Vietnam´s official travel and tourism guide

TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS
In the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people, have always existed different forms of beliefs and religions, among which the cult of the mother, of the tutelary spirit of the village, of Buddha, of the ancestors, or even the cult of the national heroes.
Today, folk beliefs appear to be very popular again. Several temples and palaces are thus renovated and welcome numerous activities and celebrations.
Festivity of Bumper Crop
The ethnic groups of the North and Central Highlands annually organize bumper crop festivities, also called com moi, when the harvest has been completed. The festival normally lasts for up to a month or longer depending on the rain. Then, they plant a new crop.
In the Red River Delta and Mekong Delta regions, the Bumper Crop Festivities begin on the 10* day of the 10* lunar month. People take this opportunity to pray for a fruitful harvest season.
Villages and Guilds
Vietnamese culture has evolved on the basis of the rice culture. Thus, the lifestyle of the Vietnamese population is closely related to the village and native land. In Vietnamese society, people have gathered together to form villages in rural areas and guilds in urban areas since the dawn of the nation. These organizations have gradually developed so that the population is more stable and closer together. Each village and guild has its own regulations called conventions. These conventions vary from each village and guild, but they are always in accordance with state laws and they ensure the promotion of good customs within its population.
Approximately ten thousand of such conven­tions are kept in the Viet Nam History Museum in Ha Noi and in other museums throughout the country.
Cult of the Village Tutelary Spirit
There is a Vietnamese proverb that says, "While drinking water, we must be grateful for its source", or in other words to always remember the origin of things. This is why, in almost every rural village or urban district, a temple has been built to worship the tutelary spirit who founded the locality. Villagers continue to worship these men, even after moving to a new locality. In some places, the anniversary of the death of a tutelary spirit is celebrated every year at the most cheerful and popular festival. During this festival, there are banquets and feasts, and several ritual ceremonies including re-enactment of the legend of the tutelary spirit, ritual cults, palanquin processions, traditional boxing, cock fighting, rice cooking competitions, canoe racing, swimming, Chinese chess playing, cheo singing, and tuong playing. Today, people still worship the tutelary spirits along with the national heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Mother Worship (Tho Mau)
Researchers describe the Vietnamese mother-worship cult as a primitive religion. Mother, Me in the Vietnamese language, is pronounced Mau in Sino-script. The mother worship cult might be originated from the cult of the Goddess in ancient ages. In the Middle Ages, the Mother was worshipped in temples and palaces. Due to the fact that it is a worship­ping custom and not a religion, the Mother worshipping cult has not been organized as Buddhism and Catholicism have. As a result, the different affiliations of the cult have yet to be consistent and different places still have different customs.
The custom of Mother worship originated from the North. In the South, the religion has integrated the local goddesses such as Thien YANa (Hue) and Linh Son (Tay Ninh). In fact, the Mother worship cult was influenced by other religions, mainly Taoism.
Wedding Ceremony
Marriage was and continues to be an impor­tant event in the life of a Vietnamese person. The procedure of the ancient wedding cere­mony was very complicated. First, there was a proposal ceremony in which the groom's family brought offerings to the bride's house, after which the young couple was considered to be engaged. Then, there was a ceremony during which the groom's family brought flowers and fruits to the bride's parents. The main celebration would take place on a previously selected date and time when the groom's family would go to the bride's house to take her away. The day after the wedding, the couple went to the bride's house to worship her ancestors. Ancient wedding ceremonies were very expensive, and today they tend to be much simpler.
Celebration for Building a New House In the past, building a new house was one of three important events in the life of a Vietnamese peasant. Living and working in peace and contentment meant having one's own house.
Nowadays, this ideal is still associated with Vietnamese people. Thus, every one wants to have their own house and when they get old, they find, by any means, a way to build a house for their children. It is considered unfortunate to die without your own house. The celebration for building a new house is a popular custom in Viet Nam. When an owner builds a new house, renovates, or moves, he invites friends and relatives to a party to share his happiness. The guests offer the owner best wishes, health, and prosperity.
