In Vietnam, there are many religions such as Buddhism, Hoà Hảo Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Confucianism, Catholicism, Protestantism. Besides religions, in Vietnam, there are folk beliefs. This article helps you know them so that you can easily communicate Vietnamese people when coming to this S-shaped country.
Worshipping gods
The ancient Vietnamese people believed that everything had a soul, so people worshiped many gods, originally, they worshiped the god of the sun, the god of the moon, the god of the earth, the god of the river, the god of the sea, the god of thunder, the god of the rain and so on, which associated with the agricultural life. They also worshiped Shennong, who oversaw the fields, Rice God and Corn God in the hope of always having enough food. Not only the gods were associated with the material life but peoples also worshipped the gods associated with their spiritual life; Vietnamese people worshipped Thanh Hoang gods (gods control villages), national heroes, gods of Mother Religion which were the gods who Vietnamese people believe that they have made great contributions to the country and villages. Like the Chinese, the Vietnamese worshipped Fortune, Earth God. Like many other nations in the world, Vietnamese people also worshipped God. God’s altar was usually placed in front of a house. The above gods worshipping custom has still exited until now.
Budha statues at a pagoda in Vietnam.
An altar for worshipping gods in Vietnam.
Worshipping ancestors
Ancestor worship is a long tradition of Vietnamese people. They believe that the spirits of their ancestors are also next to the descendants and bless them. Because of that, every family has an ancestor altar which is placed in the most solemn place in the house. Every evening they lit incense, and every early morning they offer tea water. On the first day and the full moon, they display fruit on the altar decently. In addition, on the death anniversary and the Lunar New Year, they organize a big party to offer the ancestor. Talking about ancestor worshipping custom, everyone knows of a common death anniversary of Vietnamese people, which is King Hung Vuong’s death anniversary on March 10th of the lunar calendar.
The beautiful wooden altar for worshipping ancestors in Vietnam.
