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XMAS AND NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
Vietnam’s expats talk to Timeout about their
experience of Christmas away from home
An Expat Christmas
ROMAIN DUVAL,
Owner of 88 Lounge Hanoi
I come from the cold part of France
where it normally snows at this time of
the year so we would enjoy a completely
white Christmas and New Year’s Eve, cozy
by a nice fireplace! As my family lives near
the forest, we usually have a big Christ-
mas tree which I have started to see in
Vietnam as well. For New Year’s Eve, I will
say it is quite similar as it is a day you cel-
ebrate with your friends with champagne
and fireworks. As Balzac said, the bottle
does not matter as much as the drunken-
ness. It means if you are with family and
friends who you care about and love, it
does not matter where you are. But I will
say that there are a lot of pleasant places
in Vietnam to celebrate this holiday, such
as on the beach in Nha Trang eating
lobster, on a boat in Halong Bay enjoying
the misty landscape, or around a fireplace
in Sapa.
BARNEY
English teacher at
EIV International JSV
In 2012 I celebrated Christmas in Ha-
noi. My experience of Christmas in Hanoi
was very different from my usual Christ-
mas. Christmas is not popular in Hanoi
compared to in England or other coun-
tries. Christmas is very important to me
and my family back home, as it is a time
that we gather our friends and family and
enjoy our time together. We do this by
having a Christmas dinner in the evening.
My experience in Hanoi has not been as
impressive, but I think that Tet was much
more celebrated in Hanoi. This was an
enjoyable time, but 80 per cent of the city
was empty, as people left for their home-
towns. I think it would be a different
experience if I was invited to somebody’s
house or hometown, as I have heard it’s a
great place to be at this time.
PHILIP JONES
GM Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi
Christmas time is typically quite busy
for the hotel. I try to spend time celebrat-
ing the holiday season with friends and
family at every available opportunity. My
wife and I enjoy taking the time to deco-
rate a real tree and create an authentic
holiday atmosphere in our home. Last
Christmas was a special Christmas, be-
cause it was my first Christmas in Viet-
nam. Like most expats, we spent time
debating with friends where we could get
a real tree and we were fortunate after
talking to many people to find someone
who brings in real trees from Germany.
For those of us who grew up in Europe,
having a real tree is something that re-
ally helps to create the holiday spirit.
Christmas however, is not about material
things, it is about friends and family and
we were fortunate to be able to celebrate
last year with our friends. We hope to be
able to do the same again this year.
ALAN POLASKY
from Madison, Wisconsin, US,
works in North American
International School
The whole family gathers to cele-
brate Christmas. We are at my grand-
parents’ house during the Christmas day
and then we go to our uncle’s house for
Christmas Eve. We are a big family and
we don’t see each other very often since
some live in California, some in Boston,
some live in other countries. So Christ-
mas and summer time are two occasions
that we can gather like how Vietnamese
celebrate Tet holiday. This year because I
have to work, I do not go back home at
Christmas, I will wait for Tet holiday.
PHILIPP SPELLENBERG
a watch maker from Germany
It was quite interesting for me when
I came to Vietnam and saw the decora-
tions for Christmas and New Year every-
where. The feeling is strange because in
my country it is always cold while it is still
warm here. We always stay together, but
we do not give each other gifts because
we think that it is not the important part.
We usually don’t have a meal on the table
at Christmas, instead we sit on the floor
and enjoy the food that is prepared by
each member.