It was wedding season. In a traditional Vietnamese wedding the groom, with his family and friends, go over the bride’s home and askes her parents for her hand in marriage. More often than not, the parents agree. Then, the bride and groom pray to the ancestors of the bride. The bride’s parents express their happiness […]
Category Archives: Family
Cam On Minh Da Yeu Em (Thank You for Letting Me Love You)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
My aunt Co Nhung took me to see a Vietnamese contemporary play at Idecafe, a French cultural center in Saigon. The play was called Cam On Minh Da Yeu Em.
The story opens with a couple of grandparents and a young couple. The grandparents appear happy in their old age, and the young […]
Vong Co
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
My friends asked, “What are you doing tonight?”
I replied, “Tonight, I’m going to watch Vong Co with my aunt.”
They all made faces. “Why are you going to watch that? You’re going to fall asleep, it’s so boring. The king kills the princess, but the princess takes a half an hour to die […]
Dam Hoi
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The other Sunday, I went to a Dam Hoi of one of my relatives. Dam Hoi is a day in Vietnamese tradition when family members get together to remember their ancestors. Usually, these festivities start in the morning. The altar is set with the pictures of the ancestors as the center piece, […]
49 Days
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
It is a Vietnamese belief that the soul can linger on the Earth for 49 days after a person dies before it can go into the afterworld. From the time of death, the family is supposed to pray for the person for 49 days. On the 49th, the family usually gets together and […]
Arrival
Saturday, October 6, 2007
An economy ticket to Ho Chi Minh City on United Airlines will let you bring two luggages both at 50 lbs. If you’re Vietnamese, expect to fill up one of those with your belongings and the other with gifts to your relatives in the home country: 4 packs of sausage, 6 bottles of Centrum […]