The Vietnamese Student Association is holdings it annual lunar new year’s celebration of Tet tonight.

Tet is unlike any single Christian holiday,” said Xuan-Nhi Cao, internal vice president of VSA. “It’s like having Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year [and] Memorial Day all rolled into one.”

The celebration of the Year of the Horse will be at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2524 Hoover Ave.

“Tet is traditionally a ten-day long celebration of spring, prosperity, birth and family ancestry,” Cao said. “Families reunite during the celebration, and family members exchange wishes of good fortune, happiness and gifts.”

Cao, sophomore in pre-advertising, said honoring one’s ancestors is an important part of Tet as well.

“The head of the family will light incense at the altar of deceased family members and pray to the ancestors, thanking them and asking for blessings for the family in the new year,” Cao said.

Tonight’s celebration will feature musical performances, skits, a fashion show and a traditional Vietnamese buffet dinner. Students from the Association of Malaysian Students at ISU will perform the traditional “Lion Dance.”

Phuong Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese Student Association, said the incorporation of the Malaysian students reflects the tradition of unity during Tet.

“We’ve tried to incorporate different cultures into our celebration and we have a mutual friendship with the Malaysian students,” said Nguyen, sophomore in pre-landscape architecture.

Nguyen said past celebrations have been attended by people from across all of central Iowa. “We expect Vietnamese from Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Des Moines to join us in celebrating Tet,” he said.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

“We want to share cultural awareness with Ames and the ISU community, and everyone is invited,” Nguyen said.