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 important and varied for each region. In the big city the engagement ceremony could be celebrated 1 day before (and 1 month in the countryside) the wedding ceremony.
Before the engagement day, each family chooses a representative. This person is a member of the family which has a happy life and a high ranking position in the family. Both of representatives do representation, exchange gifts and controlling the flow of the ceremony. Besides choosing the representatives, both families sit together to negotiate the dowry and the good time for the ceremony. The time is chosen very carefully based on the propitious time and day of lunar calendar.
The gifts are prepared by the fiancé family several days before the engagement ceremony. Traditionally the gifts was placed a number of trays. The number must be an odd number 5, 7 or 9… trays depends on the condition of the fiancé family. The gifts are covered by the red color paper or cloth. In Vietnamese beliefs, the odd number and the red color will bring luck to the young couple. The gifts include betel leaves, areca nut fruits (trầu, cau), wine, tea, husband-wife cake (bánh phu thê) and sticky rice… one of the most important gift is the whole roasted pig which placed in a large tray. Both families also choose 5, 7 or 9 people who bring and receive the gifts. These people must be young and not marriage. Boys represent for fiancé bearing the gifts and girls represent for fiancée receiving the gifts.
On the engagement day, the fiancé family brings the gifts to the fiancée family with the warmly welcome. After receiving the gifts, the young couple prays in front of the fiancée’s family altar to ask for approval of fiancée ancestors. When this ritual finishes, the fiancé give the fiancée the engaged ring.
Following the engaged ring giving, the both representatives introduced the member of both families in an order. Then both family enjoy the party which prepared by the fiancée family. It is also expected that some of gifts are returned to the fiancé family for luck before the fiancé family leaves.
The days after the engagement ceremony to the wedding ceremony, the parents of fiancée family bring the wedding cards with gifts to their friends, family members… and neighbors to invite them to the wedding party of their young couple.
Vietnamese New Year
The Vietnamese New Year is also called the Tet. It is the most important traditional festival during Lunar New Year (usually around late January to early February), and people would celebrate it with different kinds of customs, such as ancestor worship, making special New Year food and writing couplet as well as other traditional activities.And people would go to visit friends or relatives' houses on the first day of Tet.
Making Banh Chung
Banh Chung is one of the special traditional foods that people would make during the Vietnamese New Year. It is usually made of sticky rice, along with pork meat and green bean, all wrapped in the shape of perfect square with a leaf of a certain local plant called Dong. And then Vietnamese would place the Banh Chung and other foods on the ancestors' altars (ancestor worship) till cook them on one or two days before the New Year.
Setting up New Year trees
At the end of the preparation for the Tet, a piece of bare bamboo (4-5 meters long) will be set up, with a little bunch of leaves on the tip, and a basket holding some fish and bells made of baked clay, acting as the marks that lead the ancestors' spirits their way home to reunion with the living.
Couplet
It's an indispensable tradition that every family would put up a couplet on the two sides of the main entrance door. The sentences are usually written in two parts. Words of one part must have the opposite meaning to the other part and obey some specific matching rules, which create an easy-pronounced effect. And you can find these traditional couplets written on red paper and being sold on both sides of the street, forming a happy atmosphere.
Water puppetry
If there's one way that combines culture learning and entertainment, the intriguing water puppetry would be an excellent choice. Dating back to the 11th century, this unique variation of ancient Asian puppet art features the skillful manipulation of the puppets, with the puppeteers controlling different varieties of puppet characters through large bamboo rods behind a screen, and not letting the audience see the puppeteers. The show is played on a waist-deep pool, so it would look like the puppets are moving on the water themselves.
The stories of the puppet show are usually about people's daily lives, legends, and some historical heroes. And the background music is played live with story-telling singing, drums, pipes and other traditional instruments. It's a great cultural learning time to share with families.
Where can you watch this show?
Located near the serene Hoan Kiem Lake, the Hanoi Water Puppet Theater is the place where you can admire this unique traditional Vietnamese art performance. The show will be put on every day at 15:30 – 17:00 – 18:30 – 20:00 – 21:15, and Sunday at 9:30
Vietnam is a country that has thousands of years of history. Like many other countries in the world, Vietnam has a culture of its own identity that carries the most typical is the Lunar New Year. It is these features that make mannrs, shape and identity of the people in Vietnam.
