Vietnam

Vietnam is located in South East Asia on the Indochina Peninsula. China borders the north, with Cambodia to the Southwest, Laos to the Northwest, and the South China Sea to the east. It has a very tropical climate in most of its regions.

Because of its size, there are some major variations. Flat land only comprises 20% of the country, consisting of hills and densely forested mountains. Tall mountains and highlands make up the rest of the country, where the weather can be considerably cooler.

The Cultures of Vietnam

Vietnam has one of the richest and most vibrant cultures of South Asia. A culture shaped by centuries of interaction with foreign cultures.

The Culture of Vietnam is one of the oldest of such in the Southeast Asia region. During French colonial period, Vietnamese culture received merchant influences from the Europeans. To date, Vietnam is the only non-island nation of Indochina which uses the Latin alphabet to write the national language.

Despite considerable foreign influence, Vietnamese people have managed to retain many distinct native customs which have always played a vital role in daily Vietnamese life. Most of the Vietnamese historians consider the ancient Dong Son culture to be one of the significant aspects of early Vietnamese civilization.

Music and Dance

The rich heritage of the culture of Vietnam has given rise to the unique music and dance in Vietnam. It has both indigenous and foreign influences which has given it a character of its own. Music and dance in Vietnam has been strongly influenced by the trends in the royal courts.

Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively laissez-faire attitude.

Vietnam has 54 different ethnics, each with their own traditional dance. Among the ethnic Vietnamese majority, there are several traditional dances performed widely at festivals and other special occasions, such as the lion dance. Some of the more widely known dances are the imperial lantern dance, fan dance, and platter dance which require great skills.

Arts and Crafts

Water Puppetry (Mua Roi Can) is a distinct Vietnamese art which had its origins in the 10th century. Water puppetry is performed in a chest-deep pool of water, with the water's surface as a stage and they are manipulated using long poles hidden beneath the water. Epic story lines are played out with many different puppets, often using traditional scenes of Vietnamese life, legends and national history. Each puppet is carefully carved, and then painted with several consecutive layers of paint to protect the puppets.

Despite nearly dying out in the 20th century, Water Puppetry has been acknowledged by the Vietnamese Government as an important part of Vietnam's cultural heritage. Today, puppetry is commonly performed by professional puppeteers, who typically are taught by their elders in rural areas of Vietnam.

Vietnamese martial art is highly developed from the country's long history of warfare and attempts to defend itself from foreign occupation. Although most heavily influenced by Chinese martial arts, it has developed its own characteristics throughout the millennia in combination with other influences from its neighbours. Vietnamese martial art is deeply spiritual due to the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and is strongly reliant on the "Viet Vo Dao" (philosophy of Vietnamese martial arts). It is probably most famous for its scissor kicks.

Cuisine

Vietnamese cuisine emphasizes on fresh food, uses very little oil and many vegetables. There is an extensive use of different kinds of sauces (fish, soy sauce, and fish sauce), lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves in their food. Vietnamese cuisine also includes Buddhist vegetarian dishes. Dipping sauce and fresh vegetables as side dishes are common throughout the country.

Clothing

In feudal Vietnam, clothing was one of the most important marks of social status and strict dress codes were enforced. Commoners had a limited choice for every day use and limited colours that they were allowed to use.

One of the most popular traditional outfits for a woman is the Ao Dai. It has been modified over time from Chinese court clothing.

Ao Dai are often worn for special occasions such as weddings or festivals. Men used to wear a mandarin-like suit but this is rarely see now except in traditional dance or music performances.

Religion

The Vietnamese way of viewing life has been strongly shaped by the people’s religions and beliefs. Vietnam is often described as a Buddhist or Confucian country. Historically, the so-called Tam Giao (triple religion), characterizing the East Asian intricate mixture between Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism has always had a large impact on Vietnamese society and philosophy. Of the three, Vietnamese Buddhism has always been the most popular with commoners.

Besides the "triple religion", Vietnamese life was also profoundly influenced by the practice of ancestor worship as well as native animism. Most Vietnamese people, regardless of religious denomination, practice ancestor worship and have an ancestor altar at their home or business, a testament to the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty.

