The Association of Vietnamese Students in New York (VNNY) hosted a huge ceremony on January 19 to welcome the traditional Lunar New Year.

The event, the first of its kind to be held in New York, drew 400 Vietnamese students. The main task of the VNNY is to connect Vietnamese students in the US together, and this was certainly accomplished at the Tet ceremony, where the festive atmosphere was stoked by musical performances, a lottery and a dating auction.

Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Representative Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, said he hopes the VNNY will offer a forum for students to share helpful knowledge among each other and contributing to the national construction and development when they return home.

The same day, a music show welcoming the Lunar New Year took place in England in London’s Hackney district.

At the end of the event, the organising board raised as much as 8,210 GBP (13,600 USD) from Vietnamese philanthropists in the UK.

The sum will go to storm victims in Hanh Phuoc commune in the central province of Quang Ngai and in Gio My commune, Quang Tri province.

Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in the UK, Son Thanh, said the overseas Vietnamese have engaged in activities in support of victims of Agent Orange and young heart disease sufferers in the past.

This year, his association will raise funding to provide fresh water purifiers for schools in the island district of Truong Sa, the central province of Khanh Hoa, he added.-VNA