recreate.rethink.reimagine
Thôi Nôi (“leaving the cradle”) is celebrated after a child’s Đầy Năm (“full year”). On this occasion as well as on the child’s Đầy Tháng (“full month”), a Lễ Cúng Mụ is held to express gratitude to Bà Chúa Đầu Thai (“Goddess of Rebirth”) and the twelve Bà Mụ (“Twelve Midwives”) and ask for their…
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Redesigning the tam cúc card deck was a labor of love. I was home for the weekend and running errands with my mother. Our conversations during those car rides often turned to “remember when…” Perhaps we were talking about Tết traditions or games we used to play, when my mother said, “The tam cúc cards…
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There was no đón dâu (fetching of the bride), no thách cưới (gifts stipulated by the bride’s family). No mother-in-law had to leave for a neighbor’s house, bình vôi (lime pot) in hand, to signal her willingness to cede the matriarchal reins. The brides walked in side by side, hands clasped, as tall as the…
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Your bà mối or matchmaker is:(a) Mom’s best friend.(b) Your best friend (who may turn out to be the one).(c) Algorithms purported to know you best.(d) Your best self, after you learn to trust your instinct and check your impulses.
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Tết Nguyên Đán (“festival of the first dawn”) celebrates the beginning of the year based on a lunisolar calendar. It is so central to Viet culture that people refer to it simply as Tết.
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Cây nêu is made of a long bamboo stem with one leafy branch at its tip. Attached to the branch is a ring big enough to hold a number of charms against evil spirits – pandan leaves, cacti, chimes…
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The five fruits in Ngũ Quả represent blessings to wish for during Tết and other special occasions: Wealth (phú); stature (quý); longevity (thọ); health (khang); peace (ninh).
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As a designated treat for Tết , hạt dưa hấu – watermelon seeds, roasted and dyed red for luck – teach children the virtue of a labor-intensive low-yield undertaking.
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