A Vietnamese 1 Month Celebration

One of the best parts about living in Macau is meeting people from all over the world.  We've met people from many parts of Asia, Europe, Australia, a few from Africa, Central America, and the Middle East.  It is so much fun to find out why they came to Macau but even more fascinating is learning about their customs and culture.  I love discovering the differences and similarities of the varies homelands.

Recently, we learned that many Asian countries have elaborate celebrations when a child reaches different milestones in life.  Although annual birthday parties are typical, the first and seventh birthdays are especially important and usually include much bigger celebrations.  And a child's 1-month milestone is a very, big event in many of these countries.  Not only are the parents rejoicing the baby has survived the most vulnerable stage of life but it's also a time to introduce the new baby to family and friends. 

This week, we got to be a part of a 1-month celebration - Vietnamese style.  Our friends, Peter and Anny (both from Vietnam), had their first child, a beautiful baby girl named Ynna (notice it's the mother's name spelled backwards - how cute is that!).

They invited friends over to show off the new bundle of joy and share a traditional Vietnamese dinner.  Peter is a professional chef so the food was very good and the presentation of the kid's special dishes was just like a 5-star restaurant.

There were about 20 people in this small 2 bedroom apartment during the celebrations.  Most of us were together in the front room where they had packed all their stuff against one wall behind a small couch and chair.  Two women sat in the chair, 4 of us were on the couch, while the others sat on little stools or on the floor which was covered with newspaper for easy clean up.

We had a wonderful time adoring baby Ynna, visiting with friends, eating good food, and being entertained by my silly children.  Ian thought the party needed a little more entertainment so he kicked off an impromptu show with a Chinese poem.  Abby shared some of her Chinese talents with a song and Leah took a turn singing I'm a Child of God and Jingle Bells.  Then the kids started dancing Gangnam Style (I can't wait for a new fad song and dance!!). 

I love getting to know people from different parts of the world and learning about their cultures and traditions.  What a blessing to have our circle of friends expanding worldwide.  It really does seem like "a small world after all".