The Traditions of Vietnam

Marriage

Marriage and family are very important in Vietnam. In the countryside, parents often arrange marriages but the couple is also given the right to voice their opinion. Divorce remains uncommon, though it is more frequent in the cities. The bond of marriage is considered sacred among the Vietnamese and they strongly believe in the play of fate where choosing mate for marriage is concerned. The traditional age for marriage is between 18 to 25 for girls and 20 to 39 for boys.

Family Life

Vietnamese life is deeply influenced by ancestor worship. Children learn at a very early age that they owe everything to their parents and their ancestors therefore by doing well in school and working hard honours one's parents and the family name.

Family Structure

In traditional Vietnamese families, roles are strict. The man of the house is primarily responsible for the family's economic well-being and takes pride in his role as provider. On the other hand, women are responsible for the matters of the house and are expected to submit to their husbands or to their eldest sons when widowed. Older children help to look after younger siblings. Discipline is viewed as a parental duty and spanking is common once children are past their early childhood. Vietnamese customs and traditions give the highest importance to familial structure. Children live with their parents till the time of marriage. They also look after their aged parents until death.

Name and Naming

Traditionally, Vietnamese people list their family name first, then their middle name, with their first (given) name listed as last. Family members use different given names, and the name reflects some meaning. Most names can be used for either gender.

Vietnamese never call their parents, grand-parents, teachers, uncles, aunts… by their first names, but Western people do. "Co", "Thay", "Chu", "Bac" is always added. In addition, the people from the South of Vietnam usually call their relatives and their neighbours by their ranks in their family instead of their first names.

Indigenous groups

There are several indigenous groups in Vietnam and they are Lahu, H'mong, Akha, Mnong, Koho, Ede and Mien. I will be focusing on Ede, Koho and Mnong.

The Ede (Degar)

The Ede is the indigenous people of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. They are among the most economically prosperous of Vietnam's ethnic minority peoples. Of all the "montagnards" (mountain people in French) from the Central Highlands area of the former South Vietnam, the Ede was the most numerous in terms of co-combatants alongside US forces. Today, around 200,000 Ede live in the Central Highlands and mainly in the province of Dac Lac. Ede’s language family is Austronesian and their language branch is Malayo-Polynesian.

Like all the other ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, the Ede has to use their houses not only as shelter but also to play the role of church. This is because the Ede (mainly Protestant), like all ethno linguistic minorities, are forbidden by the Vietnamese government from constructing any building in their villages whose sole purpose is for religious worship. Today, there are many first-generation American Ede and most of them live in the State of North Carolina. Few of them speak Ede but are natively fluent in American English.

The Mnong

The Mnong comprise around 67,000 people in Vietnam's Central Highlands and around 20,000 in Cambodia's Mondolkiri province. Although these two populations belong in the same ethno linguistic classification, each of their dialects is not understood by the other. Their language family is Austroasiatic and their language branch is Mon-Khmer.

The Mnong was once a part of the mighty Kingdom of Champa, which ruled this part of the World between the second and fifteenth centuries. Today, they are the ruled instead of the ruler. The ownership and ruling of land plays a strong role in Mnong cultural heritage. Their rulers, in various forms, have included French colonialists, the US army and, most recently, the Khmer and the Viet. Many Mnong villages have been displaced over the years by this turn in fortune, resulting in loss of land, livestock and other wealth.

The Mnong are notable for many reasons. Whereas most peoples in this part of the World abandoned domestication of elephant after very few attempts, the Mnong have been successful at it. They also hunt elephant, another rare practice in Southeast Asia. Snake is also commonly hunted but sold more often than eaten by the Mnong. They are also the originators of one of the World's oldest musical instruments - the lithophone which is made of stone this instrument resembles a xylophone and is played only during certain ceremonies.

The Koho

The Koho are among the poorest of Vietnam's indigenous minority peoples. Traditionally slash-and burn farmers, they settled in the southern part of the fertile Central Highlands area of Vietnam centuries ago, mainly in the area around what is now the modern city of Dalat - a former French colonial outpost. Indeed, Chicken Village, just outside Dalat, is probably the best-known, most easily accessed and with most tourist in all of Vietnam.

