Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is celebrated annually at the Seattle Center where festivities begin with a lion dance and continue with cooking demonstrations, music workshops, photo exhibits, martial arts, arts and crafts for kids, and Vietnamese Opera performances. In traditional Vietnamese culture, the first three days of the new year represent what will happen the rest of the year so people gather to wish each other future prosperity, long life, and health. The 2003 Tet celebration welcomed the Year of the Goat, and was themed "A Walk Through Vietnam."
In this image a crowd has gathered at the Seattle Center to watch the Lion Dance, some with their ears covered against the sound of the firecrackers used to ward off evil spirits.
Caption information source: "A boisterous celebration of Tet" by Julia Sommerfield, Seattle Times, January 26, 2003, p. B5. Caption information source: "Tet festival celebrates the beauty of Vietnam" by Doree Armstrong, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 23, 2003, retrieved at https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/article/tet-festival-celebrates-the-beauty-of-vietnam-1105905.php
Additional Information: Metadata created as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.20030126.CD02.01.002, photo by Scott Eklund
