Vietnamese Culture
Origins of Vietnamese culture
Vietnamese Culture has reached its present position through the influence of other countries….the Chinese,French,Americans and the Russians all leaving their mark on Vietnamese culture, food and traditions.
Oppression and years of War brought great hardship, this led to a people that were determined, hard working and with extremely strong family ties and a strong hold on their historical traditions and customs passed down through religion and the family, building the unique Vietnamese culture as we know it.
One of the greateset traditions in Vietnamese culture is the degree of respect paid to the family. Children obey their parents and wives obey their husbands.
Respect is paid to dead ancestors through small shrines in their houses and shops otherwise it is believed that misfortune will come upon them.
Influenced by the Chinese and the teachings of Confucious and His Faith, everything is assumed to have a spirit. According to traditional Vietnamese culture animals, tree, water, plants, clouds all are believed to have a spirit and are worshipped. The turtle and the dragon are especially sacred animals.
This belief is now more popular with inhabitants of the highlands of Northern Vietnam, the people of the lowlands tend more to Buddhism and the newer Christianity of which there is a Buddhist branch.
Confucionism is a great in fluence in Vietnamese culture led the people towards a tradition of the male as the head of the family , and a formal social order centred around the family which continues today. The French softened this by bringing awareness of equality for men and women and while still striving for order achieving personal development and success as well without detriment to traditional values.
Eighty percent of the population live in rural villages in the lowlands and mountains. Villages in the north are grouped around a central temple or meeting place whilst villages in the south are laid out in a line along a main road.
Most families live all in one house as an extended family, from great grandmother to great grandchildren and all the parents in between. It can be quite crowded.but enforces the sense of family loyalty and respect and the eldest male is in charge of the whole household, which upholds all the traditions of Vietnamese culture.
Rural communities are usually farmers ,or fishermen and if possible will keep livestock for extra income.
In the city areas, the families tend to scatter due to work commitments and most of them having arrived from the country for work having to live in a house away from their family centre but still upholding their daily lives according to traditions of their Vietnamese culture overseen by their city elders.
Vietnamese Culture has reached its present position through the influence of other countries….the Chinese,French,Americans and the Russians all leaving their mark on Vietnamese culture, food and traditions.
Oppression and years of War brought great hardship, this led to a people that were determined, hard working and with extremely strong family ties and a strong hold on their historical traditions and customs passed down through religion and the family, building the unique Vietnamese culture as we know it.
One of the greateset traditions in Vietnamese culture is the degree of respect paid to the family. Children obey their parents and wives obey their husbands.
Respect is paid to dead ancestors through small shrines in their houses and shops otherwise it is believed that misfortune will come upon them.
Influenced by the Chinese and the teachings of Confucious and His Faith, everything is assumed to have a spirit. According to traditional Vietnamese culture animals, tree, water, plants, clouds all are believed to have a spirit and are worshipped. The turtle and the dragon are especially sacred animals.
This belief is now more popular with inhabitants of the highlands of Northern Vietnam, the people of the lowlands tend more to Buddhism and the newer Christianity of which there is a Buddhist branch.
Confucionism is a great in fluence in Vietnamese culture led the people towards a tradition of the male as the head of the family , and a formal social order centred around the family which continues today. The French softened this by bringing awareness of equality for men and women and while still striving for order achieving personal development and success as well without detriment to traditional values.
Eighty percent of the population live in rural villages in the lowlands and mountains. Villages in the north are grouped around a central temple or meeting place whilst villages in the south are laid out in a line along a main road.
Most families live all in one house as an extended family, from great grandmother to great grandchildren and all the parents in between. It can be quite crowded.but enforces the sense of family loyalty and respect and the eldest male is in charge of the whole household, which upholds all the traditions of Vietnamese culture.
Rural communities are usually farmers ,or fishermen and if possible will keep livestock for extra income.
In the city areas, the families tend to scatter due to work commitments and most of them having arrived from the country for work having to live in a house away from their family centre but still upholding their daily lives according to traditions of their Vietnamese culture overseen by their city elders.
