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By MITCH MORRISON; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Monday, February 07, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1 &amp; 4A QUICK WORDS: VIETNAMESES NEW
YEAR BRINGS HOPE 





WILKES-BARRE -- As a new era was dawning between the United States and
Vietnam, a yellow and blue tapered dragon danced in the basement of St.
Aloysius Church on Sunday, welcoming the Vietnamese New Year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With more than 200 Vietnamese Americans and friends clapping and cheering
for the mythical reptile, a recognition swept that this Tet Festival
celebrating the Year of the Dog could represent a new frontier in
U.S.-Vietnamese relations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nhan Van Nguyen, 42, settled in America 18 years ago after the North
Vietnamese Communists overran South Vietnam, where Nguyen lived. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I leave my country because I want freedom," the contractor said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A South Vietnamese soldier for seven years, Nguyen reflects the scars of
war. The pinkie on his left hand is mangled and he points to seven points on
his body maimed by bullets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With President Clinton's lifting of the trade embargo against the Southeast
Asian country, Nguyen is hopeful of a promising future. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm very happy. It's good for my people. He (Clinton) wants friendship.
Maybe now we'll find more POW-MIA because now we have a friendship. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It will be a happy New Year for me because of this," said Nguyen, who
lives in Scranton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As Nguyen spoke, the dragon danced. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Unlike European tradition, the dragon is a friend in Asian folklore, a
portent of good luck and wealth for the coming year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Many hoped so. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the second consecutive year, celebrants gathered from across Northeast
Pennsylvania: from Dunmore, Bloomsburg, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. They shared
traditional Vietnamese delicacies like Banh Phong -- a tasty cracker made of
noodles, shrimp and flower -- egg rolls, chicken curry and rice cakes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Son Hoang Nguyen organized the local festival, celebrating the most
important holiday of the year for Vietnamese. The event also has come to
symbolize an emerging cultural pride for Vietnamese Americans, a tiny minority
who make up well below 1 percent of the region's population. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I like America very much," said Lan Phuong Pham, 19, whose name means "the
smell of lily." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pham arrived here 1 years ago from southern Vietnam and now attends Bishop
Hoban High School. She hopes to return someday when a Communist government no
longer rules. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If the president talks with the Communists maybe they'll have to be
friends," she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lam Nguyen, who lives in Michigan and was visiting relatives here, agreed:
"I think this will help the Vietnamese people, but I think we have to do
something about the government." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While hope rested on the future, smiles and laughter glittered in the
present. Celebrants, ranging from infants to octogenarians, chuckled during a
comical spoof of a surgical team, during which the doctor and assistant used a
four-foot needle, cleaver, butcher's knife and axe to perform open heart
surgery. They removed an apple and orange from the frightened patient's belly. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There was also traditional music and dance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And, of course, the dancing dragon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER PHOTOS/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A symbol of good luck and wealth, the yellow and blue dragon welcomes the
Vietnamese New Year on Sunday. This year marks the Year of the Dog. Kim Marie
Pham, 3, of Freeland enjoys a piece of fried noodle at a celebration at St.
Aloysius Church in Wilkes-Barre.

Vietnamese New Year 
Brings Hope 
Area Vietnamese Americans 
Celebrated Their Native 
Country's New Year With High 
Expectations For The Fruits 
Of U.s.-vietnamese Relations

Vietnamese New Year Brings Hope Area Vietnamese Americans Celebrated Their Native Country's New Year With High Expectations For The Fruits Of U.s.-vietnamese Relations