Hau Doong festival is very typical one arranged by Giay ethnic group in Lai Chau province on 6 June - Lunar calendar. The festival pay respect to forest God and remind people to protect nature.
After ritual ceremony it starts the festival with traditional games and cultural activities such as making sticky rice cake, shooting arrow, jumping with jute pack, cutting noodle, beating goongs, catching ducks....
Vietnamese culture is mix of local beliefs and the interference of religions and philosophies from foreign counties like Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Islam. But ancestor worship is very dominant in culture practice in Vietnam.
In every household in Vietnam there is ancestor altar that is set in the most solemn place like in the mid-compartment or top floor of the building. Vietnamese people believe that when a person passes away the dead body is destroyed but the soul still exists so that the souls of our ancestors are still alive.
Hat Xam or Xam Songs has a long history, since XIV century, under Tran Dynasty. It is said that the founder of this art is a royal prince who wish to express his tough life and admire beautiful ways of living and tradition. We take the day of 22 Feb Lunar Calendar as Hat Xam day.
In the old day Hat Xam was normally performed by the blind who join in group of 2 - 5 persons gathering by local market, boat wharf, festival places, or crowded residential areas . People are fond of Hat Xam, for it has an emotional tunes that are in harmony with joyful rhythm of the percussion instruments and sweet sounds of string instruments like Bau and Nhi in Vietnamese.
In the past people sang Hat Xam for making their living, like troubadours. Since XIV century to the mid of 20th century. Today professional artists, Hat Xam lovers, and clubs practice Hat Xam for their passion and preserve traditional Folk art of Vietnam.
Vietindo Travel can arange tour with Hat Xam show and holiday in Vietnam.
Water puppet show is a Vietnamese folk art which has a long history of over one thousand years from the Red River Delta . It reflects wet rice civilization because it gives out the rural activities and folk tails concerning rural life also. It must - see show when traveling in Vietnam.
The art of water puppet was born under Ly Dynasty (1010 - 1025) in Northern Vietnam. It is also called drama on water of which puppets are characters that are made of jack fruit timber. The artists who control puppets stand half-deep - body in water behind bamboo curtains. They use bamboo poles and strings to manage the puppet games. The games includes cultivating rices, harvesting rice, flooding rice field, fairy dance, phoenix dance, fox catch ducks, Le Loi King's story and holy tortoise...
The most outstanding puppet is Chu Teu, which has round face and funny smile giving humorous saying to audience. The waster puppet art is performed in the theaters, on the villages ponds and lakes at special occasions like village holidays or New year festival.
Travel to Vietnam you can enjoy water puppet art in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Halong, Danang, or villages in countryside performed by artists or farmers. The ticket price is from 5$ - 10$ depending on class ranges.
In Vietnam there are many kinds of ancient and traditional musical instruments that are unique. Lithophone or Dan Da in Vietnamese is stone musical instrument set. Dan Da is a set of stone slabs of different sizes and shapes.
These stone slabs are found in South Central and South East Vietnam. A set of Dan Da consists of 3 - 15 slabs. The age of these slabs are dated back to 3,000 - 10,000 years.
The first set of Dan Da of 11 slabs was discovered in 1949 in Ndut Lieng Krak in Dak Lak, and now are displayed in a museum in Paris.
During 1980s and early 1990s we discovered more 200 stone slabs in provinces of Dak Lak, Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Phu Yen.
Stone slabs are well kept as family's treasure, and played at grand ceremonies. The sound of the stone slabs is far resounding as the sound of forest and waterfall.
Being different from cigarette, Vietnam's tobacco or Thuoc Lao has been become common drink for a long time. Thuoc Lao is widely planted in lowland and midland in Northern Vietnam. The farmers pick the leaves then slice into thin fibers, dry under the sun, then preserve in dry and cool place.
Traditionally Vietnam's men like to smoke Thuoc Lao as the start of telling a story when they meet each other and at joyful time. It is still uncertain why we call the tobacco Thuoc Lao. It may comes from Laos or planted first by a man named Lao few hundred years ago.
Normally, for a smoking man, he smokes 3 - 5 times a day. He smokes right after he wakes up in the morning, after meals, or chatting time.
He use a small piece of Thuoc Lao, places on smoking pipe made of bamboo or ceramic smoking bow. Inside the pipe or smoking bow there must be certain amount of water that help soften strong tobacco. Because of the inside water it makes funny bubbling sound when he smokes.
Vietnamese women chew betel nuts and plant they also add a small piece of Thuoc Lao and lime paste. Nowadays smoking is not encouraged in Vietnam but traveling to countryside, remote villages, it is common to see bamboo smoking pipe in each family.
Tet is Lunar New Year in Vietnam. It comes one month after international New Year so that Tet is between the end of Jan and Feb. Vietnamese women love flower and men take more care of bonsai.
