“The number 9 is lucky.  If a street is directly pointing to a house, that house will have bad luck or someone in the family might die.  Running water and fountains in the house are good luck, and if your plants die, usually bad luck will come, and business won’t stay as prosperous.  On the first three days of the Vietnamese New Year, don’t sweep the house because we believe if you sweep stuff and throw things away you’ll lose money.”

All having to do with the household and the Chinese concept of feng shui, these superstitions emphasize Vietnamese cultural values of harmony, luck, and prosperity.  Passed on to my mother from her own mother (as well as other relatives and family friends) throughout her childhood and adult years, these folk beliefs reveal much about the Vietnamese culture and the people’s lifestyles.  My mother explained that when buying a house or just maintaining it, these superstitions are seriously considered, and individuals act accordingly.  For instance, a house with an address number whose digits add up to the number nine is thought to be especially lucky and a fine place to live.  Then, once the house is bought, the inside must also be taken care of to ensure success and future happiness.  Consequently, these superstitions demonstrate the importance of the home and the emphasis on preparing and looking out for signs of the future.  In this way, it is interesting to note that Dundes’ argument that America is much more future-oriented than other countries and societies is not as applicable here; followers of the superstitions will or will not commit certain actions based on their beliefs of those actions’ direct correlation to the future.  Now, a follower of these folk beliefs might decide to buy a small indoor fountain just to follow the superstition and hope that the decision to purchase one was the right choice.  In turn, this demonstrates the influence of superstitions on cultures, especially the Vietnamese.  Superstitions constitute a large chunk of people’s identities, and they can act as a sort of system of guidelines for those living the Vietnamese lifestyle.

Annotation: Too, Lillian.  Lillian Too’s Easy-to-use Feng Shui: 168 Ways to Success.  Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 1999, pg. 75.

“The first person who enters the house on the first day of Vietnamese New Year can bring good or bad luck to that household.  If he or she is happy and rich the whole year that household will be happy and prosperous.  Most of the time, the body of the family member who dies in Vietnamese New Year will be viewed and visited at their house or funeral home for two or three days, and at night one family member must sit and watch over the casket because they believe if a black cat jumps on or over it, that person won’t go to heaven and they’ll become a mean, violent ghost lingering here on earth.”

My mother’s younger sister, Thuy, told me about these superstitions while I was helping her prepare the food in the kitchen for our family’s big Vietnamese New Year celebration at my grandmother’s house.  As we were readying the food and setting up the table, she asked if I knew any Vietnamese superstitions regarding the New Year, and proceeded to enlighten me.  In the Vietnamese culture, as exemplified by these superstitions which my aunt picked up on from her own mother and other adult family friends, rituals surrounding the New Year are of utmost importance and not to be taken lightly.  In order to ensure a prosperous and happy new year, so many aspects must be taken care of, such as making sure that even the first person to enter the house is in a perfectly good mood—not the easiest task!  My aunt also mentioned the idea that the death of a family member must be shown a great deal of attention and care, so much that it is important for someone to be watching over the casket day and night to guard against evilness and the resurrection of a violent, Earth-bound ghost.  Evidently, these superstitions reveal a great deal about Vietnamese culture and thought.  While much of the culture is past-oriented, these superstitions mostly focus on preparations for the future to ensure that it is a successful and bright one.  The superstition about the casket proves that while family members are honored and taken care of even after death—a highly important concept in Vietnamese culture—it is also necessary to watch the casket and guard the deceased for the living’s sake.  My aunt’s superstitions still remain incredibly significant to her identity, shaping the way she lives life each day and permanently influencing her beliefs.