Lunar New Year is the most important occasion in Vietnam. Lunar New Year, according to the Vietnamese called Tet Nguyen Dan. "Nguyen" is to start, "Dan" is a new day. "Tet Nguyen Dan" is to start a new year, to welcome Spring with everything in its newest appearance. A new year comes with goodluck and in the mean time, all of the badluck will be gone, together with the passed year. "Tet Ta" (Lunar new year) is affected by Chinese Lunar New Year and East Asia Traditional Circle so that "Tet Ta" comes after New Years Eve. According to the old rule: 3 even years/a month of the Lunar Calendar, so the first day of the year is never before Jan 21st or after Feb 19th. Normally, this day will come from about the end of Jan to mid of Feb. The Lunar New Year lasts for 7-8 days of the passed year and 7 days of the new year.
According to East Asian culture and history of China, the origin of Lunar New Year from Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and change from time to time. According to folk beliefs, the New Year started from the concept "Thankfully the rain to sunshine", as well as originating from "tiet" (weather) upon under the operation of the universe, expressed in the cycle times the Spring - Summer - Fall - Winter, which, with a very special meaning for an agricultural country like Vietnam. Farmers for this is the occasion to commemorate the gods are related to agricultural land as the god of rain, thunder god, the god of water ... Farmers do not forget to thank the animals which help them farm work like cattle, poultry and they also thank others food crops, food to feed them.
The Vietnamese concept that everything in Lunar New Year must be very new and soon. So before Tet more than 2 weeks, the family prepare to celebrate. They are usually cleaning, decorating their house with apricot blossom, peach blossom, kumquat, couplets or festival painting. Preparation-work for the day of the Vietnamese New Year usually starts from December 23, the day that the Vietnamese dedicate Kitchen God. Some rural families still keep the tradition planting named “Neu”, while in the city, this custom has been forgotten. According to tradition, the tree is raised up against the devil and the ominous. the tree is often referred to hang or decorate what is considered to scare the devil as: garlic, cactus, effigies and Pandan. Before Tet, the Vietnamese also prepare chung cakes , day cake and hearty dishes to dedicate to their ancestors.
New Year's Day may be the 30th December (for full year) or December 29 (for shortage year). This day family reunion dinner together for the New Year. Between the 30th (or 29th) of December and 1 January, is the most important moment of the festival.It marked the transfer of the old year and new year, called Eve (Giao Thua). In recognition of this moment, people often make two trays. A tray of worship to ancestors at the altar in his house and a tray of worship Heaven and Earth in the front yard. Arrangements the altar of Vietnamese families usually have an altar ancestors, grandparents.The decoration and altar arrangements vary according to each house. However, on the altar every home always display two cane on either side as to the instrument for carrying on with the grandchildren and leading spirits from the sky on the lower boundary. At the same time on the altar also has a tray of five fruits expressed desire of the owner by the name, colours and their arrangement.
In addition, during public holidays are also customary forth. Many people view A day "opened" a new year. They said that on this day, if all goes smoothly, good luck for the whole year, would also be good, convenient. Right after the countdown time, anyone who steps outside into the home with new year wishes are considered to have stormed the land for their home. Moreover, referring to the lunar new year, people cannot help mentioning the continuing exodus, picking fortune, burn votive, congratulated, visiting, receiving lucky money, etc. All this rules are expressed wishes of the people of a prosperous new year, families are healthy, well off, warmth.
And indispensable in the New Year is the traditional dish. First to mention are chung cake, day cake associated with the legend of the same name. The legend tells that King Hung Vuong sixth looking for some twenty sons, one who truly virtuous to the throne should have the conditions: not necessarily the eldest son, who gratify the first king ceremony will be hereditary. The prince racing festival truly post-shopping, delicious. Lang Lieu, the son of the eighteenth, very sad for the poor, only grown accustomed to potatoes, rice, do not know where to get the ceremony delicacies like the other prince. After a night's dream, a hint gods, he took his sticky rice, green beans and pork buns in two things, the type of round, square type for father. King find delicious cakes, again express profound meaning he should take two bread ceremony Heaven, Earth and First King ceremonies, naming round cake is day cake, square cake is chung cake and throne to Lang Lieu. Since then, the chung cakes, day cakes worship ancestors become indispensable traditions of Vietnam's Tet.
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