Growing up Vietnamese American: food, language and holidays

Vietnamese American culture is a blend of two worlds: home-cooked Vietnamese food, a heritage language spoken (or half-spoken) at home, and holidays like Tết and the Mid-Autumn Festival, all woven into everyday American life at school and work. Many Vietnamese American families trace their roots in the US to the years after 1975, and communities have built a rich culture of their own, from Little Saigon neighborhoods to Vietnamese-language media.

Experiences vary a lot by family, generation and city. Here are some of the common threads people often describe.

Food at the center

For many families, food is the most constant link to Vietnamese culture:

• Home cooking – rice with a shared protein, vegetables and soup; a pot of phở on weekends; thịt kho at Tết.
• The lunchbox moment – many people describe a time when a home-packed lunch felt "different" at school, and later becoming proud of the same food.
• Vietnamese bakeries and grocery stores – places to get bánh mì, fresh herbs and ingredients that regular supermarkets didn't carry.
• Food as love – asking "Ăn cơm chưa?" (Have you eaten yet?) as a way of saying "I care about you."

Now Vietnamese dishes like phở, bánh mì and spring rolls are mainstream across the US, which many second-generation Vietnamese Americans find both funny and satisfying.

Language: keeping it, losing it, finding it again

Language is often the most complicated part. Common patterns:

• Parents speak Vietnamese, kids answer in English. Many children understand more than they can speak.
• Mixed speech. Families often switch between languages mid-sentence, sometimes called "Vietglish."
• Weekend Vietnamese classes. Temples, churches and community centers in many cities run Vietnamese language schools for kids.
• Heritage learners. Plenty of adults go back to study Vietnamese to talk with grandparents or pass it on to their own children. See learning Vietnamese as a heritage speaker.

Accents and vocabulary at home often reflect the region the family came from. Since many early arrivals came from the South, Southern Vietnamese is especially common in US communities.

Holidays

• Tết (Lunar New Year) – the biggest holiday: cleaning the house, ancestor offerings, red envelopes (lì xì), new clothes, bánh chưng or bánh tét, and visits to family. Many cities host Tết festivals and parades organized by local communities. Read what is Tết.
• Tết Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival) – mooncakes, lanterns and children's celebrations.
• Ancestor remembrance – death anniversaries (đám giỗ) bring extended family together around food and the family altar.
• American holidays – Thanksgiving, for instance, often features a turkey alongside Vietnamese dishes, or a Vietnamese twist on the menu.

Names and identity

Many Vietnamese Americans carry two names: a Vietnamese name used at home and an English name used at school or work. Others keep their Vietnamese name and spend a lifetime helping people pronounce "Nguyễn" or "Phương."

Media, music and community

• Paris by Night – the long-running diaspora variety show, a staple in many homes. See Paris by Night explained.
• Vietnamese-language radio, newspapers and TV in cities with large communities.
• Little Saigon neighborhoods, the best-known in Orange County, California, with others in places like San Jose and Houston.
• New creators – Vietnamese American writers, filmmakers, comedians and musicians telling their own stories, and online creators making Vietnamese content for new audiences, including cartoons like Duma Meow on the Voiceover with jimwest405 channel.

Generational differences

Parents and grandparents may hold traditional expectations about family duty, education, respect for elders and careers. Kids raised in the US often balance those values with American ideas about independence. Many families describe this as a source of both tension and strength, and it's a common theme in Vietnamese American books and films.

Ways to stay connected

• Cook a family dish together and write down the recipe.
• Learn a few phrases to use with grandparents, starting with greetings.
• Celebrate Tết at home, even in a small way.
• Ask elders about family history while you can.
• Share Vietnamese stories, songs and cartoons with kids.

Pick one tradition this year, maybe Tết on Saturday, February 6, 2027, and make it your own; culture stays alive through the small things families choose to repeat.