In Vietnamese culture, respect for parents and ancestors is a key virtue. The oldest man in the family is the head of the family and the most important family member. His oldest son is the second leader of the family. Sometimes, related families live together in a big house and help each other. The parents chose their children's marriage partners based on who they think is best suited for their child. When people die, their families honor their ancestors on the day of their death by performing special ceremonies at home or at temples and by burning incense and fake money for the one who died.
The
Vietnamese believed that by burning incense, their ancestors could
protect them and their family from danger and harm. Days before the
ceremony starts, the family has to get ready, because they won't have
enough time to get ready when the guests arrive and the ceremony starts.
Usually the women cook and prepare many special kinds of food, like
chicken, ham, pork, rice, and many more including desserts.
While
the women are busy cooking, the men are busy fixing up and cleaning up
the house, so it won't be messy and dirty because of all the relatives
of the person that died will come for the ceremony and show honor and
respect to that person. Families venerated their ancestors with special
religious rituals. The houses of the wealthy were constructed of brick,
with tile roofs. Those of the poor were bamboo and thatch. Rice was
staple food for the vast majority, garnished with vegetables and, for
those who could afford it, meat and fish.
The
French introduced Western values of individual freedom and sexual
quality, which undermined and the traditional Vietnamese social system.
In urban areas, Western patterns of social behavior became increasingly
common, especially among educated and wealthy Vietnamese attended French
schools, read French books, replaced traditional attire with
Western-style clothing, and drank French wines instead of the
traditional wine distilled from rice. Adolescents began to resist the
tradition of arranged marriages, and women chafed under social mores
that demanded obedience to their fathers and husbands. In the
countryside, however, traditional Vietnamese family values remained
strong.
The trend toward adopting
Western values continues in South Vietnam after the division of the
country in 1954. Many young people embraced sexual freedom and the
movies, clothing styles, and rock music from Western cultures became
popular. But in the North, social ethnics were defined by Vietnam
Communist Party’s principles. The government officially recognized
equality of the sexes, and women began to obtain employment in
professions previously dominated by men. At the same time, the
government began enforcing a more puritanical lifestyle as a means to
counter the so-called decadent practices of Western society. Traditional
values continued to hold sway in rural areas and countryside, where the
concept of male superiority remained common.
In
the 1980s, the Vietnamese government adopted an economic reform program
that freely from free market principles and encouraged foreign
investment and development of Vietnam tourism. As a result, the
Vietnamese people have become increasingly acquainted with and
influenced by the lifestyles in developed countries of South East Asia
and the West.
Source: vietnamtourism.org.vn
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