Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! Happy Lunar New Year!
With Lunar New Year coming up, people are getting ready to clean their homes and decorate. Create this festive Tết Tree (the Vietnamese version of the Christmas tree but for the Lunar New Year) by cutting out some circles, a little glue, and a bit of string!
Materials:
Make the tassels:
You may opt out of the split rings and tie the center with red string instead of inserting the twine into the split ring. Then attach your gold thread to the center tie.
Make the body of the lantern:
Next, harvest some tree branches from your yard or take a stroll around your neighborhood or your favorite park. Then, recycle one of your many vases that have probably been collecting dust in some dark corner in storage. Place your branches into your vase and hang your lanterns!
Keep the tree branches and hang seasonal decorations for a festive home all year round! These make such great centerpieces for the table, as décor, or as ornamental for your ancestral shrine.
Good luck and happy crafting! If you like stories like this, subscribe to Chopsticks Alley.
Carolyn Lê
Contributor
A San José native and a recent graduate from University of Santa Cruz with honors in Literature, Carolyn has a deep appreciation for Vietnamese American literature and the Vietnamese American community. She is excited to be a part of an organization such as Chopsticks Alley, one that celebrates Vietnamese American culture and encourages positive self-identification. Driven by her educational background in literary criticism, she seeks to empower those who are historically marginalized, underrepresented, and underserved through literature and writing. She is also a dog-lover and has been a professional Dog Training Instructor for over 7 years!