Vietnamese Tet holiday at the Vietnamese Catholic Center (1538 N. Century Blvd., Santa Ana), February 8 at 10 a.m. Tet is an abbreviation for Tet Nguyen Dan which means the first morning of the first day of the first period.
“I am honored to celebrate this Mass and traditional holiday at the center of our Vietnamese-American Catholic community. As we mark the beginning of the Year of the Monkey we honor the Lord and call for more peaceful relationships between all societies and people,” said Bishop Luong.
The Orange County celebration is the largest in the United States and features a ceremony and Mass marked by dragon dancing and ceremonial drumming. The entertainment includes well-known Vietnamese performers, a Vietnamese Catholic choir contest and traditional Ao Dai pageant.
The Tet festival is not only a new year’s celebration; it is a celebration of the symbiotic relationship between all things and honors the peaceful relationship between the Creator and humans.
This reeks of syncretism. We Catholics celebrate Anno Domini 2016. The Year of Our Lord 2,016 years since His Birth. We should not take part in pagan celebrations. But in the ‘spirit’ of Vatican II, anything goes.
Clinton… Vietnamese Catholics have been celebrating Tet long before Vatican II. I had Vietnamese classmates in high school. After the Hell they went through for the Faith Who Are We to Judge.
Do you think St. Peter would have gone along with co celebrations with the pagan Romans?
Clinton, I would say the same thing, except we European descended Catholics have kept January (the god Janus), February (forget the name of the god), March (for Mars), etc. Also, the word Easter is an old pagan word for Spring from the goddess Eastre. We also, use Monday (day of the moon), Tuesday (Tyr’s Day), Wednesday (Woden’s Day), and so forth. So til we clean up our own secular calendar, we best wish all wish the Catholic Vietnamese a Happy New Year, and may they have many more, without worshipping the pagan deities.
Oops! I only put in one extra “wish” not two. Now I have commented enough for today.
A correction, I put in two too many “wishes”.
Also, Clinton, I do see, though, your point in noticing the difference in our calling our year “the year of the Lord 2016” and the Vietnamese using “the year of the monkey”. I do hope the Catholics and other Christian Vietnamese can find a good way to change that later.