The potent saltiness of rice and beans mixed with the vague, sweet aroma of bananas. It’s a blend all too familiar at Tam Bao Buddhist Temple in east Tulsa ahead of Lunar New Year.
The temple, which hosts weekly services in English and Vietnamese, holds a special evening celebration the night before Lunar New Year. It’s got food, line dancing, a Buddhist prayer service, fire crackers and other fun activities. This year, it’s set for 10:30 p.m. Feb. 16.
“As a nation, we just have a tradition, a custom,” said Uyen Nguyen, the temple’s secretary. “It’s a way to get together and remember our ancestors and everything.”
Sticky rice cakes are part of that tradition. More than a week in advance, about 15 volunteers nestle in a backroom kitchen cooking and preparing the cakes. They divide up the labor ahead of time — some mix and knead green bean paste while others cut up banana leaves to fill with rice and beans. It takes 12 hours to boil just one batch, and some stay the night to keep watch.
As a young girl, Nguyen enjoyed eating the food with everyone and taking part in all the youth activities. She’s celebrated the new year at Tam Bao since it opened in 1993, when Nguyen was 15 years old.
Now, she says it’s less fun and more responsibility. One person can’t do it all, so a lot of people take time off work to get together and volunteer their help.
Volunteer Quang Hien has been going to Tam Bao for 10 years — and has contributed to the Lunar New Year celebrations for nearly all of them.
“The new year is the most important,” Hien said. “We celebrate a new year, then we wish for everybody peace and happiness. In the Vietnamese tradition, everything we do in the new year will affect the whole year.”
They’ll eat the sticky rice cakes on New Year’s Day, Feb. 17, around lunch time after the temple’s service at 10:30 a.m. When the cakes are done, one volunteer said a sweet scent lingers.
Last month’s Tulsa Asia Fest aimed to celebrate the new year across a variety of Asian cultures. The University of Tulsa’s Asian student associations will hold a festival of their own from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at Lorton Performance Center.
The event will feature food, prizes, games and performances. All are welcome, but non-TU guests have to RSVP or pay at the door. Call 918-631-5240 for more information.
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