Today there are around one hundred thousand Koho in Vietnam's Central Highlands - around 10% of the indigenous population in the area. At home, they still mainly speak their own, indigenous language, despite their children now being schooled exclusively in Vietnamese. However, other forms of Koho past tradition, such as their clothing and stilted, bamboo-walled longhouses, are much harder to find these days.

The Koho are a matrilineal society; children carry the family name of the mother. It is the traditional rite of a young girl in Koho society to choose her husband. Once she has made her choice, she communicates that choice to her parents. After the marriage the man remains in his wife's village. All other aspects of Koho socio-economic and socio-political life are determined by the males of the community.

Languages

Vietnam has one of the most complex ethno linguistic patterns in Asia. The Vietnamese language is spoken throughout the country, although some of the ethnic minorities do not speak it widely. There are slight differences between the north and south with regard to certain words and pronunciations. Vietnamese is tonal, suggesting an affinity with the Sino-Tibetan family, which includes the Chinese and Tai languages. It also has structural similarities to languages in the Mon-Khmer group of the Austro-Asiatic family, which are not tonal. With each syllable, there are six different tones that can be used, which change the definition and it often makes it difficult for foreigners to pick up the language.

There are other languages spoken as well such as Chinese, Khmer, Cham and other languages spoken by tribes inhabiting the mountainous regions. Indian influence is found among the Cham and Khmer minorities.

Writing

In written form, Vietnamese uses the Roman alphabet and accent marks to show tones.  This system of writing called quoc ngu, was created by Catholic missionaries in the 17th century to translate the scriptures.

Dialects

There are 4 commonly understandable regional dialects of the Vietnamese language. It includes the Northern Vietnamese (spoken in Hanoi, Haiphong), North-central Vietnamese (Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh), Central Vietnamese (Hue, Quang Nam), and Southern Vietnamese (Saigon, Mekong). These dialects generally differ in sound systems, vocabulary (basic and non-basic), and grammar. Other common languages spoken by minority groups in Vietnam include Murong, Chinese, Tay, Nung and Hmong. French is still spoken by a number of older Vietnamese as second language.

Mode of education

The general education in Vietnam is categories into 5 levels: pre-school, primary, secondary, upper secondary and higher education. Public kindergartens usually admit children ranging from 18 months to 5 years old. Children normally start primary school education at 6. Education at this level lasts for 5 years and it is compulsory for all.

Secondary and upper secondary education is homogenous throughout most of the country, except in very remote provinces. This level of education is not compulsory. The IGE is a prerequisite entrance examination for secondary schooling. The IGE score determines the schools at which students are able to enroll.

University entrance is based on the scores achieved in the entrance examination. High school graduates need high scores to be admitted to universities. According to Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training, there are currently 23 private universities, accounting for 11% of the total.

Types of leisure programmes (festivals, events, sports, recreation)

Festivals

There are a lot of major and minor festivals in Vietnam, and mostly are based on the lunar calendar. The minor festivals are mostly either, religious, based upon pagodas and temples, or village festivals celebrating significant events. Most of the ethnic minority groups also hold regular festivals, often with important ritual significances relating to the cycle of the year.

Tet Nguyen-Dan festival (New Year’s Day) remains the most important and longest lasting of all Vietnamese festivals. Its celebration formally began on the first day of the New Year, but preparations often started at least one month in advance and continued for another month or more after the New Year’s Day. Given the importance of the transition, pre-colonial Vietnamese made every effort to settle outstanding affairs before the New Year’s Day.

The Le Thanh-minh (Pure Brightness Festival) celebrated during the third lunar month, is devoted to enjoying the beauty spring by hiking, gathering flowers and similar activities. This festival reminded Vietnamese of their ancestors and encouraged them to fulfil their filial duties such as cleaning of the ancestral gravesites. This festival is observed today throughout Vietnam.

Perfume Pagoda Festival lasts for two months and it is the longest festival held in Vietnam. It takes place from January to March every year. The principle days are the 15th of the 2nd lunar month. As Perfume pagoda is the biggest complex of pagodas in Vietnam therefore Perfume Pagoda Festival is organised in large scales.  During the Perfume Pagoda Festival, tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims come to admire the beautiful landscapes, the grottoes and caves, and to implore the spirits for good luck, wealth and happiness in the several pagodas scattered throughout this mountainous area.

