Father Cong Vo celebrated a special Mass at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini to commemorate Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, which celebrates the arrival of the New Year.

Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán, is the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year. The “Festival of the First Morning of the First Day” is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger.

“The Vietnamese Catholic Church spends the first three days of the New Year praying for different things—peace in Vietnam and the world on the first day, the second day we pray for our ancestors and those who have passed away, and on the third day we pray for the sanctification of work”, Father Cong explained.

The ongoing pandemic meant that this year’s celebration of the Lunar New Year was more subdued than usual, but there was still much to enjoy.

Following a beautiful liturgical celebration, Fr. Cong gave the children the traditional “good luck” envelope after they spoke “Happy New Year” joyfully in Vietnamese into his microphone. He followed by giving the rest of the faithful their envelopes. The bright red envelopes, which contain lucky $2 bills, are an expression of appreciation from the Vietnamese Catholic community and a wish that the new year is one of health, prosperity, happiness, and success.

“We are grateful to God for the opportunity to have Mass and celebrate our faith in Vietnamese. People come from all over—the west side, northeast, central, east, and as far as Las Cruces,” said Father Cong.

After the final blessing, the praying continued. At this time, the community prays for the end of the pandemic and the Catholic Church in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese community gathers for Mass at Mother Cabrini every Sunday at 7pm. Father Cong offers Confession at 6:45 and Mass always begins with prayer to prepare for worship during the Holy Mass. The Vietnamese language is musical and the prayers are recited in the form of chanting. Catholics make up 10% of the Vietnamese population. There is a strong faith in Vietnam and many vocations.

Chúc mừng năm mới. Happy New Year!