'Asian invasion' of faith (in MO) - Vietnamese Catholics celebrate Virgin Mary

Columbia Tribune ^ | August 11, 2007 | MARY T. NGUYEN

[NYer]

CARTHAGE - My siblings and I call it "The Asian Invasion." Every summer during the first weekend of August, tens of thousands of Vietnamese Catholics flock to the small southwest Missouri town of Carthage for a four-day festival to celebrate the Virgin Mary. Vietnamese refugees credit the Catholic icon for their protection and rescue from Vietnam as they fled the country after the Vietnam War.

The Marian Days celebration began in 1978 with only a few hundred people. It takes place every year on the 28-acre campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix, a Vietnamese order of priests and brothers that has a provincial house in Carthage. The order came from Vietnam in 1975 just after the end of the Asian conflict.

Each year, attendance increases, with the most recent festival, which took place last weekend, besieging the town with more than 70,000 travelers from all over the country - hence the term "invasion." Carthage’s population on any other weekend is just more than 12,000.

The pilgrims camp out on the lawn of the seminary - like a veritable "Godstock" - and book hotels and motels to capacity throughout the region. Church groups from cities with large Vietnamese populations, such as Houston and Kansas City, set up food tents in the festival area.

Festivities include daily Masses, penance ceremonies, benedictions and religious lectures. The peak of the celebration takes place on Saturday during a parade for the Virgin Mary and a fireworks and balloon ceremony. The closing-night Mass is recited in Vietnamese and translated into English as well.

Normally, I zone out during the sermon after the gospel during the Saturday night Mass because my comprehension of the Vietnamese language is minimal. But this year, the sermon began in English, so I listened to the presiding cleric discuss this year’s theme: "The Future."

I looked around at the thousands of people surrounding me and thought how much the festival has changed in just a matter of decades. More than attendance size, the variety of people in attendance has also increased. It was once strange to see a non-Vietnamese person in attendance, which made the workers at the Knights of Columbus food tent seem like outsiders.

But as the families have assimilated into American culture, so has the festival - offering as much boba as bao, and as many fried Twinkies as pho. The concerts, which once featured mostly folk and traditional Vietnamese performances, are dominated by Vietnamese pop acts like Trish Thuy Trang, a Vietnamese Christina Aguilera of sorts.

And there are just as many, if not more, break-dancing circles that form as there are scheduled benedictions. In years past, the clerics have tried offering "holy raves" as part of their youth outreach programs. This year’s effort was an "inTune with Jesus Christ" podcast campaign.

But the balance between social and spiritual isn’t a problem. After all, the entire festival - and religion - is built upon the premise of keeping communities connected. As the years pass, it’s becoming more and more apparent that the festival serves as a way for families to stay connected as well.

My family began attending 28 years ago. As one unit, we traveled more easily from our hometown of Kansas City. But as my siblings and I have grown up, traveling as a family is more difficult. We still manage to come together from St. Louis, Columbia and even Houston for our annual family tradition. Even when we can’t all be there, we know how important it is to have at least four of the six children present with our parents for the event.

As I listened to the sermon, it dawned on me how important this festival is for me and my family as well as the thousands of families surrounding me. I understood how my parents - who at my age were embarking on a whole new life - have found a bridge between Vietnam and America in this event. For four days, they are one.

And for our family, and my fellow first-generation siblings and peers, this event will become one of many new traditions that our parents or grandparents have established for us to build upon.

This celebration for Mary isn’t just about reflecting upon the past. It has changed to focusing on the future in such a way that she is not simply a symbol of salvation but also a matriarchal figure for a growing community of Vietnamese-Americans hoping to find a place they can call home again.

[Coleus]

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[jokar]

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