Phan Hoang Thu Anh, a third-grade student at the Vietnam-AustraliaInternational School, began crying when she saw the children holding upsigns reading "We need food", "We need water" and "We need help".
"I wanted to give away my best items to my friends in thePhilippines," Anh said after watching a video about Typhoon Haiyan,which has left 1 million children homeless.
Deeplyaffected by the images of the children, Anh and her classmates decidedto give away their most beautiful clothes and shoes to their school'sPhilippines Donation Drive.
"Dear Santa, I don'tneed any gift from you. I hope you visit and present food, water andother presents to my friends in the Philippines. They need you," Anhwrote in her letter to Santa.
Her teachers werebehind the programme, which emphasises the need to give rather thanreceive. "The drive includes 1,000 students on our campus. We hope thestudents think more about disadvantaged children," Phan Thi Ngoc Anh,Anh's core teacher, said.
"We have encouraged ourstudents to take part in charity activities by themselves, not throughadults," she added. "We believe this improves both their mental andliving skills."
The programme has won support fromall the parents, who want to develop their children both spiritually andemotionally. "When Anh told us she wanted to present her money andclothes to Filipino friends, we supported her at once," Anh's father,Phan To Hong Hai, said.
Besides the students at theinternational school, other children around town are also doing gooddeeds by playing Santa to underprivileged children.
Many of them are taking part in programmes launched early this month bythe Vietnam Youth Association, the Ho Chi Minh City Women'sAssociation, and the Cultural House for Young People.
Gifts, scholarships and charity houses are being donated to childrenand indigent women within the framework of the programmes.
As part of the holiday season, social workers have visited outlyingBinh Chanh, Hoc Mon and Thu Duc districts, providing families withmosquito nets, blankets, books and radio sets donated by local andforeign benefactors.
"We want Christmas to be aboutgiving, and making kids happy and comfortable," Tran Thanh Binh of theVietnam Youth Association said.
Binh and hiscolleagues also plan to visit shelters and open houses on Christmas Evedressed as Santas who will sing and offer meals to children.
About 160 children who have no homes or are disabled have alreadytaken part in Christmas parties at the Hoang Mai Shelter and Tam BinhCentre in Go Vap and Thu Duc districts, respectively.
The meals were prepared by the Lotte Legend Hotel Saigon and SheratonSaigon Hotel, and toys and candies were handed out. Songs and games werealso part of the activities.
While charitableevents are always part of the Christmas celebrations, the city has alsocontinued to highlight the gaiety of the season by decorating thestreets with glittering lights and millions of flowers.
Thousands of lights and lanterns are strung along downtown streetslike Dong Khoi, Nguyen Hue and Le Loi, as well as major public areaslike Notre Dame Cathedral.
Dozens of seasonalactivities, including art exhibitions and circus and music shows arebeing organised in downtown areas.
"This year hasbeen very difficult for migrant workers. We have to take care of ourchildren, so we have no money for shopping and entertainment," saidNguyen Van Son, father of a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-oldboy, said.
He and his wife toured Dong Khoi streeton December 22, and spent 15,000 VND on balloons from a dealer in aclown costume. "For me, it's enough for a merry Christmas," he said ashe took photos of his children with his cellphone.
Another child, Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, 9, of Binh Chanh district, wasdowntown to enjoy the lights, too. Hugging her brother, she said: "Ilove to walk around and see people's faces in the lights. My mompromised us she would buy a small Yule log to enjoy later at home. Ilove Christmas."
Public festivals
As in previous years, local authorities will also organise fireworks shows in Districts 2 and 11 on New Year's Eve.
During the festival week, dozens of comedy, music and songperformances will be held for free in industrial parks and export andprocessing zones. Dam Sen, one of the city's biggest parks located inDistrict 11, will stage entertainment shows during the week.
The special week, called Noel Tung Bung- Don Chao Nam Moi 2014 (JoyfulChristmas, Welcome to a Happy New Year), will start on December 24,offering music, dance, comedy, circus and puppet shows.
Shopping centres are also having special sales, with Vincom Centre,Diamond Plaza and Crescent Mall in Districts 1 and 7 beginningpromotions last week on ornaments, consumer goods, food andentertainment.
Restaurants and hotels are alsoadding cakes, candies and special menus for the holiday. HotelEquatorial, for example, will have the traditional stuffed turkey withcarrots, roasted potatoes and green beans, and sauce. AtInterContinental Asiana Saigon, a Christmas choir performance will takeplace at 8pm on Christmas Eve.
Roasted turkey,honeyed ham and duck, as well as lobsters, mussels and oysters, will beon offer. Bartenders and DJs, like many others in town, will stage adazzling New Year's Countdown Party.
Forcooler temperatures, many holiday revellers will travel to Da Lat, aresort in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong famous for itsflowers and tea farms. Although its annual Festival of Flowers will openon December 27, many locals and expatriates have decided to go earlierto enjoy the Christmas holiday.
The festival tocelebrate the 120th founding anniversary of the city will be the biggestever with many cultural activities.
