Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Phạm Quang Hiệu and his wife enjoy vegetarian food from the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in Japan. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Giao

TOKYO — The Vietnamese communities in Japan’s Saitama prefecture and the UK’s London marked the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday with celebrations that bridge cultural distances and preserve traditional heritage.

The first-ever Vietnamese Tết festival in Omiya city, Saitama, unfolded on January 25-26, providing an opportunity for Japanese friends to enjoy Việt Nam’s traditional culture and cuisine.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Phạm Quang Hiệu underscored the significance of the event, which helped the overseas Vietnamese (OVs) to reconnect with their roots and honour the nation’s cultural values.

He laid stress on the flourishing Việt Nam – Japan relations over the recent past, with exchanges and cooperation between their localities being a highlight and a pillar of bilateral ties. Saitama is one of the Japanese localities hosting the largest number of Vietnamese people, more than 40,000, who have made positive contributions to the economic development and cultural diversity in the prefecture.

The festival featured various cultural performances like an Áo dài (traditional long dress) fashion show, folk music, and lion dances. Culinary stalls offered such delicacies as bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake), phở (noodle), and bánh mì (bread).

In London, more than 200 Vietnamese expatriates gathered for a Tết celebration hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK.

Officials from Vietnamese representative agencies in the UK and their families gather for Tết celebration. — VNA/VNS Photo Phong Hà

Ambassador Đỗ Minh Hùng hailed the community’s efforts to preserve the homeland's cultural identity, affirming that the Party and State always view OVs as an inseparable part of the nation and have worked to complete policies for them, creating a foundation to consolidate the great national solidarity bloc while helping the OVs have a stable legal status and contribute to the homeland.

He also shared updates about Việt Nam’s socio-economic progress, noting the country’s impressive economic growth of over 7 per cent last year and its ranking among the world’s top 35 economies.

The diplomat briefed the community on the robust development of the Việt Nam – UK relations in the past year, particularly in the areas of trade – investment, education – training, and defence – security. He attributed such achievements partly to the OVs in the UK, expressing his hope that they will continue preserving the traditional cultural values as well as contributing to the host nation and the homeland.

The London event featured musical performances by Vietnamese students, a festive atmosphere, and a lottery drawing with prizes including Tết delicacies and flight tickets to Việt Nam. — VNS