Vietnam Culture
Worship of Ancestor Custom
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 dead and living persons still have spiritual communion; in everyday life, people must not forget that what they enjoy and how they feel is the same for their dead relatives. On the last day of every lunar year, an announcing cult, cung tien thuong, is performed to invite the dead forefathers to return home to celebrate Tet holidays with their families. During the last days before Tet, all family members visit their ancestors’ graves; they clean and decorate the graves, in the same manner that the livings clean and decorate their houses to welcome the New Year.
Wedding Ceremony
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.
Visiting the pagoda
According to belief, people often visit their neighborhood pagoda or temple once they have completed Tet celebrations at home. Such a visit will bring blessing from Buddha and from the spirit world. Worshipers jostle to approach the pagodas altar and, once thete, they pray for luck in the coming year.
Vietnamese village culture
Village culture is an important component taking part in creating Viet Nam cultural identity. Being a typical agricultural country, peoples lives must depend much on natural conditions, thus, for existence and development, owners of Viet Nam villages that are peasants in the majority must rely on and link to each others. Thats why, communal character has been regarded as the first cultural characteristic of Viet Nam villages. This has been formed through close organization with many different rules.
First of all is the organization basing on bloodline comprising family and kin. Family is the basis unit including people who are of bloodline relationship. Such families form kin. In Vietnamese thought, kin is sometimes more important than family. Concepts involving to kin such as head of a clan, patriarch, genealogy, temple of fore father;, ancestral anniversary, birthday feast,... are respected much.
The Lion Dance
Why do people perform the Lion Dance? Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who lived in a forest. On one moonlit Mid-Autumn night, he saw a big lion playing with the moonlight by the forest stream. The lion jumped into the stream to catch the reflection of the moon in the water, but whenever it did so, the moon disappeared. This made the lion so angry he flew into a rage and stormed into a nearby village. Hearing the villagers call for help, the woodcutter chopped off a tree branch to make a club. After much effort, he defeated the lion. The villagers admired the woodsmans strength and asked him to re-stage his struggle with the lion. Since then, villagers have held lion dances at their annual Mid-Autumn Festivals. Two persons in the role of a brave woodcutter and a strong lion challenge each other in martial arts style, portraying the great fight in which the woodcutter saved the village.
Vietnamese costumes
Ao Dai: A lasting impression for any visitor to Vietnam is the beauty of Vietnamese women dressed in their Ao Dais. These long flowing dresses worn over loose-fitting trousers are considered to be the national dress of Vietnamese women.
Dzaos traditional costume: The Dao (pronounced Zao) are the 9th largest ethnic group in Vietnam with a population of just under 500,000. They belong to the Hmong Dao language group and are believed to have started migrating from China in the 13th century.
Ao Ba Ba: It is traditional costume in Viet Nam. Ao Ba Ba are the stereotypical black silk pajamas (although ao ba ba can be any color) worn by both men and women in the southern countryside, particularly the Mekong Delta.
The Dao Tien women's costume: The dao Tien are mainly settled in a large area spreading from southern Ha Giang and Cao Bang through Tuyen Quang and Bac Giang.
Vietnam Food and Drinks
Vietnamese Tea: The Vietnamese are in love with this thing called tea. They drink it everywhere and at any time: at formal meetings, after meals, at weddings and funerals.
Moon Cakes: These are a sweet specialty found throughout Viet Nam in Mid-Autumn. If a cake is perfectly made, one can finish the entire treat without feeling bloated.
RICE - Vietnameses main food: Rice is so important in Vietnamese society that it has been called the essence of its culture. It is almost impossible for Vietnamese to imagine a meal without rice.
Fish Sauce: Fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking what salt is to Western and soy sauce to Chinese cooking. Fish sauce is used as a condiment and flavoring. It is included in practically all recipes.
Flavors of Hoi an: Early in the morning, the cries of various food vendors drift along the narrow streets of Hoi An, a quaint, riverside town in central Vietnam.
Hanoi Lakeside cafes: The only thing a cafe must ultimately do is serve coffee and light fere worthy of your patronage, as the sign promises. Trusted Hanoi spots of this genre include "La Place," "Au Lie," and "Cafe Mocha."
Hue Tea: Tea drinking is an age-old habit in many parts of the world. Different people at different times have their own ways of drinking tea. But consuming tea is not only a way to quench ones thirst: for some, it is an art form and a religious practice.
Boiled rice and pork cakes: They are usually cooked 2-3 days before Tet. Both can be kept for about two weeks in cool temperature. However, after this time they become hard and must be re-boiled.
Wi-Fi Coffee: Located in a quiet quarter, I-Fone has not only coffee but also mobile phone and internet services. This is why it is called "the three-in-one rendezvous". You are visiting Vietnam and want to phone your relatives, friends or partners but your mobile phone is not compatible with the networks in Ho Chi Minh City not only to make international phone calls but also to relax.
Special food of Vietnam: Nem ran(Spring rolls), Gio lua(Silky lean meat paste), Pho(Rice noodle soup) Com(Grilled green rice) Cha ca la vong(la vong grilled fish pies) Banh cuon( Rolled rice pancake).
Handicraft Villages in Vietnam
Bat trang ceramics village: Bat Trang Pottery Village is located in the south east of Hanoi.
Folk paintings are a combination of traditional cultural values with ancient artistic methods. The Vietnamese believe in ancestor worship and the deification of natural phenomena, both of which are reflected in the paintings.
Vietnam Handicrafts: In Vietnam, there are traditional handicrafts: ceramic, bamboo products, lacquer ware, mother-of-pearl inlaying.
Ceramics: There are many villages throughout the country that produce ceramics.
Bamboo products: Bamboo and rattan (tre, may, and song) are abundant sources of material used by Vietnamese handicraftsmen.
Lacquer ware: Lacquerware is really typical to Vietnam, although it also exists in other Asian countries.
Mother-of-pearl Inlaying: Craftsmen performing inlaying use different types of oyster shells and pearls, which offer a wide array of colours.
Stone sculpture: Most of the traditional sculptures are made in Danang Province, more specifically near Ngu Hanh Son Mountain located between Quan Khai and Hoa Khe villages.
Embroidery: In the past, embroidery was mainly reserved for the benefit of the upper class, temples, and pagodas.
Jewellery: As soon as the 2nd century, the Vietnamese were using gold and silver to create jewellery.
Wood works: Since the 1980s, the production of fine wooden articles has experienced a strong revival. These works of art have been much sought after in both domestic and foreign markets.
Copper casting is one of the most famous and enduring traditional art forms of Vietnam.
Flower villages around Hanoi: The area of Tay Ho, Quang Ba, Ngoc Ha, Huu Tiep, Dai Yen were the flower-growing land.
Phu Cam Conical Hat Village: Hat-making village Phu Cam (also Phuoc Vinh) lies on the southern bank of the An Cuu River in the centre of the former imperial capital of Hue. Its a village famous for its traditional way of making conical hats for hundreds of years.
Vietnamese Silk:Van Phuc is situated on the bank of Nhue River, 10km from Hanoi on the southwest motorway.
Fan makers:Fans made of paper, silk, and wood are a cultural feature only found in Asia.
Old Glowing Lantern of Ancient Hoi An: The tradition to decorate the ancient town in Hoi An with multi-colored lanterns, which started three centuries ago, is still continued today on the fourteenth night of each lunar month in this small town in central Vietnam.
