Christmas is a major holiday for many students, but for foreign exchange students Zhanseid Chinyayev and Ahn Vo the winter brings a much different holiday.

Junior Ahn Vo’s home country of Vietnam celebrates Tet, known as the Luna New Year. For the holiday there is a two week break from school and work.

“My family cleans my grandpa’s grave and visits my grandma.” Vo said.

For Tet the children get “lucky money” from their elders, who come and visit at the beginning of the new year. To start the new year, families perform an exorcism on a poem and go to temple.

If a family can successfully grow a tree, they can get evil out of the house. It is believed that there is a god in the kitchen, so cookies and a fish is left out to please the god of the household.

In junior Zhanseid Chinyayev’s home country of Kazakhstan, New Year is the biggest holiday of the winter season. On December 31, families gather and wait until midnight to start the New Year.

To celebrate the new year fireworks are set off, twelve for each person. Gifts are given to friends and family. High school students also get a ten day break from school.

Chinyayev said that Christmas here in America is like what he has seen on TV.

“The Spirit of Lights in Denver was amazing.” Chinayayev said.

While the winter brings many different holidays around the world, each student celebrates the holidays with food, family, and fun.

As Vo put, “on Tet it doesn’t matter if your poor or rich, we make a whole bunch of cake.”