Chúc mừng Giáng Sinh!

It's that time of year again: Christmas is nearly a month away.  So what are people in Vietnam doing while we're making lists of what to gift people this year for the holidays? Christmas is not something to be unheard of in Vietnam. It's another year, another Christmastime in not only the U.S., but also in Vietnam.

Although Vietnam is a predominantly Buddhist country, Christmas is still one of the four main annual festivals held each year in Vietnam. Originally, Vietnam's majo religions consisted of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Catholicism was not introduced until the French occupied Vietnam, influencing people to become Christians around the late 19th century.

 

Christmas in Vietnam is a huge event, especially in Ho Chi Minh City.  There the people attend a Midnight mass on Christmas Eve and return home to prepare for a Christmas dinner, consisting of chicken soup, and sometimes turkey and pudding for the more fortunate.  Christmas Eve is celebrated more extensively than Christmas Day. That night, streets are crowded on Christmas Eve and in the city, centre cars and motorcycles are closed off for the night.  Everyone heads to the streets to celebrate joyously, throwing confetti and taking photos with the Christmas decorations, having a good time.

The people of Vietnam set up decorations on trees, along the streets, and in front of houses just as we do here. Decorations are also seen on big hotels and department stores. 

Saigon Tax Trade Center on Christmas Eve

The Vietnamese shopping for Christmas decorations in Hanoi


Unlike Christmas in the United States, where most of the celebration takes place at home, the Vietnamese hold most of the event outside.  Santa Claus is known as "Ong Gia No-en" (Old Man Noel), and it has been said that he is a fairy who has magical powers and gives gifts to good little boys and girls. In Vietnam, the children put their shoes in front of their houses on Christmas Eve, to wake up the next morning with gift-filled shoes, or if the family has a Christmas tree, Ong Gia Noel sneaks into the house to put presents under the tree ;)




Vietnamese Santa Claus delivering presents in Ha Noi

It's kind of neat to think that America, miles and miles across the country, could have some aspects of its culture reside in other countries.  People shape culture, and regardless of where you live, culture will always have a tendency to shape itself.  Although we might not realize it, Vietnam is Americanizing at this very moment, and culture will once again go through another metamorphasis, re-shaping itself once again.