We buy different kinds flowers and bonsai or ornamental trees during our New Year. To buy much or less flowers, big or small bonsai it depend on home economy and favorite. From remote village to modern cities, ornamental trees and flowers are seen everywhere, in a humble thatch or luxury villas. The followings are examples with detailed meanings.
Peach blossoms in red color bring lucks and happiness to family, meanwhile yellow apricot blossoms give us prosperity. Kumquat bonsai bring us joy, luck, health, and longevity. Fig tree is a famous bonsai for business family, for it stands for prosperity and happiness.
Beside above top four plants, kinds or flowers are good choice during the Tet or Vietnamese Lunar New Year such as Orchid, Daisy, luck and prosperous plant, Camellia, Poinsettia, Rosa Canina, Gerbera, and Daffodil flower
There are many holidays and traditional celebrations in Vietnam, but Tet or Lunar New Year is longest holiday in Vietnam. It arrives by the end of January to early February.
This is the time when people gather with family. People work and live in cities come back to their villages to pay respect to ancestors and enjoy New year with parents and relatives. They exchanges cheers and wishes with family, relatives, neighbors, friends, teachers...
People have 7 - 10 days off work but the most important time is from Eve of New year to the 3rd day of Tet. Vietnamese prepare for Tet 2 weeks before it arrives, even 2 months in the old days. For example, they repaint their house, ancestor graves, buy food materials for making Tet's food and cakes, flowers and bonsai, clothing for children.
There are many customs that followed by Vietnamese during Tet. We will show you in other articles. Most of restaurants closed during Tet. Travel during Tet is interesting for you to learn more our traditions at Lunar New Year
According to latest census in 2020, total population in Vietnam is 97.58 million people, an increase of 1.1 million in compare to figure of 2019 or equivalent to 1.24%. Vietnam's population is ranked 15 in the world in number.
Vietnam has 54 minorities in which Viet group is the largest one with 86% total population.
It is estimated that Vietnam's population will reach 104 million people. Population in rural area takes 63.2 %, and in city is 36.8%. The number of males are 48.59 million meanwhile the females are 48.99 million. The manpower is about 55.1 million of which 17.5 million workers work in agriculture and marine sector, 16.5 million in industry sector, and the rest of 19.4 million in service sector.
The unemployment rate is only 2.26% (2020). Vietnam has an area of about 330,000 sq km, of which 70% topography are midland and highland, 30% is delta including 2 largest Delta of Red River in the North and Mekong River in the South so that the population density is also different among regions.
In average 290 people live in one sq km but in Red river delta and eastern southern Vietnam the numbers are 1060 and 757/ sq km. In Northern midland and South central highland the numbers are 132 and 157/ sq km.
Ao Dai is long traditional dress in Vietnamese. There is Ao Dai style for women and for men. Viet men wear Ao Dai at special occasions such as Tet or Lunar New Year ceremony, wedding ceremony, community and family events, and attending conferences, ect.
Traditionally, fashion for men, besides Ao Dai costume combines with turbans, wooden sandals or shoes. In the past, normally, they wear black Ao Dai and white trousers but today there are multi- color and diverse motifs on men's dress.
There are different characteristics between Ao Dai for men and women when we look into side cuts, collar, button line, shoulder, and flanks...Ao Dai is tailored from silk made in Vietnam. Ao Dai for Viet's men even has long history and now it is modified in colors and motifs to meet the modern taste.
Muong ethnic group is one of 54 minorities in Vietnam. They live in midland and valleys in the North in provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Phu Tho, Thanh Hoa....According to census 2019, the population of Muong is around 1.45 million that ranks the 3rd largest group in Vietnam.
The word of Muong in Vietnamese related to Mueang which means Cultivated Land. Muong people speak their language which is close relative Vietnamese. The group depends on wet rice cultivation in valleys and hill sides. Besides that they also plant kinds of fruits, corn, bean nuts, cassava, raise animal, and poultry.
They have a long history, and rich culture. They live in thatched stilt house which shapes tortoise shell. They wear their traditional dress at special occasions like New year, wedding ceremony, or family and clan events...
Vietnam has 54 minorities and about 90 languages but Vietnamese is official one in the whole country. After we got independence in September, 1945, Vietnam no longer use French and Chinese Mandarin officially.
Today, English is the first foreign language taught in school and university. Beside that we also introduce French, Chinese, Korea, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Japanese, Russian, Italian, and others in our education system.
Tour guides are fluent those languages. Numbers of staff are enough to serve over 18 million foreign tourists coming to Vietnam in 2019.
Traditional boat racing festival of Binh Thuan is arranged on 2nd day of Lunar New Year on Ca Ty river (Phan Thiet city)
The racing includes sampan and basket boat on the river. Spring sunshine spreads on peaceful river but it quickly being filled up with the shouts and laughs from audience and boat racers who are fishermen coming from different groups from nearby villages.
The boat racing is like a happy melody to welcome new year arrival at Phan Thiet city.
Explore Bai Tu Long Bay is ideal way to experience the natural beauty of majestic Halong and local life as well as doing water activities l...
