Tag Archives: Vietnamese

Vietnamese Tradition: Lunar New Year Outfits

Context:

Informant G is a 20 year old Cinema and Media Studies major from The Inland Empire in Southern California. Her family is primarily Vietnamese and Cambodian, and G lived in Vietnam for periods of time as a child. She is a junior at USC.

Text:

Please excuse any grammar issues, these are direct text message quotes. G sent me a photo of herself and her older sister wearing áo dài. She said the following:

“During Lunar New Year (Tết in Vietnamese) most people wear áo dài which is the traditional Vietnamese dress/costume/outfit. Although, it’s not exclusively worn during Lunar New Years, most people buy new áo dàis or wear their best one as a way to start the new year off well.”

When I asked about further significance in the type of áo dài, she replied

“they more symbolize the significance of an event, like people can wear it in their casual life but the fancier an áo dài the more formal/significant an event is”

“the color is also very important (not as much any more) but during Tet a lot of people wear red áo dài because it represents luck and prosperity”

Interpretation:

There are a number of significant details in this anecdotal description. For one thing, G clearly indicates an association with life cycle. There is a purpose in the kind of áo dài worn as one enters the new year. She mentions that people might “buy new áo dàis” – perhaps as a physical representation of newness – or wear their best one as a way of instating luck. G explained that áo dài is a Vietnamese garment that can be worn casually, but a fancier one is considered more formal and correlates with the event for which it’s worn. G also mentions that the color red has some significance. I find this interesting because, though Vietnam is considered a Southeast Asian country, imperialism brought bits of Chinese culture into Vietnamese culture, and the East Asian significance of the color red has been part of Vietnamese tradition, too. Traditions done for the purpose of bringing luck into the new year are incredibly common (ie: Latin Americans eating 12 grapes or bringing a suitcase around the block) – they are meant to induce prosperity, and multiple aspects of wearing fancy, or sometimes red áo dài reflect that folkloric commonality.

Vietnamese Celebration of Life After Death

Tags: Death Rituals, Vietnamese, Money, Symbolic Burning

Text

Every year, on the death of someone in the family, fake money and objects symbolizing wealth are burned as an offering to the dead.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Vietnamese

Age: 20

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Northwest Arkansas, USA

Date of Performance: March 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Sister

Context

GP, the informant, was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) to Vietnamese parents.

Analysis

In Vietnamese culture, it is important for them to remember the dead. In doing so, those who are alive must offer food or other material items to help them ease into the afterlife.

Vietnamese New Year’s Superstition

Tags: Superstition, Vietnamese, Money, New Years

Text

On New Year’s Day, if you want an [financially] abundant year, you should not spend any money.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Vietnamese

Age: 20

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Northwest Arkansas, USA

Date of Performance: March 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Sister

Context

GP, the informant, was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) to Vietnamese parents.

Analysis

This tradition happens as a means of bringing in good financial luck. Practices like this are very common in Vietnamese culture during prominent holidays/dates. These practices are usually done to bring in good luck, good fortune, and good health.

Lunar New Year

Nationality: Vietnamese
Primary Language: English
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 04/26/2024

Text:

“Every year my family’s church throws a Lunar New Year festival to celebrate the New year. There is always plenty of food, live music, people, and activities for kids. I used to dread going, but it’s really fun to see people I haven’t seen in a while and to get dressed up in cultural clothes.”

Context:

The informant, who grew up in the California Bay Area, is talking about Lunar New Year, as it was celebrated by his Vietnamese church. While the date changes every year, he recalls the festival and celebration as being a constant for as many years as he can remember. He used to get annoyed with the amount of people he was forced to interact with, and the uncomfortable clothes he had to wear, but now sees the festival as a fun and welcoming event to ring in the New Year.

Analysis:

Lunar New Year is a popular and important holiday across many East-Asian cultures. Lunar New Year festivals are a common celebratory event that I have encountered numerous times. They are not unique to America, and are extremely prevalent in Asia, as well as other countries. The festival, while often celebrated differently, contains numerous common threads, including heavy utilization of red decorations, common foods, etc. This festival is cultural, and holds wide cultural significance as a way to celebrate a new year, and to bring in good omens of health and wealth. I think that the Lunar New Year is specifically interesting because it spans numerous East Asian cultures, and is distinct from religious celebrations, but still holds great prominence and importance in Asian households. I have met numerous people who look forward to the festivals and the food, and see it as a fond memory and event that has been consistent throughout their lives. I think it also speaks to the permeance of culture, as it travels with people as they move and settle in new areas, serving as a way to bond with other people of a similar background.

Rice For The After-Life

Nationality: Chinese/Vietnamese
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): Mandarin, Cheo Chow (Chinese Dialect)
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: LA, California
Performance Date: 3/24/2024

Context:

My informant, AC, is a friend of mine from my freshman year at USC from Los Angeles, California. I talked with her about her parents one day whilst we took a break from working on a project together. I recalled a moment where she got mad about not finishing a plate full of just rice, and she told me a story about her mother’s rants about rice in her past. She mentioned that her mom would scold her for not finishing her rice at home and she said that her mother gave a rather spiritual reason than the reason I originally thought. So I questioned her about it further and this is what she told me:

Text:

“My mom used to tell me that for every grain of rice I didn’t finish, it would come back to haunt me in the afterlife. She explained to me as a child that the grains of rice I didn’t finish would turn into worms I would be forced to eat once I died and went into the afterlife. She used to tell me this: ‘Carry your weight of grain or be crushed by the burden of consumed destiny.’ I didn’t really know what to think of it, I mean even now it alarms me yeah, but it’s not something I would personally just blindly believe. Spooky though.”

Analysis:

In my research of this topic, I at first didn’t really find anything. I had to really dig, as AC didn’t give much more information about the topic she described because she claims she couldn’t really remember much else. So, because of her ethnic background and cultural history, I decided to ask around to other friends with similar backgrounds and cultures and with the help of them and the internet once I knew what I was searching for, I found this: Apparently, there is a cultural belief related to rice in some Southeast Asian and East Asian cultures, particularly in the Philippines, Indonesia, and parts of China and Japan, known as “Bangaan” or “Bunao.” This belief revolves around the idea that rice grains should not be wasted, as doing so can result in punishment in the afterlife. According to this belief, when rice grains are wasted or thrown away, they turn into worms or insects that represent the spirit of the rice. These worms are believed to haunt the person who wasted the rice, and in the afterlife, the person may have to eat these worms as a form of punishment or purification. The concept itself reflects the cultural value placed on rice as a staple food and the importance of not wasting resources. It is also tied to traditional agricultural practices, where rice was seen as a sacred crop and wasting it was considered disrespectful to the deities or spirits associated with rice cultivation. I am amazed by this concept and especially that metaphor, I mean wow, it has such meaning behind its spookiness. I personally have never heard of this and when doing further research on this I ended up learning that this concept and belief has been native to South-East Asian communities for centuries. This belief even ties into the idea of polytheism, that being that gods of rice existed and were worshiped in certain cultures like in the Philippines and certain areas of China. I found this information to be very intriguing, especially how these types of stories and cultural and religious beliefs continue to spread to this day.