The annual Lantern Festival is coming! In Matsu, the activities of "laying the table for the dead" and "welcoming the gods" are one of the biggest events of the year. While for the Vietnamese new immigrants in Matsu, the Lantern Festival, also known as "the first full moon of the coming lunar year", is one of the major holiday of the year as well.There is a Vietnamese proverb that says: "Big rice dumplings make a big reunion; sticky rice makes a deep relationship. As a custom, the Vietnamese people will gather for a "New Year's Meal" where the food is as sumptuous as possible. "The more sumptuous the food, the more prosperous and smooth the year ahead."
Rice dumplings are considered an extremely important dish for the "New Year's Meal". On the eve of the Lantern Festival, Lienchiang County Service Center of the National Immigration Agency invited Ms. Phan Thu Trang, a Vietnamese new immigrants in Matsu, to give a lecture to organize the "Vietnamese Dumplings for Reunion" activity at the Lienchiang County Women and Children Center. Ms. Phan led the participants in making Vietnamese dumplings for the Lantern Festival, and by sharing the process of making festive food so that the new immigrants and the local community could experience the "Vietnamese Lantern Festival" of different culture. The whole event was held in a joyful atmosphere.
For your information, the registration for the "2023 Academic Year Education & Scholarship Program for New Immigrants and Their Children" has begun! Before March 10, 2024, all eligible people are encouraged to submit the application on the the official website of the Education & Scholarship Program for New Immigrants and Their Children (https://sp.immigration.gov.tw). If you have any questions, please contact Lienchiang County Service Center(TEL: 0836-23736).