recreate.rethink.reimagine
Redesigning the tam cúc card deck was a labor of love. I was home for the weekend and running errands with my mother. Our conversations during those car rides often turned to “remember when…” Perhaps we were talking about Tết traditions or games we used to play, when my mother said, “The tam cúc cards…
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Thôi Nôi (“leaving the cradle”) is celebrated after a child’s Đầy Năm (“full year”). On this occasion as well as on the child’s Đầy Tháng (“full month”), a Lễ Cúng Mụ is held to express gratitude to Bà Chúa Đầu Thai (“Goddess of Rebirth”) and the twelve Bà Mụ (“Twelve Midwives”) and ask for their…
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I don’t remember the first time I ate bánh đậu xanh. All I know is that upon entering any Asian grocery store, I (and my siblings) automatically make a beeline for the snack aisle to grab at least a box or two. It’s a form of muscle memory, the way I gravitate toward items like…
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Like the toiles that came before it, the jacket is made of lightweight unbleached muslin, a plain cotton weave I’m fond of for its newsprint sensibility. It’s a material meant to be thrown away on rough sketches, a step removed from that pristine whiteness which alienates emergent thought. The muslin, in this case, has been…
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There was no đón dâu (fetching of the bride), no thách cưới (gifts stipulated by the bride’s family). No mother-in-law had to leave for a neighbor’s house, bình vôi (lime pot) in hand, to signal her willingness to cede the matriarchal reins. The brides walked in side by side, hands clasped, as tall as the…
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Bà Nội believed that a second-hand garment is imbued with the previous owner’s vía – the sum total of their hopes and fears. Before wearing the garment, you must alter it in some way. The alteration can be a button tucked inside the hem or a bit of embroidery under the neckline. No need to…
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Your bà mối or matchmaker is:(a) Mom’s best friend.(b) Your best friend (who may turn out to be the one).(c) Algorithms purported to know you best.(d) Your best self, after you learn to trust your instinct and check your impulses.
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Tết Nguyên Đán (“festival of the first dawn”) celebrates the beginning of the year based on a lunisolar calendar. It is so central to Viet culture that people refer to it simply as Tết.
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