Social customs and traditions

worshipping ancestors

wearing ao dai on special ocassions

giving children lucky money at Tet

shouln'd sweeep the floor on the fist day of tet

family and traditions

eating dinner at 7 p.m. sharp

visiting the pagoda on the first day of every lunar month.

placing the chopsticks on top of the rice bowl when finishing a meal

wrapping gifts in colourful paper

having lunch together on the second day of Tet

smiling to accept a compliment

children in the family standing in a row to greet guests

1. What are the three customs and traditions you like most in your family? Describe them in detail.

- The three customs and traditions I like most in my family are doing morning exercise at 5 a.m, getting together on the first day at Tet, visiting pagodas on the first day of every Lunar month.

- Describe:

+ Doing morning exercise at 5 a.m: We always get up early and follow this custom. Thanks to doing exercise, we have good health.

+ Getting together on the first day at Tet: Everyone has to be there throughout the day. We can share everything with family members.

+ Visiting pagodas on the first day of every Lunar month: This custom is that we have to buy fruit and incense for pagodas each year. This year, we also prepared five-coloured sticky rice and worshipped Buddha.

2. How do you feel when you take part in these customs and traditions?

- I'm so happy and interested in taking part in these customs and traditions.

3. Why is it important to continue family customs and traditions?

- Because it is very meaningful. Also, it helps us have more experience and more strength in our life.

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.

Customs and traditions are very important in my opinion. Like other families, we have our own customs and traditions. First of all, there is a tradition in my family of having to clean the house before the 30th of Tet. Everyone is assigned easy work, some clean the house, sweep the cobwebs, others decorate the house, pack the banh chung, .... We have been following this tradition for 3 generations. Second, we have the custom of Sunday together. We often go back to our hometown to visit our grandparents and neighbors there. That custom makes us closer. We all like our customs and traditions because they give our family a sense of belonging.

Dịch

Phong tục và truyền thống là rất quan trọng theo quan điểm của tôi. Cũng như những gia đình khác, chúng tôi có những phong tục tập quán riêng. Trước hết, trong gia đình tôi có một truyền thống là phải dọn dẹp nhà cửa trước 30 Tết. Mọi người đều được giao những công việc dễ dàng, một số dọn dẹp nhà cửa, quét mạng xã hội, một số khác trang trí nhà cửa, gói bánh chưng, .... Chúng tôi đã làm theo truyền thống này từ 3 đời nay. Thứ hai, chúng tôi có phong tục ngày Chủ nhật cùng nhau. Chúng tôi thường về quê để thăm ông bà và hàng xóm ở đó. Phong tục đó khiến chúng tôi gần nhau hơn. Tất cả chúng ta đều thích những phong tục và truyền thống của mình vì chúng mang lại cho gia đình chúng ta cảm giác thân thuộc.

THAM KHẢO:
Like many families in my country, my family has a lot of traditions around Christmas time. We always decorate the tree together a few weeks before Christmas, and then we hang up our stockings by the fireplace on Christmas Eve. And we always read a book called “A child’s Christmas”. We start reading at the beginning of December and then we end right before Christmas day. And on Christmas day, we always go to my aunt and uncle’s house. And we skate on their pond, so all my family and my cousin’s, we all like skating, just really fun. And we hold Christmas dinner together. I love Christmas time and traditions that come with it. Yeah, it makes you feel very happy. It’s a joyful time when everybody expresses love and acceptance, so it’s very nice. I think it’s important to do things as a family because it’s good to pass down traditions. It makes you feel like you belong somewhere. And it’s just nice to have something to celebrate.