-^-for posterity-^-

the final day of the year of the goat.

this morning, the roads are completely packed with motorcycles. people are all traveling and bringing things to other people’s houses. it’s chaotic.

the last day before the new year is very important. every family will sit down at about 100 in the afternoon and ‘eat tet’. it’s basically a giant christmas meal that will last all afternoon and will only be with your family, no friends are ever invited.

this meal and the few days after tet have always had quite a mysterious allure to them. last year i was not invited to ‘eat tet’ with any families because i hadn’t formed any meaningful relationships with any families yet. this year, however, i have been invited to ‘eat tet’ with a number of families and choose the family who was by far the mot traditional. to be invited to ‘eat tet’, the family must decide to make you an honorary member for a day.

we will eat and then, after midnight, go to a pagoda and pray for the new year.

the first day of the new year is to be only spent with your family. you’re not supposed to visit any friends and you should stay at home. if you visit friends, it’s disrespectful. the second day is a time when you’re supposed to visit your ancestral homeland. the third day is a day to visit teachers and friends.

one of the reasons that having a stranger in your home over tet is so unique is that people believe that the first person that walks in your house after the new year will, depending if they are important, lucky or unimportant, bring them a prosperous or an unlucky year. the first person is very, very important to most families and that’s why they don’t want strangers in their house when the new year arrives. they have to declare that you’re a member of their family so that you will not be that person. i am excited to experience something so exclusive and will provide actual facts tomorrow. right now i can only relate what i’ve been told, i’ve never actually felt it.