Mid-Autumn Festival (Tet Trung Thu) is the most important and widely celebrated festival in pre-colonial Vietnam. Like the New Year’s Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is still widely observed in contemporary Vietnam and in diaspora communities. It is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The Mid-Autumn Festival is marked with fanciful lanterns to help a legendary moon-bound figure back to Earth. Mid-Autumn parties serve cakes like the banh deo and banh nuong, shaped like fish and the moon. Finally, lion dances are commonly performed by travelling troupers who go from house to house to perform for a fee.

Major Events in Vietnam

National Day of Vietnam is celebrated on 2nd of September. September 2nd in Vietnam symbolizes the August 1945 Revolution and Vietnam National Day. This event marked the beginning of a new era for the Vietnamese nation.

On the National Day of Vietnam, the people and the leaders in Vietnam pay tribute to the national hero Ho Chi Minh and acknowledge his contribution towards the independence of Vietnam. This day is celebrated not only in Vietnam but also in all Vietnamese Embassies across the world as it is one of the foremost Vietnamese festivals & events.

Sports and Recreation

Vietnamese enjoy card games called “to tom”; board games such as chess, “human chess” in which people wearing the insignia of the various pieces moved about a giant outdoor board under the directions of the primary players, and dao dai which is called “hitting the dish”. Affluent urban Vietnamese often visit Western-style bars and nightclubs or socialise at coffeehouses, movie houses or internet service centres.

Older people can be seen practising tai chi early in the morning or taking a walk. Young men take fitness seriously and many work out in gyms. Tennis is played by wealthier people. Badminton, table tennis, soccer and volleyball are popular. After school, children train in ballet, marital arts (Vo Viet Nam) or music. Many join the Scouts or the Young Pioneers’ Club, a government run organisation.

Vietnamese also enjoy playing sports such as marital arts (Vo Viet Nam), soccer, volleyball and table tennis which require little equipment and facilities.

What is Vietnam known for?

Vietnam is known for its Cu Chi Tunnels, Halong Bay, Hoi An Old Town and Thien Mu Pagoda.

Cu Chi Tunnel

It is 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City in the Northwest. It is miniature battle versatile of Cu Chi’s military and people during the 30-year struggle long-time and fierce to fight invading enemy to receive independence, freedom for motherland. It also is the special architecture lying deeply underground with many stratums, nooks and crannies as complex as a cobweb, having spares for living, meeting and fighting with total lengths over 200 km. Real legends coming from the Tunnel are over human imaginativeness. (Taken from the Cu Chi Tunnel Organisation Web Site)

Personally, I have been to this 121km-long complex of tunnels at Cu Chi that has been preserved by the government of Vietnam, and turned into a war memorial park. The tunnels are a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system. Some tunnels have been made larger to accommodate the larger size of Western tourists, while low-power lights have been installed in several of them to make travelling through them easier and booby traps have been clearly marked.

(Picture of me and my sister at the Cu Chi Tunnel)

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the great natural wonders of Asia, and it is a popular travel destination. It is a spectacular location for sightseeing in Vietnam, located in the Gulf of Tonkin; it forms an amazing seascape of limestone pillars along with more than 1,600 islands and islets. It houses a great diversity of ecosystems including coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forest, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches.

Hoi An Old Town

It is once a major Southeast Asian trading post in the 16th and 17th centuries, the seaside town Hoi An is basically a living museum featuring a unique mixture of East and West in the form of its old-town architecture. Among the heritage architecture stand Chinese temples, a Japanese-designed bridge, pagodas, wooden shop-houses, French- colonial houses and old canals. Though large-scale trading had long moved elsewhere Hoi An has been successful in preserving and restoring its charming roots and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in December 1999.

Thien Mu Pagoda

It is one of the most beautiful attractions that you can find in Vietnam. Situated in front of the famous Perfume River, the pagoda of Thien Mu or the Heavenly Lady pagoda was built by Lord Nguyen Huang after he heard a story about the appearance of the Heavenly Lady on the exact location.

