Vietnamese-American Social Customs

Family is supposed to listen to you when you're in need. Family is supposed to have your back. Family is supposed to be loyal. Family is supposed to be dependable. Family is supposed to accept you at your worst and best moments. Family is supposed to make you laugh and smile. Family is the number one unconditional love that everyone has. Whether it be the unconditional love from immediate family members or close friends, everyone has that one person they go to in times of need. It’s funny how those closest to you can hurt you the most.

For this paper I will examine Vietnamese culture according to the five essential questions all cultures must answer (according to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck). I will then take those answers and compare then to out culture here in America. I realize that some might argue that using North American culture as a starting point is an attempt to simplify this writing, but I believe that any initial examination of something new is most effectively done in comparison to what one already knows.

Being Chinese-Vietnamese American, I have always seen myself as being very unique. In addition to celebrating the Western holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day, my family celebrates our mixture of Chinese and Vietnamese cultures with two other big holidays: Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Although many cultures celebrate holidays differently, one thing is always consistent in most of these celebrations: the important role of food.

No one can control what family they are born into nor what struggles are destined for them in the future. By the age of nine, my parents could no longer help me with my homework, rather they could only offer a few words of encouragement. The language barrier and cultural clash we experienced as a family put me at a disadvantage compared to other children my age.

Before entering the Vietnam War, President Kennedy had been warned by Charles De Gaulle, a French general, that war in Vietnam would trap America in “a bottomless military and political swamp” (Source A). Just a few years later, entrance into this very swamp resulted in a wide variety of changes in American life. The Vietnam War affected cultural aspects of American life by giving rise to the counterculture movement of the 60s and 70s, it affected economic aspects of American life by depleting resources in a long and drawn out war, and it began to tear society apart. The changes brought on by the Vietnam War had both positive and negative impacts that affected our country for years to come.

I'm Vietnamese American. I came to America twelve years ago. I’d say I am equally influenced by both Vietnamese and American culture. Growing up as a Catholic, I learned that happiness is the life that we receive when we are in union with God in heaven. How do we get there is something I had to learn from both textbooks and experiences. My parents would often talk about growing up, getting a job, starting a family, and live happily. They also talk about how religion leads you to happiness when you values love and kindness. Religion specifically taught me values such as persistence, perseverance, humility, forgiveness, and charity. These values is reflected in the way I speak, think, and view life.

Based upon this culture there are many barriers the Asian American must overcome in order to receive assistance from the mental health counselors. These people are very proud and believe that whether good or bad happens it affects the entire family. In this culture today many still believe that having a mental illness brings shame to the family.

Every culture is unique because of their social customs. There are many different people with different social and cultural backgrounds. Our group consists of two Chinese-Americans and one Vietnamese-American. Our report is on the social customs of our respective cultures. Our purpose is to gather information about our social customs so that we can inform our audience. We researched dining etiquette, gift-giving etiquette, wedding customs, festival celebrations, and family customs for Chinese and Vietnamese cultures. We conducted our research using secondary sources, such as the Web, along with primary sources, such as an interview. Our audience can benefit greatly because they will become comfortable with the customs of the Chinese and Vietnamese people. They can impress their friends with how knowledgeable they will become after reading our report. The audience will know what not to do so that

I was born in Vietnam and later on moved to the United States with my family. As the result, I got to expose to the both countries and got to see many differences between them, such as the differences in language, . Here are some of the examples.

Family is important to everybody that walks this earth and in Vietnam it’s no different. Marriage in Vietnam is an expected rite of passage like in most countries most kids go through this passage usually in their late teens or early twenties in order to be attain the everyday rights of adulthood. Vietnamese culture usually takes an interest in finding romantic compatibility in deciding to marry, but many will also balance family considerations when making their decision. Vietnamese prefer to marry someone of equal status, though it is better for the husband to be of slightly higher status. It is common for Vietnamese homes to be made of extended family father and mother along with kids and grandparents living together in one home. Sons stay

As a Vietnamese American, my family and I follow many American traditions. However, there is one day of the year that we always celebrate and that is the Lunar's New year. Many people called it Chinese's new year, but it is actually a holiday celebrated mainly by the people of Central and East Asia. No matter where we are, during the time of Lunar New Year everyone comes back home and be with their families. It is likewise for families to catch up and an excuse to visit far away relatives. In my own household, our Lunar New Year's tradition is going to temple, visiting our grandparents, and spending time with our relatives.

The celebratory feast began with a welcoming of the newly appointed Husband and Wife and they took their place at the long table at the front with the rest of the bridal party. The guests were seated and speeches were given by father of the groom, best man, sister of the bride and her father before the first dance occurs. The groom led the bride to the dancefloor, after her attendants bustled her train to the back of her dress, while the guests gathered around to witness the dance. The bride and groom began the dance together while the attendants danced with the groomsmen. After the dance the bride and groom cut the cake and the guests began to give small envelopes with gifts to the bride to place inside her silk bag whilst the party continues

When we discuss about the differences between Vietnamese and America culture, we can think of many things such as History, Style of Music, Arts, Religion, Language, etc. And, I will tell you some differences and similarities in eating culture of the two countries. Even though they both have things in common such as family’s dinner, tea and coffee for morning, three meals a day or small snacks between main meals. But, the food cultures of two countries are different in many ways including kinds of farmland, living style, cooking style and eating style.

I was born and raised in Vietnam in 18 years, therefore, the relationship between parents

Throughout the world, people speak with all different types of accents and dialects although I may not look like it, but the most familiar accent to me is one of oriental descent. With the increase of oriental integration into American society, I’m not the only person who is also affected by this influence. As I continue to expand my knowledge into variations of dialects I discover that even with the myriad of different languages that is located in the eastern part of the world their pronunciation is very similar.