Greetings from Vietnam, I am Lam Giang

[Gianglt]

Wedding party in Vietnam

For couples, who love each other, wedding party is the beginning of a new life, a new family with new pleasures, new worries, and new interests. For their relatives and friends, wedding party is a festival and a chance to express relationship between people.

The first stage of the party is about delivering the invitation-cards. A long list of guest is prepared by the couple and then by their family. Some times, couples decide the list by themselves, but in most of cases, parents are in charge of these things. Wedding-party of their children is a place where they present their relationship with important guests; even poor parents try to invite some officials or rich relatives to the party.

Upon the conditions of families, there can be two separated parties: the bride's family organizes a farewell party with relatives in the day before, and the main ceremony is organized by the family of the bridegroom. The parents announce about the love and make careful recommendations to the bride and bridegroom; the couple worships the ancestors, exchange their rings, and receive congratulations from the relatives. After this ceremony, all people go to restaurant for the wedding-party. In some cases, families can organize the party in groom's house.

All the official ceremony is repeated at the party to make the beginning: the speaker invite the couple, and then their families on stage. The parents have a speech, the groom gives the thanks to the audience. The main part of party is serving of different of meals and songs of guests. Parties with songs are usually very crowded and noisy. Sometimes, I have chances to attend in parties with music in background and feel easier.

An important thing is must be done at the moment when guests come in the restaurant: they put envelopes with money within to a big basket or box. It's the tradition. People consider that is the way guests share with the couple the expense for the party; poor couple can not afford their party without these money. But sometimes, children of important officials have big profit from their wedding-party. It is a controversial social phenomenon.

In the first night, the couple is too tired because of beer or wine, but they can look around the gifts, sum up the received money, and write down detail for each guest (names on envelopes). They must remember about this list to repay in other wedding-party.

[FangFang]

Hi,Lam Giang
We have similar wedding customs,

[Gianglt]

Hi my friend !

The more people have relations with foreigners, the more chances people in around the world have to exchange culture, customs of their nations. The ways a person behaves sometimes can affect the image of foreigners about his nation.

One my friend from US asked me about a situation she was being on. A Vietnamese made a picture of her, and then drew around her image with a heart. She doesn't know about the meaning as want me to explain what it means for Vietnamese. I, indeed, don't understand what happened, but I know exactly one thing: the picture has an active effect, it made my friend be more cheerful, and she has good imagination to Vietnamese people.

The meaning of drawn picture can be various. Maybe, the painter wanted to say that he liked my friend. Maybe, it was the expression of love. Or it simply followed a pattern from the painter's library: a face with a rose in a heart. People from other nations express their attitude by the actions. For instance, strange people can hold each other in their arms, or kiss each other even in the first time they meet. Vietnamese tend to express their crush to somebody by saying beautiful words, draw some picture fulfilled with invisible meanings. Generally, they express their attitude spiritually. In any case, I consider it is private behavior, not the tradition of a nation.

Nonetheless, it was a conversation between people from different countries. My friend from US will think that Vietnamese people have a beautiful way to deal with her. And it is a good thing.

You can ask me what I would like to stress by these words. In my opinion, each person is responsible in conversation with people from other countries. He is expressing the image of a nation. He can make a contribution to his country simply by having a good performance.