Built during 1610, the pagoda consists of two main parts; the front and the rear ends. The rear part of the pagoda consists of the main hall where the Buddha has been enshrined; it is also the area where the monks live and practice Buddhism. The front part of the pagoda consists of the Phuoc Duyen tower which is an attraction that can be seen in Hue.

Spot "Disney"

Suoi Tien Theme Park is a Vietnamese water-filled fantasy land, located south of Ho Chi Minh City. Suoi Tien, or "the fairy stream," is the world's first water park devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Southeast Asian animistic form of Buddhism.

The animism works well for the theme park; instead of Mickey and Daffy, Suoi Tien has chosen the Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix as its sacred animals, used thematically throughout the massive water park. Therefore, it fulfils one of the dimensions of Disneyization which is theming.

This unique cultural theme park not only has exciting rides and entertainment, they also have open air camping, food and beverage outlets, educational workshops and events like wedding. Therefore, it also fulfils the second dimension of Disneyization which is hybrid consumption whereby they not only focus on entertainment rides and performances but also much different kind of events which targets at a large group of people.

The theme park also has their very own souvenir shop and their products are mass produced for sale under the license of the company. These souvenirs such as mugs, pens, shirts are also printed with their logo.

Therefore, it fulfils the third dimension of Disneyization which is merchandising. Mascots and performers of the particular show are just part of their performative labour for the audience, whereby these performers have to act in front of the audience. And thus this fulfils the last dimension of Disneyization.

You may visit http://www.suoitien.com/ for more information on this theme park.

Analyse the changes that have been brought about by the tourism growth

Economical Impacts

Although the tourism industry in Vietnam is still developing, it plays a key economic role in the country. Tourism attracts foreign investment and creates jobs. According to the Footprint Vietnam Travel Web Site, it states that tourism activities have created jobs for more than 234,000 direct employees and about 510,000 indirect employees.

It also provides investment opportunities for small business owners and thus shifting the Vietnamese workforce from agriculture to the services industry created by tourism growth. This also means that Vietnamese will now have higher disposable incomes and therefore reduced poverty in the country itself.

Tourism in Vietnam benefits the hotel, construction and retail sectors as well as other service-oriented industries. A service-based sector requires higher education levels than an agricultural sector, because tourism sector jobs which include receptionists, clerks and tour guides, must interact with the public and keep accurate business documents. Through this, it will also avoid revenues to leak out of Vietnam and thus directs the most money to local economies.

Socio-economic Impacts

Tourism in Vietnam has contributed to eliminating hunger and alleviating poverty, improving the living standards and enriching the society. The development of tourism has helped to change the face of urban and rural areas. People’s living standards have been much improved, especially in tourist areas such as Sapa, Halong Bay, Cat Ba Island, Sam Son beach, Cua Lo beach, the ancient city of Hue, and provinces of Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan and Ba Ria.

Cultural Impacts

Vietnam’s diverse culture includes over 50 distinct ethnic minority groups, who account for approximately 14 percent of population. Ethnic minority groups tend to live in remote mountainous regions of the central part of the country or coastal river deltas and have preserved their cultures for generations. Positive impacts that tourism have brought about in Vietnam is that tourist will be able experience both pristine wildlife and traditional Vietnamese culture, which therefore generates income for the communities. And through tourism, many historical and cultural sites have been preserved such as the Cu Chi Tunnel.

Negative cultural impacts on these communities resulting from contact with the outside world include possible loss of cultural practices to new ideas; introduction of illicit drugs, prostitution practices and communicable diseases and land displacement due to tourist accommodation development.

Environmental Impacts

While nature-based tourism provides substantial incentive for environmental preservation, numerous negative environmental impacts result from the unmanaged arrival of visitors in an area. Without proper infrastructure, litter and other types of pollution worsen. Restaurants opened to accommodate tourists have no way to dispose of waste properly, and resorts and hotels are known to release untreated sewage into waterways. If visitors are not educated about beneficial environmental practices, they can cause habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity. Freshwater shortages are also common in areas with increased tourism and minimal management practices.

The tourism industry has created capability of consuming goods and services, boosting other industries to develop, restoring many traditional festivals and craft villages, boosting economic restructuring of the whole country and each locality, expanding exchange among regions and with foreign countries, and ensuring security, national defence and social order.

