While representation is certainly not the panacea to xenophobia, it definitely matters. If only I could have seen Tết (the most important holiday to my parents) being celebrated in media during my childhood, I would have felt so confident and proud of my roots much much sooner. Schools do their hardest to instill Christmas traditions, and I remember telling my parents all about Christmas, and while my parents did pick up some Christmas routines for my sake, I knew our hearts leaned towards Tết. Tết is both nothing and everything to me. It is nothing to me without my parents, and it’s everything to me because of my parents. In this video, my parents are performing a ritual that involves food offering and prayer that is very crucial to Vietnamese people who celebrate Tết. Cúng ông táo roughly describes what they’re doing here. About a week before the officially first day of the Lunar new year, Vietnamese people will pray to the kitchen god known as ông táo. This is why we set up the food, sweets, tea, incense, and chrysanthemums on the stove. We pray to the kitchen god to please bless us (particularly our kitchen, our home) during the new year. This year, there’s something special on our stove, and it’s this beautiful gourmet fruits box by @Laumière Gourmet Fruits Each piece is made of fruits and flowers; there are no added preservatives. They’re vegan and gluten-free. And they are incredibly delicious. I hope you’ll use this space to share your thoughts on the question posed in this reel. I’m wishing you a happy lunar new year filled with good health, delicious meals, and opportunities to reach your dreams. 💝 #tết #tet2023 #yearoftherabbit #yearofthecat #vietnamesenewyear #lunarnewyear2023 #happylunarnewyear #cúngôngtáo #prayers🙏 #familytradition #immigrantstories #myparents #myholidayhome #laumieregourmet #naturecurated #holidaytraditions #vietnamesefood #vietnamesefamily #vietnameseamerican #vietnamese #wearesaigoneer