A Meditation

A Meditation on how the similarities between Western Christmas/New Year/Winter Solstice and Vietnamese Tet holiday suggest the existence of a Jungian archtype and demonstrate the hitherto suspected Universal Oneness of Man through common festival customs
(or "There's No Place Like Home)

England has 8 foot Christmas trees...Hanoi has 8 foot kumquat trees

England has red and gold everywhere...Hanoi has red and gold everywhere

England has snow and toasty fireplaces...Hanoi has cold temperatures but no glass in the windows

England has stockings...Hanoi has envelopes of money

England has Christmas cake filled with fruit...Hanoi has Banh Chung filled with pork

England has people worshipping Baby Jesus...Hanoi has people worshipping their dead ancestors

England has children sitting on Father Christmas' knee...Hanoi has the xe om driver that groped my leg

libel warning: it wasn't this man, he's probably quite nice

England has family reunions...Hanoi has family reunions

England has a sleigh driven by 9 reindeer...Hanoi is a city driven by 5 million motorbike

England has homemade mulled wine...Hanoi has homebrewed rice wine

England has turkey that no one really likes...Hanoi has dogmeat that people go mental for*

England has people resolving to be better next year...Hanoi has people hoping they'll be better next year

I can't think of any more.

My Vietnamese lesson tonight is rearranged because my Vietnamese teacher must have a party to send the Kitchen God to heaven, where he reports on the annual behaviour of the family to the Jade Emperor. He knows all your secrets, because he's got a really good viewpoint in the hearth. He rides to heaven on a fish. There is no Western analogy for such genius.

Tomorrow I go to Thailand, and intend to be having too much fun to blog, so there will be a hiatus.

*Edit: have since learned that dog meat is fair game (ho ho) up until the evening before Tet begins, but once Tet begins, dog is out! No dog! What are you doing eating dog, this is Tet! No duck either! Hands off the duck! And cuttlefish, don't even go there. Sweeping your house is out too. And funerals.