Birth

1. Marriage TeenAger Maturity Human Life Cycle Seniority Birth Death

2. Vietnamese Customs Pregnancy and Birth Customs Wedding Customs Longevity Celebration Educational customs Home Customs Funeral customs Village customs Festivals Ancestor Worship Holidays Superstition National Hero Worship

3. Some Definitions • Customs • a long-established action or pattern of behavior in a community or group of people, often one that has been handed down from generation to generation • Traditions • custom or belief • body of customs: a body of long-established customs and beliefs viewed as a set of precedents • handing down of customs: the handing down of patterns of behavior, practices, and beliefs that are valued by a culture • Phong tục • Phong nền nếp đã lan truyền rộng rãi (long-established action or pattern of behavior) , • Tục thói quen lâu đời (long-established customs) • - Phong tục merged to all community, social activities • - Phong Tục Luật Tục – Custom Rules the Law

4. Calendars Used By Vietnamse • Lunar Calendar - Âm Lịch / Lịch Ta (Ngày Ta) • based on cycles of the lunar phase • have a variable number of months in a year • Chinese Lunar calendar, Hindu Lunar calendar, Hebrew Calendar • Vietnamese dates for cultural festivals, ceremonies, • worships based on Chinese calendar • Calendar - Dương Lịch / Lịch Tây (Ngày Tây) - indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun - Gregorian / Julian / etc. calendars - Vietnames offical dates, • Budhist Calendar - Phật Lịch • used on mainland Southeast Asia in the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, • Burma (officially known as Myanmar) and Sri Lanka in several related forms

5. Pregnancy and Birth Customs • Pray for Having a child (Lễ Cầu Tự) • Recording Name on Family Annals Custom 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. • First-born Baby customIt has some difficulties for the wife when she is pregnant and has baby at the first time. The first-born baby custom means the wife come back to her family to have the first-born baby, and from the second child she stays at her husband’s family. • Vietnamese Adopted ChildIn Vietnam, there are three main kinds of adopted child: - formal adopted child, - symbolic adopted child, and - pretended adopted child. • Why a Newborn Baby is not Given a Name- Belief - olden government policy in the old society, and - family customs. • Supersitions After Birth of Newborn Baby in Vietnam • - Baby’s One Month Party • - Baby’s One Year Party – AChild Test • - Baby’s One Year Old when just born • - Selling the Child to God (Lễ Bán Khoán)

6. Educational Customs - Lễ Khai Tâm • At the age starting to go to school , # 6 , 7 years old • Wishing the child will be understanding, knowledgeable to behave well in the future • Reporting to Education God • Reporting to Ancestors • Opening Ceremony at the school An Old School with A Scholar Teacher (Thày Đồ)

7. Village Customs • By 1980s, Vietnamese gathered to form villages in rural areas and guild in urban areas • Cultivation of wet rice • Nuclear Family • Conventions developed within villages to promote good customs within populations • Custom rules the Law (Phép Vua Thua Lệ Làng) • Respects of elderly people • Village Worships (Tế Tự) • Village God (Thành Hoàng) • Land God (Thổ Địa), • Confucius (Khổng Tử) • Temple Festivals (Hội Chùa)

8. Wedding Customs • Engagement Ceremony - In the past, very important – official day for wedding announcement • Wedding Ceremony - Groom’s family - Bride’s family - The ceremony - Gifts from The Groom’s family - Gifts from The Bride’s family - The Wedding Banquet • Old vs new Wedding - Arranging a MarriageWedding Proposals during Pregnancy - Match Makers - “Way Ahead” (Nộp Cheo) Money paid from the Groom to the Bride’s Village - Marriage at the Childhood (Tảo Hôn) - A Man with Many Wives (Đa Thê) - Marriage Before A Funeral (Cưới Chạy Tang) - Concubines

9. Home Customs - Open New House Celebrations One of three most important things in the pastPurchase a buffalo Looking for a wife Building a new house

10. Longevity Celebration • Respect Elderly People to have a long life (Kính Lão Đắc Thọ) • In the past, elderly men in villages stopped working to be village officials - VIP seated in any villages festivals, worships (seated on red-border mats) • Longevity Celebrations - show devotion and respect to grandparents and parents - manifest the family’s joy in having a relative who has been able to lead a long life • Currently, there are Associations of Elderly People (Hội Cao Niên)

11. Funeral Customs • The sense that dead is not final • Life is A Temp Lodge – Death is Going Home (Sinh Ký Tử Quy) • Preparing for the death - Purchase A Coffin - Buying Land & Building A Tomb • About Die Time • Recording the time of the death to avoid the other death(s) of people in the same family (Giờ trùng tang) • Funeral Ceremonies - Khâm liệm / - Nhập Quan - Visiting - Burying / Cremation - • After Funeral Cermonies • - 7th day of 7 weeks (49 days) - 100 days • - 1st year anniversary • Mourning - 3 years for mother / father mourning, much shorter now.

12. Ancestor Worship • Chinese Influence during their long occupation of the country • Confucianism concept - Vietnamese belief in the dead vs Westerners’ belief in the death • Nearly every house has an altar to commune with ancestors • Ancestors photos • Incence sticks • Offerings: fruits , sweets, gifts as joss paper - Important role of eldest son • - When? • Upon the death (every day / 7th day until 49 days after the death) • On the death anniversary of the decease • New and Full moon days (1st & 15th of the lunar month) • Important occasions • Why? • Believe that ancestors still live in another realm • Fulfill the duty to meets their needs so the ancestors bring good fortune • Tangible to Intangible - How long – Two / Three generations • Law of Causes and Effects • All ancestors are respectful and reverence • Misdeeds of ancestors would bring some form of bad luck to the children • Influence upon behavior of living • Impact on life - Never being alone - Ancestors Worship – How long people will keep it in the future?