Nguyen Tieu Festival celebrated abroad
(VOV) - A ceremony was held at Truc Lam zen in Villebon sur Yvette city, not far from Paris on February 23, to celebrate the First Full Moon Festival (Tet Nguyen Tieu).
The event was attended by representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, the Vietnamese Association, as well as Vietnamese residents and international friends.
Participants offered incense and pray for good luck and happiness in the new year, then tasted vegetarian food and raised funds for charity in the homeland.
Ambassador Duong Chi Dung briefed them on Vietnam’s significant socio-economic achievements in 2012 and Vietnam-France relations.
He highly valued the overseas Vietnamese community in France for making practical contributions to the growth of the homeland.
*** The same day, Vietnamese residents in Torcy city, about 30km from Paris, also gathered for traditional lunar New Year celebration and took part in music and dance performances in praise of the homeland.
*** The Vietnamese Association and the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association co-sponsored a music and dance programme in Brussels on February 23 to welcome in the lunar New Year.
Vietnamese residents and international guests enjoyed watching lion dances, traditional music performances and special dances of Asian and European styles.
They had the chance to taste pork pie, rice noodles, spring rolls, steamed shrimp rice cakes and other traditional dishes.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Pham Sanh Chau conveyed his best wished to all Vietnamese residents and encouraged them to strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
*** Also on February 23, a poem night was held in Berlin to welcome the Nguyen Tieu Festival.
A ceremony was also held to award winners of the recent poem contest, which had received 80 entries from 37 Vietnamese poets abroad and 10 from five others living in the homeland.
The first prize went to Dai Trang in Dresden, the second to Minh Hai from Chemnitz and the third to Thanh Binh from Freital.