Getting married is an important event in a Vietnamese’s life. The procedure of the ancient wedding ceremony was very complicated. Current wedding ceremony procedures include the following steps: the search for a husband or wife, the proposal, the registration, and finally the wedding. Depending on habits of specific ethnic groups,…
According to legends, chewing quid of betel and areca has been a custom since the Hung Vuong period and is connected to the antique legend of betel and areca. A quid of betel, also called trau, is composed of four elements: an areca leaf (sweet taste), betel bark (hot taste),…
The Vietnamese culture has always evolved on the basis of the wet rice civilization. Thus, the lifestyle of the Vietnamese population is closely related to its village and native lands. In Vietnamese society, people gather together to form villages in rural areas, and guilds in urban areas. Villages and guilds…
A very popular belief among Vietnamese is the custom of the ancestor cult. In every household, an ancestor altar is installed in the most solemn location. Vietnamese believe that the soul of a dead person, even if dead for many generations, still rests along with their descendants on earth. The…
“The sense of the dead is that of the final,” says a Vietnamese proverb, meaning that funeral ceremonies must be solemnly organized. Formerly funeral ceremonies went as following: the body was washed and dressed; then a le ngam ham, or chopstick, was laid between the teeth and a pinch of…
In Vietnamese customs, there are a lot of superstitions related to the newborn baby after birth. These are some most common of them: the praise should not be given to the newborn baby; the pillow of the baby should have seven chunks of mulberry with a needle; and there is…
In Vietnam, there are three main kinds of adopted child: formal adopted child, symbolic adopted child and pretended adopted child. Formal adopted child There are two sub kinds of adopted child in this type. The first one is the self-made adopted child. When a family don’t have son, they adopt…
Normally in Vietnam especially in the countryside regions, three generations live under the same roof. Based on Confucianism telnet, when a girl gets marriage she has to follow her husband and live in her husband family. It has some difficulties for the wife when she is pregnant and has baby…
According to the old custom, after checking the family annals, avoiding the profanation of taboo names (name of a child is same as the name of ancestors); the newborn child is officially given a name. In case of the name of the child is similar the name of ancestors, it…
Vietnamese engagement ceremony is an important ceremony before the wedding which involve both fiancé’s and fiancée’s families. In the past, engagement ceremony was considered very important even than the wedding ceremony because it was an official day to announce the wedding, the relationship between two families. Nowadays, it is less…
In the past, a groom of 20 with an 18-year-old bride would be considered an ideal couple. Today, education, a degree of female emancipation, and the need to pursue a career have raised the figures by five or even ten years for middle-class city dwellers. Working class couples tend to…
Marriage during the past was a family affair, as the children hadn't no priority to select their partners while their parents had. Matchmakers arranged the weddings of Vietnamese ethnic majority group- Kinh people. Before getting married, the betrothed were not allowed to touch each other. If the young woman wished…
Customs and habits: They can mainly be found living in villages and hamlets. Houses feature walls and roofs of hooked tiles. The Sán Dìu practices the cult of ancestors, and also worship their own particular genies. Language: Hán language. Culture: There are many unique legends, poems and songs, with themes…
The “Master Dragon” statue worshipped at Le Van Thinh’s Temple in Bac Ninh Province. The origins of a formidable statue of a dragon-like creature excavated in Bac Ninh Province remain unclear. In 1992, Phan Dinh Pho, the former keeper of Great Tutor Le Van Thinh’s Temple in Bac Ninh Province…
Generations ago, marriage was a family affair, as parents select their child’s spouse. In the past, the weddings of Kinh people - Vietnam's ethnic majority - were arranged by matchmakers. Before marriage, the betrothed were not allowed to touch each other. If the young woman wished to offer her suitor…
Vietnam has a long, war-torn history and is physically an elongated, beautiful and diverse country. Both history and geography have had a dramatic impact on the people. There are significant differences across generations and between provinces. Nowadays, the culture of Vietnamese people is a topic that little written about. However,…
In Vietnam, family is a basic social unit of the society. Vietnamese family life is profoundly influenced by ancestor worship. Children learn at a very early age that they owe everything to their parents and their ancestors. When children do well in school and work hard, they honour their parents…
Vietnam, S-shaped country, has 54 ethnic groups with different languages. The majority group in Vietnam is the Vietnamese-speaking Kinh and Vietnamese is the official language. Many older Vietnamese are familiar with French or English. Interest in English has been rising, with language schools opening throughout the country. Like English, Vietnamese…
The richness of Vietnam's origins is evident throughout its culture. Spiritual life in Vietnam, which is totally unscientific, is a belief or practice irrationally maintained by ignorance or by faith in magic or chance. But each nation has its own particular spiritual life. Asia which is a cradle of the…
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most exciting and popular holidays for Vietnamese families. It’s also called the “Children’s Festival” and it’s celebrated when the moon is the brightest in the autumn. Parents use this holiday as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation for their children. It…
