In the beginning of summer 2009, I participated in learning Vietnamese language with my children at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Orlando called Chùa Pháp Vũ.  I wanted for my children to be able to speak Vietnamese and be familiar with the Vietnamese culture. While my kids were learning their Vietnamese ABCs, I learned more about Vietnamese culture in a Buddhist Temple environment.

While my parents are Buddhists, we did not practice Buddhism much in our home.  I grew up in a small town of central Texas so there was no Buddhist temple nearby.  The closest thing to a temple was our own little alter on top of our refrigerator.  My mom frequently prayed to the alter on certain holidays. I never knew or understood what those holidays were.  She often thanked Buddha for our health and our well being.

Recently, I learned about Vietnamese holidays that I briefly heard of but didn't understand what they were. Now that I am aware of them, I thought I share with everyone...
 
This coming Saturday (9/5/2009), Chùa Pháp Vũ in Orlando will be celebrating a very special holiday in Vietnamese culture.  This holiday is called "Vu Lan." It is also knowned as "wandering souls day" in English. 

Annually on the seventh full moon and the 15th day of the lunar calendar, Vietnamese gathered in temples or a central location to honor their parents and up to seven generations of ancestors. They prayed together to help the ancestors' lost souls find their way back to earth. Please see http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/mua-vu-lan-mothers-day-viet-nam for Vu Lan's legend.

Vu Lan is a day where Vietnamese express their gratitude to their parents especially their mother based on the legend of Vu Lan. It is like Mother's Day to Vietnamese. Pretty cool.  I didn't even knew that existed... 

Yes, there are lots of YUMMY Vietnamese food. I will post pictures and/or names of different types of food from the temple in my next blog. Stay tune.

Many wishes out there to many mothers.  Chúc mừng Vu Lan!!!

Have fun eating healthy!
Pho Queen

Summer 2009 is almost over.  My kids first week of school was this week.  Boy oh boy, where did the time go? Our third video on Vietnamese Yogurt was recently uploaded!!  We hope everyone enjoyed it. It was fun making it. This video got down to the nitty gritty of how to make Vietnamese Yogurt. 

The Vietnamese Yogurt recipe is still available online for you to check out.  The fourth yogurt video is coming soon!!!  Yes, there is a fourth one to tie everything together...

Keep posted, I will post new Vietnamese recipes soon along with more videos to compliment the recipes.

Have fun eating healthy!
Pho Queen --

My family and I just came back to Pekin, Illinois from our first annual family reunion. I highly recommend everyone to stay in touch with families and friends as often as possible. Life is short. I learned alot about myself by understanding my families. 

There were cousins and family members that I have never met and haven't seen for over 5 years, not to mention oodles and oodles of homemade Vietnamese food. Our church (St Paul United Church of Christ in Pekin, Illinois) sponsor, Mrs. Viola Deppert, was also present. The church sponsors were a couple, Mr. & Mrs. Deppert, who sponsored my grandparents to America. My grandparents sponsored my family. Many thanks and appreciation to Mr. & Mrs. Deppert. If it wasn't for them, my family and I would not be in America today. 

Below is a picture of my grandparents' family and Mr. & Mrs. Deppert (center of the picture - non Vietnamese couple). We are very grateful to have an opportunity to be here in America.  Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.  This picture was published in the Pekin, Illinois Newspaper in 1975.

If you would like to view more pictures, visit facebook for Ha Roda, click on the picture, or the following links:

album1, album2, and album3