NEWS--

For immediate release

January 24, 2008

Kennedy High School to host Lunar New Year event

Bloomington's Southeast Asian community will celebrate the Lunar New Year with traditional dances, music and activities from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1, at Kennedy High School, 9701 Nicollet Ave. Bloomington Public Schools' Office of Educational Equity sponsors the event.

The lunar new year is the most important holiday in the Asian culture, and is celebrated by paying tribute to ancestors, eating traditional foods, watching dragon dances, calling on relatives and friends, and passing out li xi (lee-see), crisp bills stuffed in red envelopes as a way of sharing luck among loved ones. The celebration also is a time when students, in a show of appreciation, thank teachers for helping them learn.

To the Vietnamese, Tet Nguyen Dan, which means the first morning of the first day of the new year, is the ultimate Vietnamese holiday, according to event coordinator Hung Phung, a cultural liaison with Bloomington Public Schools. Besides the beginning of the new year, Tet also marks the beginning of spring and everybody's birthday.

"It is a friendly, festive, family holiday," said Phung.

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