Saigon green spring morning calls hello,

Saigon in the bustling summer noon,

Autumn looms in the evening,

Winter comes in the pale night,

Saigon has you and me,

Our Saigon is so lovely.

Poet Ho Thi Ca’s verses keep lingering in my mind every time Saigon gets cold. Since integration has become a strong wave, Saigon is dyed green and red every holiday season, the “must-have” colors of Christmas. When night falls, the streets are lit up, people are bustling, Saigon becomes more brilliant and fashionable than ever.

Christmas is an ideal occasion for us to date, gather with relatives, meet friends. In that cold weather, being together, sharing warmth, that is the most wonderful thing. Throughout the years of integration and development, Saigon has opened up many opportunities for Catholics in general and everyone in particular to fully access the festive atmosphere. With street designs that change every year, and art performances right on the streets with upgraded infrastructure.

Saigon may be “dyed red”, it may be more sparkling and brilliant than during the day, but somewhere in the streets, the blood vessels that have nourished Saigon through all that time, there are still corners that never change. Perhaps they are covered with a layer of nostalgia.

There are still sidewalk stalls, night noodle carts waiting for couples who missed the late movie screening, small corners of ordinary workers that more or less in this day and age, we accidentally pass by. Those are the corners that exist in the "blood vessels" that nourish Saigon, persistent and smoldering. They are things that will still exist there, whether they exist or only remain in memory.

I just encountered those memories at the Christmas tree placed solemnly in front of the lobby of the Fusion Original Saigon Centre hotel on a chilly evening. In just one square meter, the whole old Saigon seemed to awaken, strangely alive in me.

Fusion Original Saigon Centre officially opened in July 2022. As a hotel located in a prime location in the city, it has the ambition to become a bridge between Vietnamese culture and international friends. That is also the reason why Fusion Original Saigon Centre wears a traditional yet modern style.

During this holiday season, themed decorations are also a way for accommodation establishments and shopping malls to try to attract customers. So it is not difficult to understand why businesses are willing to spend a lot of money on this "race". However, at Fusion Originals, in the most prominent position, there appears a humble but extremely special Christmas tree.

Instead of using a normal pine tree and decorating it with tinsel and bright balls, the pine tree of Fusion Original Saigon Centre recreates the small, simple corners of Saigon, where there are quiet cyclos waiting for customers, a smoky fire in a level 4 house or pure white balut eggs neatly placed on a carrying pole.

Suddenly I thought, Christmas is not simply a religious holiday, it is an occasion for people to sit close together, warm each other with conversations, handshakes, hugs or inquiries about a turbulent year. In those small corners within a square meter, I bet that you will more or less realize that you have stood in any context and then laugh because of the memories that appear right after.

It is hard to imagine these common images appearing in a luxurious space like the lobby of a 5-star hotel. But Fusion Original Saigon Centre has done it very well and made the hotel lobby, or more specifically the square meter where the Christmas tree is located, become the perfect intersection between the "new" and the "old".

The verses of poet Ho Thi Ca hummed in my head again:

Two seasons: rainy and sunny, sunny and rainy

Two seasons still remember four seasons…

Yes, Saigon only has two seasons, but because of the warmth, open-mindedness and openness of the people here, Saigon has now become diverse and is a land of cultural intersection.

Cuisine is perhaps a more subtle language to talk about culture. In my memory, there are no typical dishes of Christmas in Saigon. During those years, what remains in me are family meals with hot, heartwarming dishes. Growing up, when I had the opportunity to go out with friends, Christmas Eve parties became more elaborate with European and Asian dishes, and new culinary styles introduced to Vietnam.

At Fusion Original Saigon Centre, cultural fusion is not only confined to the living room but is also cleverly expressed through the Christmas menu at Miss Thu restaurant. If you are not familiar with Miss Thu, this is where Fusion Originals tells stories of cultural fusion through cuisine.

These are still indispensable dishes on the dining tables of most countries in the world at Christmas. Each dish such as Saigon scallops; Mashed potatoes with truffles or Dalat organic vegetables... evokes something very familiar.

The ingenuity in choosing ingredients and applying contemporary culinary style is what makes Miss Thu's dishes become extremely sophisticated "cultural storytellers".

In addition to the food, on the two nights of December 24 and 25, Fusion Original Saigon Centre also serves diners and guests special cocktails exclusively for this occasion. Christmas Balls; Christmas Chimneys or Christmas Bells… with interesting surprises awaiting the distinguished guests.