Celebration for Longevity
Each passing year of a man's life brings him esteem and respect from his family and community. In the past, at the age of 40, one was honoured for being an old man. The history of Viet Nam recounts that during the Tran Dynasty, in the 12* and 13th centuries, a 40-year-old king would give up his throne to his son to become a Buddhist monk. According to village customs, a man of 50 is honoured as an old man. Old men stop work­ing and are no longer village officials; however, they are still invited to festivals and to sit in the Communal House, the dinh, where they are honourably seated on red-bordered mats. Longevity still preserves deep significance and showing respect for older people is a tradition still practiced today. Presently, when grandparents or parents reach the age of 70, 80, or 90 years old, their children and grandchildren organise longevity ceremonies, which are generally held on their birthday or in the days during the Tet holidays.
Such celebrations are occasions for childre and grandchildren to show their devotion 1 their parents and grandparents. Celebration for longevity, either large or small, display th family's joy of having a relative who has bee able to lead a long life. This person is offere a red dress and other gifts and is invited to b photographed. Older people are filled wil warm sentiments from their relatives ar neighbours so that they will not feel lonely c they go through the weakness of the end i their lives.
Today, in almost every village or urban distric there is an Association of Longevity for tr eldest, and women are equally venerated.
Funeral Ceremony
A Vietnamese proverb says that, "The sense of the dead is that of the funeral", meaning that funeral ceremonies must be solemn organised. In the past a funeral ceremony followed a specific ritual. First the body w; washed and dressed. Then a le Ngam ham or chopstick, was laid between the teeth, ai a pinch of rice and three coins were dropped in the mouth. The dead body was enveloped with white cloth (7e kham Hem), and put in the coffin (le nhap quan). Finally, the official funeral ceremony (le thanh phuc) was erformed.
The dead person's sons, daughters, and daughters-in-law wore coarse gauze turba1 and tunics and hats made of straw or of dry banana fiber. The dead person's grandchildren and other relatives also wore mourning turbans. During the days when the person who died was still laid out at home, the mourning continued with worshipping me; and mourning music. Relatives, neighbour and friends came to offer their condolence. The date and time for the funeral procession, le dua tang, was carefully selected. Relatives, friends, and descendants took part in the funeral procession to accompany the dead to the burial ground. Votive papers were dropped along the way. At the gravesite, the coffin was buried and covered. After three days of mourning, the family visited the tomb (le mo cua ma), again or worshiped the opening of the grave.
After 49 days, (le chung that), the family stopped bringing rice for the dead to the altar. And finally, after 100 days, the family celebrated tot khoc, or the end of the tears. The ceremony of the anniversary of the relative's death was held after one year, and after two years, the ceremony to end the mourning was held.
Nowadays, mourning ceremonies follow new simplified rituals; they consist of the covering and putting of the dead body into the coffin, the funeral procession, the burial of the coffin into the grave, and the visits to the tomb. The dead person's family members wear white turbans or a black mourning-band.
Betel and Areca
According to legends, chewing betel and areca has been customary since the Hung Vuong period. A quid of betel, also called trau, is composed of four elements: the areca with a sweet taste, the betel leaf which has a hot taste, the chay root with a bitter taste, and the slaked lime which has an acrid taste. It is said in ancient books that "chewing betel freshens the breath, calms bad temper, and helps digest food." Betel also makes people friendlier. It increases the joy of people celebrating different occasions, such as Tet holidays and festivals. With betel, one can make new acquaintances or talk confidentially with old friends. Betel warms people on cold winter days and softens the sadness of a mourning family.
Betel (Trau) is also used to show respect by the older generation towards the new one. This is why there is always frau cau on the tray of offerings on the ancestor's altar.
Pipe Tobacco (thuoc lao)
The Vietnamese also like to smoke Thuoc Lao, a type of strong tobacco. Thuoc Lao is mostly smoked by men and is associated with times of joy, as well as moments of sadness. It is smoked in a pipe made of bamboo and filled with water called a dieu cay. Peasants always carry their dieu cay while ploughing the rice fields.