Whether tourism has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions

Tourism has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions of Vietnam to a certain extent. Being a developing country, Vietnam’s government open its doors to tourism because tourism brings in foreign exchange revenues which will help to improve the locals’ income and its economy. Tourists’ attraction such as the Suoi Tien Theme Park was set up so as to cater to the tourists’ needs. Because of the influx of tourist arrivals, locals are all eager to earn tourist dollars and thus Vietnamese culture is sold to them in the context of cultural performances, traditional handicrafts and musical performances, because the locals know that tourists will be interested in their cultures and traditions. Therefore, these unique cultural performances are then staged specifically and mass-sell to the tourist and thus no longer has its soul in it.

Bibliography

Dieu, M. W. (2001). Culture and Cutsoms of Vietnam. USA: Greenwood Press.

Ellis, C. (1995). Culture Shock. London: Kuperard Ltd.

Confucianism in Vietnam. (2009). Retrieved December 1, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/articles-112-16/Confucianism.aspx

Cu Chi Tunnel. (2010). Retrieved November 28, 2010, from Cu Chi Tunnel Organisation Web Site : http://www.cuchitunnel.org.vn/content/index.php?lan=1

Culture of Vietnam. (2008). Retrieved December 5, 2010, from See Vietnam Now Web Site: http://www.seevietnamnow.com/culture.html

Development of Vietnamese tourism industry. (2006, April 26). Retrieved December 1, 2010, from Foot Print Vietnam Travel Web Site: http://www.footprintsvietnam.com/vietnam_news/Development%20of%20Vietnamese%20tourism%20industry.html

Halong Bay Vietnam. (2010). Retrieved November 26, 2010, from Halong Bay Vietnam Web Site: http://www.halongbay-vietnam.com/

Hoi An Old Town. (2010). Retrieved November 26, 2010, from Asia Web Direct Web Site: http://www.visit-mekong.com/vietnam/hoi-an/hoi-an-old-town.htm

Impacts of Tourism in Vietnam. (2010). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Trails Web Site: http://www.trails.com/list_39950_impacts-tourism-vietnam.html

Overview of Education and Training of Vietnam. (2010). Retrieved November 28, 2010, from Ministry of Education and Training Web Site: http://en.moet.gov.vn/

Tet Trung Thu. (2009, September 29). Retrieved November 27, 2010, from Tuvy Asian Books Web Site: http://www.tuvy.com/blog/2009/09/tet-trung-thu-2/

Thay Pagoda Festival. (2009). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/articles-205-13/Thay-Pagoda-Festival.aspx

The Ede. (2010). Retrieved November 27, 2010, from The Peoples of the World Foundation Web Site: http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Ede

The H'mong. (2010). Retrieved December 1, 2010, from The Peoples of the World Foundation Web Site: http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=H'mong

The Koho. (2010). Retrieved November 25, 2010, from The Peoples of the World Foundation Web Site: http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Koho

The Mid-Autumn Festival. (2009). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/articles-98-13/The-Mid-Autumn-Festival.aspx

The Vietnamese Lunar New Year. (2009). Retrieved December 1, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/articles-19-13/The-Vietnamese-Lunar-New-Year.aspx

Vietnam Culture. (2010). Retrieved November 24, 2010, from Anz Travel Web Site: http://www.vietnameasytravel.com/Culture.asp

Vietnamese Clothing. (2009). Retrieved December 1, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/zones-10-1/Vietnamese-Clothing.aspx

Vietnamese Culture. (2009). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/

Vietnamese Culture. (2010). Retrieved November 29, 2010, from Discovery Vietnam Web Site: http://www.discoveryvietnam.com/vietnamtraditions1.htm

Vietnamese New Year. (2009). Retrieved December 1, 2010, from Vietnam Culture Web Site: http://www.vietnam-culture.com/vietnamese-new-year.aspx

Vietnamese People. (2010). Retrieved November 29, 2010, from Discovery Vietnam Web Site: http://www.discoveryvietnam.com/vietnampeople1.htm

Vietnamese Water Puppets. (1995). Retrieved November 26, 2010, from The Puppetry Home Page: http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/traditions/Vietnamese.html