In her Westminster home, Tuyet Tran, left, burns ceremonial paper with her daughter, Trinh Tuyet Tran, in a ritual to benefit kitchen god Ong Tao the week before Tet parties begin. The Year of the Mouse begins Thursday. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Shopping with their parents, Karen, 4, left, and Helen Ho, 5, buy flowers for the Tet celebration this week at a Westminster flower market. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Shoppers select sweets and cakes to serve at Tet gatherings, which are viewed as a chance to teach children what it means to be Vietnamese. This year, a parade, complete with lion dancers, will be held on Little Saigon’s main street. A three-day Garden Grove festival will feature a replica Vietnamese village. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Van Le, left, and Ha Nguyen buy trees with pink blossoms. For weeks, families have been decorating homes. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
