Tet's the Season to Be Jolly

[deckardcanine]

Ten years ago, I went to Vietnam for my vacation.
By accident, I came amid their new year celebration,
Called Tet. The serendipity was not my main surprise:
The socialist republic’s rather short on Christian ties,
Yet many decorations had a pseudo-Christmas flair.
For one, I saw a tree with paper lanterns hanging there.
I even saw a crèche; that’s hardly secular to me.
My guide explained the reason this tradition came to be:
In movies set on New Year’s Day or roughly thereabout,
Most places in our country still have Christmas trappings out.
Vietnamese decided that their Tet could use the same.
I found that kind of cute, but hey, it’s not a cause for shame.