Celebrating Lunar New Year with Korean, Vietnamese traditions: Jasmine Mangalaseril

From Bhutan to Indonesia, the Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in many Asian countries. This year, Jan. 29 marked the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

While common threads run across cultures, each has its own traditions. For members of the local Vietnamese and Korean communities, the Lunar New Year is a time of celebration, family and food.

Called Seollal in South Korea, the holiday is observed over three days, but some years it can extend to six days.

Jiyoo Baek, co-owner of Waterloo's Kim's Kitchen, with her husband Taehee (Sean) Kim, said families travel to gather at a grandparent's home where they honour and pay respects to ancestors through the Charye ceremony.

"It's the most important holiday for the family," said "These days it's really busy for everyone, for their life and their work. So, this is the time for gathering as a family, to spend time together."

Charye includes offering food, like rice, soup, meat, seafood, liquor, fruit and vegetables, to the ancestors in return for blessings for the new year.

Longevity, prosperity and a clean start

At the centre of the food is Tteokguk, a soup made with rice cakes, which is traditionally served at Seollal and is rich in symbolism.

The clear broth (often beef, but it could be seafood or vegetable) turns white during preparation, symbolising a fresh, clean start to the new year.

A long rice cake (which looks like a thick rope made of rice-based dough) stands for longevity. When sliced into coins, it represents prosperity.

Baek also mentioned banchan (side dishes) and popular foods often served at Lunar New Year.

"We have a jeon (savoury pancakes) and japchae (clear sweet potato noodles with vegetables). Also, we have a galbijjim (soy sauce braised beef and vegetables), bulgogi (seared marinated meat), and kimchi (salted and fermented cabbage). And then as a dessert, yakgwa (fried honey-sweetened cookies) and yugwa (crispy sweetened rice cakes)," Baek explained.

Where to find these foods:

• Rice cake soup: Owl of Minerva in Waterloo.
• Japchae, galbijjim, bulgogi, jeon, kimchi: can be found in many Korean restaurants including KW Korean BBQ in Kitchener and Sowon in Waterloo.
• Yakgwa and yugwa: KW Korean Food Market in Kitchener

Tet in Vietnam

Vietnam's Lunar New Year, Tet, is a seven-day holiday and the country's biggest celebration.

Like Baek, Chammy Tran, owner of Kitchener's Pho Tran, said Vietnam's Lunar New Year also focuses on family, but there's also community celebrations.

"It's a whole community celebration. Firecrackers are very important, and then just coming around with families," said Tran. "We would just eat and talk and play games."

Families will also offer food to their ancestors, with a tray featuring five fruits that each carry meaning. For example, bananas mean togetherness, yellow grapefruit symbolises wealth, red or orange fruits or vegetables are for luck and success, and pineapple can mean peace and prosperity.

Banh chung is a sticky rice cake, made with glutinous rice that envelopes a filling of moong beans and pork. It's tightly wrapped in banana leaves and then boiled for hours. Depending on the region, it can be square or cylindrical. When unwrapped, the leaves impart their flavour and colour to the rice.

"The most important thing is the sticky rice cake. Every household has banh chung in Vietnam. Even in Canada now if we celebrate Tet, we have to have banh chung. It symbolises possibility, fortune, longevity," said Tran.

She said in Vietnam, along with the banh chung, her mum made dinner from what was at hand.

"My mom just made a simple [meal]," said Tran. "I remember she always made a chicken. And clear noodle vermicelli soup as the main course, and some pickled vegetables. Very simple."