"My family andI are going to Da Lat instead of staying at home in the hot and noisyatmosphere," said Don Nguyen, an overseas Vietnamese visitor fromCalifornia, who has arrived to celebrate the New Year. "I hope a goodyear is coming to all people," he said.-VNA
"I wanted to give away my best items to my friends in thePhilippines," Anh said after watching a video about Typhoon Haiyan,which has left 1 million children homeless.
Deeplyaffected by the images of the children, Anh and her classmates decidedto give away their most beautiful clothes and shoes to their school'sPhilippines Donation Drive.
"Dear Santa, I don'tneed any gift from you. I hope you visit and present food, water andother presents to my friends in the Philippines. They need you," Anhwrote in her letter to Santa.
Her teachers werebehind the programme, which emphasises the need to give rather thanreceive. "The drive includes 1,000 students on our campus. We hope thestudents think more about disadvantaged children," Phan Thi Ngoc Anh,Anh's core teacher, said.
"We have encouraged ourstudents to take part in charity activities by themselves, not throughadults," she added. "We believe this improves both their mental andliving skills."
The programme has won support fromall the parents, who want to develop their children both spiritually andemotionally. "When Anh told us she wanted to present her money andclothes to Filipino friends, we supported her at once," Anh's father,Phan To Hong Hai, said.
Besides the students at theinternational school, other children around town are also doing gooddeeds by playing Santa to underprivileged children.
Many of them are taking part in programmes launched early this month bythe Vietnam Youth Association, the Ho Chi Minh City Women'sAssociation, and the Cultural House for Young People.
Gifts, scholarships and charity houses are being donated to childrenand indigent women within the framework of the programmes.
As part of the holiday season, social workers have visited outlyingBinh Chanh, Hoc Mon and Thu Duc districts, providing families withmosquito nets, blankets, books and radio sets donated by local andforeign benefactors.
"We want Christmas to be aboutgiving, and making kids happy and comfortable," Tran Thanh Binh of theVietnam Youth Association said.
Binh and hiscolleagues also plan to visit shelters and open houses on Christmas Evedressed as Santas who will sing and offer meals to children.
About 160 children who have no homes or are disabled have alreadytaken part in Christmas parties at the Hoang Mai Shelter and Tam BinhCentre in Go Vap and Thu Duc districts, respectively.
The meals were prepared by the Lotte Legend Hotel Saigon and SheratonSaigon Hotel, and toys and candies were handed out. Songs and games werealso part of the activities.
While charitableevents are always part of the Christmas celebrations, the city has alsocontinued to highlight the gaiety of the season by decorating thestreets with glittering lights and millions of flowers.
Thousands of lights and lanterns are strung along downtown streetslike Dong Khoi, Nguyen Hue and Le Loi, as well as major public areaslike Notre Dame Cathedral.
Dozens of seasonalactivities, including art exhibitions and circus and music shows arebeing organised in downtown areas.
"This year hasbeen very difficult for migrant workers. We have to take care of ourchildren, so we have no money for shopping and entertainment," saidNguyen Van Son, father of a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-oldboy, said.
He and his wife toured Dong Khoi streeton December 22, and spent 15,000 VND on balloons from a dealer in aclown costume. "For me, it's enough for a merry Christmas," he said ashe took photos of his children with his cellphone.
Another child, Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, 9, of Binh Chanh district, wasdowntown to enjoy the lights, too. Hugging her brother, she said: "Ilove to walk around and see people's faces in the lights. My mompromised us she would buy a small Yule log to enjoy later at home. Ilove Christmas."
Public festivals
As in previous years, local authorities will also organise fireworks shows in Districts 2 and 11 on New Year's Eve.
During the festival week, dozens of comedy, music and songperformances will be held for free in industrial parks and export andprocessing zones. Dam Sen, one of the city's biggest parks located inDistrict 11, will stage entertainment shows during the week.
The special week, called Noel Tung Bung- Don Chao Nam Moi 2014 (JoyfulChristmas, Welcome to a Happy New Year), will start on December 24,offering music, dance, comedy, circus and puppet shows.
Shopping centres are also having special sales, with Vincom Centre,Diamond Plaza and Crescent Mall in Districts 1 and 7 beginningpromotions last week on ornaments, consumer goods, food andentertainment.
Restaurants and hotels are alsoadding cakes, candies and special menus for the holiday. HotelEquatorial, for example, will have the traditional stuffed turkey withcarrots, roasted potatoes and green beans, and sauce. AtInterContinental Asiana Saigon, a Christmas choir performance will takeplace at 8pm on Christmas Eve.
Roasted turkey,honeyed ham and duck, as well as lobsters, mussels and oysters, will beon offer. Bartenders and DJs, like many others in town, will stage adazzling New Year's Countdown Party.
Forcooler temperatures, many holiday revellers will travel to Da Lat, aresort in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong famous for itsflowers and tea farms. Although its annual Festival of Flowers will openon December 27, many locals and expatriates have decided to go earlierto enjoy the Christmas holiday.
The festival tocelebrate the 120th founding anniversary of the city will be the biggestever with many cultural activities.
"My family andI are going to Da Lat instead of staying at home in the hot and noisyatmosphere," said Don Nguyen, an overseas Vietnamese visitor fromCalifornia, who has arrived to celebrate the New Year. "I hope a goodyear is coming to all people," he said.-VNA
