January 24, 2025

Celebrating Lunar New Year with Spectrum’s Vietnamese seniors

Under a blazing blue sky, a fantastically colourful scene is taking place.

Like a cluster of jewels gleaming in the sun, members of Spectrum’s Vietnamese Social Support Group are gathered in the garden of our Preston centre.

They are arrayed in a beautiful spectacle of rich reds and sunny yellows, vivid purples and pretty pinks, sentimental jewellery and special trinkets. They’re here to celebrate next week’s Lunar New Year together, like many South-East Asian communities across Melbourne during the next week, and I’ve been lucky enough to stop by.

Starting on the 29th of January, this Lunar New Year (or Tet, in Vietnamese) is the year of the Wood Snake – a time of renewal and transformation.

Inside, a beautiful altar has been carefully crafted by group member, Hanh. She has covered the altar with bright flowers, messages of hope and prosperity for the new year, a special photograph of the group, and lucky red envelopes which will be gifted to each member.

After much chatting, laughing and catching up in the sunshine, it’s time to take part in this special New Year ritual, gathered around the altar.

Adapted specially for the occasion, a symbolic ‘mother’, ‘father’ and ‘child’ are selected by the group. One by one, each member of the group steps forward, where they pay respect, give thanks, and share New Year wishes of health and long life to the ‘mother’ or ‘father’. In return, they are bestowed with sincere words of kindness and good wishes, plus a special red envelope with a message inside.

As they open their envelope to read their lucky message for the new year, some beam with excitement, sharing warm and joyous hugs. Others smile and bow in quiet gratitude. They read aloud their special message with the group and enjoy a few moments of applause and shared positivity.

I am endeared by the hospitality of by the group, both seniors and staff alike. Driver Viet makes me a Vietnamese coffee, cook Van has brought Group Facilitator Daniel a beautifully patterned áo dài (traditional men’s tunic for special occasions) to wear, and before I leave, I’ll be kindly packed up a generous lunch parcel of delicious Vietnamese food to take home by volunteer Cuc (and it’s better than restaurant food!)

Even more than this, I’m touched by the expressive kindness that I witness during my morning with the Vietnamese seniors.

Because in passing conversation, each person, almost accidentally, shares something sweet about somebody else.

“Have you met Bay? She is 96 and can still touch her toes! Amazing!”

“Over there is Anh. She is very talented musically, plays beautiful piano too”.

“Have you seen the flower altar? Hanh made it all herself. She has made it so beautiful!”

“You must try our food: See our cook? Makes the best food you will have!”

And on it goes. As they exchange lì xì, the shiny red envelopes, each member of the group – many who have celebrated Lunar New Year for nearly an entire century – takes the time to share a unique wish, a specific kindness, a touching comment to the other person.

And, no matter how many times they have been through this celebration, each and every one lights up with joy to hear these positive messages meant just for them.

As the group move on to celebrate through a rousing sing-along and a beautifully prepared lunch together, I reflect on the power of kind words, expressed openly.

In a time where it is so easy to forget that real human beings live behind phone screens and keyboards, and when life seems too busy to ‘stop and smell the roses’, much less to stop and pay someone a compliment, it is perhaps these words of kindness that we are all so in need of.

It’s not too late for a New Years resolution, and maybe this is something that we can all learn from our wonderful Vietnamese seniors: Nobody is ever too old or too busy to have their day improved by a compliment or a kind word.

It seems that there is very little to lose, and so much to gain, by being willing to tell other people about the good things we see in them – their talents or tenacity, their skills or their style, their work or their wacky humour.

The gift of being truly seen, is valuable at all stages of life – and we can give it to each other at any time.

Like the Wood Snake, this year’s Lunar New Year symbol, there is the potential for transformation, growth and change for all of us in the year ahead.

Sharing kindness with each other may be the best place to start.

 




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