Vietnamese Catholic community rings in the Year of the Snake
By Tami S. Scott, Editor
Children dress in bright traditional colors for the festive occasion.
If your 2025 New Year resolutions have already fallen by the wayside, just think of it as a trial run. The Vietnamese Lunar New Year — or Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán — which follows the Lunar Calendar, began on January 29. Similar to the tradition associated with the Gregorian Calendar New Year, it’s a time for reflection and setting goals for the year ahead.
Festivities for the most celebrated holiday in Vietnam took place in Syracuse on the evening of Feb. 1 at the Church of Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter. The annual event, opened to the public, attracted about 1,000 people and featured music, a fashion show and a large sampling of traditional native cuisine, including bánh mì and phở. Many attendees — both children and adults — wore the traditional national Áo dài Tet garment for the occasion.
Mark and Beth Steigerwald, parishioners at IC Church in Fayetteville get ready to eat some delicious native Vietnamese food.
“It’s a very tight community. We know each other very well,” said Anthony Phan, the parish’s Vietnamese representative. The Vietnamese Catholic community is comprised of approximately 700 families throughout Onondaga County. “They come here (to Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter) because the Vietnamese community is here,” Phan said. Every Sunday at 9 a.m., Mass is spoken in their native language. Father John Nguyen, chaplain to the Vietnamese Community at the Church of Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter, presides.
“The Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter community has been really growing in gratitude for the presence of the Vietnamese and all of the Asian apostolate here,” said Father Brendan Foley, church administrator. “There’s been a lot of gratitude and so much respect for both sides. There’s a great desire to want to support this community and continue to grow together.”
East Syracuse residents Joanne and John Verone, parishioners of Our Lady, attended this year’s celebration for the first time. “It’s a great way to find out about their culture,” said John, who finally had the chance to try phở and wasn’t disappointed. “It was very good.”
“I think it’s wonderful when you can bring cultures together like this,” Joanne added.
Mark and Beth Steigerwald, parishioners of Immaculate Conception in Fayetteville, have attended the Lunar New Year celebration many times over the years. “We have very strong relationships with the Vietnamese community,” Mark said. “Father John does a wonderful job in gathering this community … it’s a wonderful, lively parish.”
A special Lunar New Year Mass
The Vietnamese community celebrated the Lunar New Year with Mass the following day, wearing traditional garments in vibrant shades of red, pink, and yellow, as well as deep blue hues. Trees adorned with scrolls were placed near the altar, allowing parishioners to select one to read later. These scrolls contained words of luck and wisdom.
At the end of Mass, Fr. John invited all the children to come forward to the altar, where he presented each with a red envelope, known as lì xì, filled with “lucky money,” symbolizing good fortune and well-wishes for the New Year. Beautiful, soothing music and song accompanied the faithful in their reverent worship throughout the Mass.
