Vietnamese people in South Africa during a music performance at the "Xuân Quê Hương" (HomelandSpring) event on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Minh

Overseas Vietnamese people around the world have been celebrating Tết (Lunar New Year) at gatherings held in their host countries as their biggest traditional festival nears.

The Vietnamese Intellectual Society (VIS) in the UK and Ireland held an annual meeting last week to review its performance in 2022 and hosted traditional Tết (Lunar New Year) celebration for expatriates.

Speaking at the event on January 14, VIS Chairman Nguyễn Xuân Huấn said that with more than 100 members mostly professors, associate professors, lecturers, and post-graduates at over 60 universities in the UK and Ireland, the VIS first aims to connect and support its members and then, develop the Vietnamese community in the UK.

He said in 2023, VIS will continue to expand its activities, not only in the academic field to connect and cooperate with other organisations such as the Embassy of Việt Nam in the UK, the Association Việt Nam-UK Friendship, and Vietnamese associations in the UK to promote Việt Nam-UK relations.

This year, for the first time, VIS and the Vietnamese students’ association in Oxford jointly held a Tết celebration at Wadham College which attracted members of the two associations, their families, and Vietnamese overseas living and working in the UK.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore and the Vietnamese students’ association in the country last week also held a Tết celebration for students who will spend the coming Lunar New Year festival away from home.

Nearly 100 Vietnamese students and guests attended the event which included typical preparation for a traditional Tết celebration like making chưng cake, playing folk games, and delivering Tết wishes to family and friends.

Vietnamese people and international guests at Xuân Quê Hương (Homeland Spring) event held in Italy. — VNA/VNS Photo Hải Linh

The activities not only help Vietnamese students feel the Tết atmosphere when away from home but also promotes Vietnamese culture to foreigners.

Vietnamese students in Japan, Thailand and Brunei last week also took part in get-togethers to celebrate Tết.

In Tokyo, the Vietnamese Youth and Student Association in Japan (VYSA) held an event to bring Tết atmosphere to Vietnamese who are living and working in East Asia country.

Addressing the gathering, VYSA Chairman Nguyễn Đình Nam highlighted outcomes made by the association in recent years.

He said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the VYSA and its chapters across Japan still organise many meaningful activities to strengthen the cohesion in the community and support Vietnamese youth and students in Japan such as VYSA Job Fair, VYSA Charity Bookstore, or sports tournaments like VYSA Kanto Badminton.

He said the VYSA presented 100 packages of gifts to disadvantaged Vietnamese in Japan to help them have a warm and happy Tết.

Young people in traditional áo dài in Japan perform at an event to celebrate Tết. — VNA/VNS Photo Đào Thanh Tùng

Nguyễn Đức Minh, Chargé d'Affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, highly appreciated the VYSA's activities in the past time, while expressing his hope that VYSA will continue to have more practical and meaningful actions to contribute to building a growing Vietnamese community in Japan and further develop Việt Nam-Japan relations.

Participants at the event had a chance to experience folk games and enjoy the traditional dishes of the Vietnamese people as well as musical performances by artists of the two countries.

Meanwhile, many overseas Vietnamese in Thailand gathered at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok to welcome the Tết.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chí Thành extended his best wishes to the Vietnamese community living and working in Thailand on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

Thành praised the efforts of the Vietnamese community in overcoming all difficulties to stabilise their lives and deeply integrate into the host society.

He urged them to uphold the tradition of solidarity, promote the cultural identity of Việt Nam, actively contribute to the relationship between the two countries.

Also on January 14, the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei held a Lunar New Year get-together with the participation of more than 100 Vietnamese living and working in Brunei and international guests.

At a Tết celebration organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia on January 15, Ambassador Nguyễn Tất Thành highlighted achievements in the two countries’ relations in 2022, expressing his belief that under the leadership of the Labour Party of Australia, bilateral ties will develop even more strongly in the time ahead.

He noted that last year, the Vietnamese community in Australia stayed united, contributed to the homeland, and carried out many activities to help strengthen connections between the two countries.

As Việt Nam and Australia will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023, Thành said he hopes new breakthroughs will be recorded in bilateral diplomatic, economic, trade, and investment links.

The diplomat also called on the community to increase support for one another, help promote the countries’ strategic partnership, and further contribute to the homeland.

On this occasion, the embassy presented certificates of merit to the Vietnamese collectives and individuals in Australia in recognition of their outstanding dedication to bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Similar celebratory events have also been held by the Vietnamese embassies in Cuba, Japan, Algeria, Germany, and Mexico, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Vancouver of Canada, the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN, and the country’s Consulate General in New York.

The coming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Cat, will start on January 22. — VNS