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Funeral Ceremony
A person's death is followed by funeral ceremony.
The body was washed and dressed; then a le ngam ham, or chopstick, was laid between the teeth and a pinch of rice and three coins were dropped in the mouth. Then the body was put on a grass mat laid on the ground according to the saying being born from the earth, one must return back to the earth. The dead body was enveloped with white cloth, le kham liem, and put into the coffin, le nhap quan. Finally, the funeral ceremony, le thanh phuc, was officially performed.
The deceased person's sons, daughters, and daughters-in-law had to wear coarse gauze turbans and tunics, and hats made of straw or of dry banana fiber. The deceased person's grandchildren and relatives also had to wear mourning turbans. During the days when the dead were still laid out at home, the mourning went on with worshipping meals and mourning music. Relatives, neighbours, and friends came to offer their condolences.
The date and time for the funeral procession, le dua tang, must be carefully selected. Relatives, friends, and descendants take part in the funeral procession to accompany the dead along the way to the burial ground. Votive papers were dropped along the way. At the grave site, the coffin is buried and covered. After three days of mourning, the family visits the tomb again, le mo cua ma or worship the opening the grave; after 49 days, le chung that, the family stops bringing rice for the dead to the altar. And finally, after 100 days, the family celebrates tot khoc, or the end of the tears. After one year is the ceremony of the first anniversary of the relatives death and after two years is the ceremony of the end of mourning.
Nowadays, mourning ceremonies follow new rituals which are simplified; they consist of covering and putting the dead body into the coffin, the funeral procession, the burial of the coffin into the grave, and the visits to the tomb. The deceased person's family members wear a white turban or a black mourning band.
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Wedding Ceremony
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Wedding is very important to Vietnamese, not only to the couple involved, but also for both families. Thus, it is usually including quite a few formal ritual observances. The Wedding day is usually chosen well in advance by the groom and the bride's parents (in the old time, it is not necessarily Saturday or Sunday, as well as they believe it is good based on the groom and the bride's age). |
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Engagement Ceremony
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In Vietnam, the engagement is a festive ceremony involving the fiancé's and fiancée's families, and arranged in advance by the parents. The engagement is considered very important, and in some areas, even more important than the wedding.
Well before the engagement day, each family chooses two representatives from their side. The representatives can be family members or friends, but are usually a married couple who have a happy family of their own. Although there are two representatives, the man is the one who actually does the representation, requesting for the fiancée's hand in marriage on behalf of the fiancé's family, exchanging gifts, and controlling the flow of the ceremony.
In addition to selecting their representatives, the families get together to negotiate the dowry and a date and time for the ceremony. Traditionally, the date and time are chosen based on the fiancé's and fiancée's dates and hours of birth, but in a fast-paced society, such as that of the United States, it is usually a matter of convenience.
Several days prior to the engagement day the fiancé's parents prepare gifts to proffer to the fiancée's family. These gifts include betel leaves and areca nut fruits (trau cau), wine, tea, husband-wife cake (banh phu the), sticky rice, other foods, and jewelry. They are placed in trays and wrapped in red plastic paper, with the belief that red will bring good luck. In addition to the other foods, a whole pig is roasted and placed in a large tray, to be carried to the fiancee's home by two young men. Meanwhile, the fiancé is getting the ring ready, and the fiancée, preparing herself for the ceremony.
On engagement day, the fiancé's family bear the gifts to the fiancée's home and is greeted by the fiancée's family. Once everyone is inside, the fiancé's representative asks the other representative for the fiancée's hand in marriage on behalf of his party. The fiancée's representative graciously accepts the gifts and presents the fiancée to her in-laws to be united. Together, the engaged couple prays in front of the family altar and asks their ancestors for approval. When the prayer is finished, the fiance places the engagement ring on his fianced's finger.
Following the ring presentation, the representatives formally introduce their party's family members according to his or her family role. From this moment forward, the fiancé and fiancée are official members of their in-law family, and should refer to their in-law family members by their respective roles - "dad", "mom", "uncle", "aunt", and so forth. The parents in return accept a new son or daughter into their own family. After the ceremony, the families celebrate the momentous occasion with a feast organized by the fiancée's family. It is expected that half of the food gifts received be unwrapped and shared before the fiance's family leaves.
The day after the engagement, the engaged couple and their parents visit their neighbors, friends, co-workers, and relatives who could not attend the ceremony. They bring some betel leaves and areca nuts, tea and/or wines to spread the good fortune.
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Betel Leaf and Areca Nut
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Betel leaf and Areca Nut have important socio-cultural and ceremonial uses in Vietnam. In ancient times, the Vietnamese habit to chew Betel could be compared to the western habit of drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes.
The betel leaf (La Trau) belong to the Pepper family. It contains a narcotic stimulant and may have some medicinal value. Habitual chewing stains the teeth.
The Areca is a tall, slender tree cultivated in all Southern parts of Vietnam. It has yellowish-red fruits the size of a hen's egg (Cau), containing the seed about the size of an acorn, conical shape with flattened base and brownish in color externally; internally mottled like a nutmeg.
Betel masticatory (Trau) is made from slices of Areca nut smeared onto a betel leaf rolled together with other aromatic flavorings and lime paste. When chewed, it produces mild stimulatory effects with a pleasant bittersweet taste. |
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Paper figures of doctoral laureates
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During the Mid-Autumn season, markets, parties, and homes display paper figures of successful students at the highest royal administrative examination. This tradition relates to the tough selection of Confucian scholars for the king's administration.
During Viet Nam's dynastic period, students who had completed ten years of study took part in the provincial examination (thi Huong), which were held every three years. Those who passed with high marks were called cử nhân, and those with lower marks were called tú tài. The Tu tai and those who failed had to wait for the next exam, whereas the Cu nhan continued their studies another three years to participate in the Metropolitan Examination (Thi Hoi). Those with high marks took part in the Highest Imperial Examination (Thi Dinh). Those who passed the thi Đình were called Doctoral Laureate (Tien Sy). Those who came in first were called Trang Nguyen ; those who came in second, Bang nhan ; and third, Tham hoa
In preparation for Mid-Autumn Tet, many children make a "doctoral laurate" out of paper to express their hope of succeeding in their studies.
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The Lion Dance
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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 woodsman's 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.
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