Saigon, in the bright spring morning, beckons.

Saigon is bustling in the midday summer sun.

Autumn is subtly appearing as the sun sets.

Winter arrives in the fading night.

Saigon has you and me.

Our Saigon is so lovely.

The verses of poet Ho Thi Ca keep swirling in my head whenever Saigon gets cold. Since integration, Saigon has become a powerful wave, dyed green and red—the essential colors of Christmas—during the festive season. As night falls, the streets light up, people flock together, and Saigon becomes more vibrant and fashionable than ever.

Christmas is the perfect time for dates, gatherings with family, and meeting friends. In that chilly weather, being together and sharing warmth is truly wonderful. Throughout years of integration and development, Saigon has opened up many opportunities for Catholic people in general, and everyone else in particular, to fully experience the festive atmosphere. This includes street designs that change annually, and cultural performances held right on the upgraded streets.

Saigon may be "dyed red," it may be more dazzling and vibrant than during the day, but somewhere in the streets, the lifeblood that has sustained Saigon for so long, there are corners that never change. Perhaps they are only covered with a layer of nostalgia.

There are still those roadside stalls, those noodle carts selling late-night meals for couples who missed the late-night movie screening, those small corners where ordinary workers live—things we often overlook in this day and age. These are the corners that exist in the "lifeblood" of Saigon, enduring and simmering. They are something that will continue to exist, whether in tangible form or merely in memory.

Those memories, I just encountered at the Christmas tree proudly displayed in front of the lobby of the Fusion Original Saigon Centre hotel on a chilly evening. In just one square meter, the Saigon of yesteryear seemed to awaken, coming alive in a strangely vivid way.

Fusion Original Saigon Centre officially opened in July 2022. Located in a prime city location, the hotel aspires to be a bridge connecting Vietnamese culture with the international community. This is why Fusion Original Saigon Centre boasts a design that blends traditional and modern styles.

During this holiday season, themed decorations are also a way for accommodations and shopping malls to attract customers. It's therefore understandable that businesses are willing to spend a lot of money on this "race." However, at Fusion Originals, amidst the most prominent display, stands a modest yet truly special Christmas tree.

Instead of using an ordinary Christmas tree and decorating it with tinsel and glittering ornaments, the Christmas tree at Fusion Original Saigon Centre recreates the small, simple corners of Saigon, where quiet rickshaws wait for customers, the smoky hearth of a simple house rises, or pristine white fertilized duck eggs lie neatly in a carrying pole.

Suddenly, I realized that Christmas is not simply a religious holiday; it's an occasion for people to gather together, warming each other with conversations, handshakes, hugs, and inquiries about a year full of ups and downs. In those small corners, confined within a square meter, I bet you'll recognize yourself in any of these settings and then chuckle at the memories that immediately come flooding back.

It's hard to imagine these humble images appearing in a luxurious space like the lobby of a 5-star hotel. But Fusion Original Saigon Centre has done it perfectly, making the hotel lobby, or more specifically, the square meter where the Christmas tree is located, the perfect blend of "new" and "old".

The verses of poet Ho Thi Ca echoed in my mind:

Two seasons: rainy and sunny, sunny and rainy.

Two seasons still remember four seasons…

That's right, Saigon originally only had two seasons, but it is precisely because of the warmth, open-mindedness, and willingness to integrate of its people that Saigon has become so diverse and a melting pot of many beautiful cultural aspects.

Cuisine is perhaps a more subtle language for expressing culture. In my memory, there are no typical Christmas dishes in Saigon. Those years, what remains in my mind are family meals with delicious, hot, and heartwarming dishes. As I grew older, when I went out with friends, Christmas Eve parties were more elaborate, featuring European and Asian dishes, and new culinary styles that had recently been introduced to Vietnam.

At Fusion Original Saigon Centre, cultural fusion isn't confined to the lounge area; it's subtly expressed through this Christmas menu at Miss Thu restaurant. If you're unfamiliar with Miss Thu, it's where Fusion Originals tells stories of cultural exchange through cuisine.

These dishes remain indispensable on the Christmas dinner tables of most countries around the world. Each dish, such as Saigon scallops; mashed potatoes with truffle mushrooms; or organic vegetables from Da Lat… evokes something very familiar.

The skillful selection of ingredients and the application of contemporary culinary styles are what make Miss Thu's dishes such sophisticated "cultural storytellers."

In addition to the food, on the nights of December 24th and 25th, Fusion Original Saigon Centre will also serve diners and hotel guests special cocktails exclusively for the occasion. Christmas Ornaments; Christmas Chimneys; Christmas Bells… with delightful surprises await our esteemed guests.