The
thing is, this was supposed to be a weekend of monumentous proportions for us, but for
entirely different reasons. The
Lunar New Year (Têt) was yesterday, and Mardi Gras is tomorrow. In fact, today
is Lundi Gras, kind of like Mardi Gras eve. I remember growing
up in New Orleans and loving the confluence of two of the most important
holidays of the year for the Vietnamese and for New Orleanians. There was months of
build-up to each holiday, and once in a while, they would fall during the same week—I remember once the two holidays even fell on
the same day! Childhood memories
of my family preparing for a big party for Têt, with lots of traditional
foods, flowers, firecrackers, and the ly xì (lucky money in red
envelopes) for kids. We’d all clean up, full bellies, full pockets, with dreams
of how to spend our lucky cash. Combine that with the revelry of Mardi Gras,
filled with parades, costumes, weekly king cake at school…and don’t forget the "throws" from the parades: beads,
cups, doubloons. For a kid, when both collided, it was more than a double
happiness of holidays—truly magical.
My
husband experienced firsthand the craziness of Têt prep a few years ago. We went to Dorchester to pick up some
essentials, and he was greeted by the mob scene in the parking lot. “Holy Moly!” he exclaimed in
disbelief as he navigated aggressive Boston-Asian driving as I sprinted inside,
ready to brave the crowds, And recently we toured Mardi Gras World, where crews
of artists work year-round to create those decadent parade floats.
He totally got it: “Wow, you guys are serious about this stuff.” Yes, my dear,
we are. (And to demystify it
further for the rest—consider this a PSA, no more faux pas please: yes, it IS also
known as “Chinese New Year”—to the Chinese. For the rest of us non-Chinese
types, you can wish us a Happy Lunar New Year. And don't tell me it's too confusing to keep track of when these
holidays land every year. It's called google, folks.)
Here,
far away in New England, we had planned something simple: dinner out this
weekend to our neighborhood foodie delight, East by Northeast, and dim sum with
the kids Sunday. My husband was
going to buy cherry blossoms to decorate the house for the New Year. In the past, we’ve even invited dear
friends to share king cake or for a real Têt meal. But even our simplest plans
were thwarted by that darn Nemo. We braved the elements Saturday
night to go out to dinner (at Puritain and co, kind of fitting given the
classic New England weather), but I fell ill yesterday with the dude’s nasty cold (no wonder he’s been
cranky all week—this is the pits!), so we ended up getting Chinese takeout
instead and turning in early.
Not
the same. As I nurse this cold
and stare outside at the winter wonderland (the kids are out with our beloved nanny after many days of cabin fever), I
muse about how we can better celebrate these important holidays next year. One
day soon we’ll make it down to nola for Mardi Gras, and eventually to Vietnam for Têt. I
want our kids to have just a little taste of that excitement I felt as a child, for them to appreciate what amazing holidays they are. It’s a letdown, kind of like if that big holiday in your life--be it Thanksgiving,
Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Diwali, or Ramadan--never quite came this year.
Well, there’s always next year. Until then, Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!
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