ALTAR PREPARATION -- Father Tuan Quoc Tran censes the altar during Mass at Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, Feb. 6 celebrating Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. A parochial vicar at Our Lady of Vietnam Church, Riverdale, Father Tran was principal celebrant and homilist. Tet means “the first morning of the first day of the new year” and is the most important Vietnamese holiday.
Photos by Michael Alexander

HAND IN HAND -- Wearing their red Áo Daì, the national dress of women in Vietnam, young girls hold hands and recite the Our Father.

GOLDEN DRAGON -- Vietnamese boys parade the yellow dragon through the crowd at a celebration following Mass. The year 2000 is the Year of the Dragon. During Tet, a family-oriented holiday that includes prayer, Vietnamese households also clean and paint homes, buy new clothes and seek to resolve differences between family members and friends.