Tet in Boston’s Lunar New Year Moves into Bigger Spot at Convention Center

Tet in Boston is getting bigger. This year the 37th annual Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival will be on Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center.

This year’s venue is new and larger than previous ones, said Holly Nguyen, one of the organizers, because of the expected number of attendees.

“I look forward to seeing how we’ll turn the convention center into a different space for our attendees,” Holly Nguyen said.

Holly Nguyen, who is the co-executive director of Tet in Boston, told Sampan during a video call, this year’s theme is “Spring of Love” (in Vietnamese: Xuân Tình Yêu).

“Love can mean anything,” she said, “loving your culture, loving your friends, loving the memories that you carry along with Vietnam, with Boston.”

During the festival, there will be traditional performances, kids’ activities and vendors who sell food and host mini games, she said. The event will be co-hosted by the Vietnamese American Community of Massachusetts (VACM) and the New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association (NEIVSA).

Part of the event’s success, said Holly Nguyen, comes from collaborating with the VACM, which Tet in Boston has done since 2001.

“It helped a lot of high schools and colleges get together to stay connected with their Vietnamese community…the Vietnamese community in the greater Boston area keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. People want to come back, so we continue,” she said.

Khang Nguyen, the adviser for Tet in Boston, said the Lunar New Year has been a long tradition in Vietnam. It’s an important festival for remembering the past, including what people have done and their ancestors, and looking forward to the New Year with good fortune, he said.

Tet in Boston's 2025 celebration. Courtesy photo.

“In the Vietnamese community, most of the kids in their 20s and 30s grew up in this country. It’s very important to teach them about Vietnamese culture as American Vietnamese. We always learn the new culture and keep our old traditional family be part of us,” he noted.

“It’s a great way for us to just stay well-connected. Personally, I enjoy it because not only I can celebrate the Lunar New Year with my family, but also being able to share it with my friends, or even welcoming those who don’t even know what the Vietnamese community does during the Lunar New Year. We do share relations with other Asian cultures regarding the holiday, but it’s just a nice way to get together for family and be able to continue learning traditions,” Holly Nguyen said.

This story is slated to appear in the second December issue of Sampan.