From ancient times until now, each incense stick has become a beautiful cultural feature of the Vietnamese people. Have you ever wondered how incense is made? What ingredients are used, and is the process of producing incense simple or complex? Read the article below to answer these questions! How to Make Incense To create incense […]
For years after the war, people still kept the question of what was the war about, how was it started, and who was who. The nature of the Vietnam War then remains complicated to many, depending on different sides and perspectives. But to me, it can be seen like this: To the US and South […]
Though Indochine Francais was officially formed in 1887, the Treaty of Saigon started the French colonization in Vietnam from 1862 to 1945. During 83 years of its colonization, the French imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society. Vietnam fell under French influence in many aspects of its culture, including architecture, cuisine, religion, fashion, […]
Whenever we talk about Hanoi, we often talk about the over 1000 years of history. Hanoi has been known as an old capital city of Vietnam with its ancient values and standards. We often talk about the Old Quarter, the French architecture, and the long cultural lifestyle… of the Hanoian people. But here in this […]
Lunar New Year or Tet is the biggest festival of the year. All business stops and people have at least 4 days off to come back home joining their families to celebrate. It’s the time of family reunion, visiting friends and of course good food and lots of drinks. But Tet is not only for […]
Vietnamese people are not just following only one organized religion, instead, we tend to practice all the good things found in each religion. We are traditionally very much relying on nature’s powers, is both because we are superstitious and we are practical people who live on agriculture. Therefore, we worship various kinds of gods and […]
During our talks about Vietnamese culture, we often mention temples and pagodas. So our travelers often ask us aren’t they just the same thing? No, they are not. As a matter of fact, they are two totally different worshiping places for different religions and beliefs. So, what really are temples and pagodas, and how do […]
Among more than 94 million Vietnamese of all 54 minority groups, Buddhism is the most practiced religion. There are two types of different versions of Buddhism in Vietnam that vary in North and South Vietnam. Buddhists often go to pagodas to worship and pray in both north and south. Vietnam’s major ethnic group, the Việt, […]
In Vietnamese, the term Dao Mau refers to the worship of mother goddesses. It represents a systematic mother goddess cult, which draws together fairly disparate beliefs and practices. The worship of mother goddesses includes the worship of goddesses such as Thien Y A Na, the Lady of the Realm, the Lady of Storehouse, the Princess […]
Today I took my guests, a lovely couple from Boston, to visit the Temple of Literature in Hanoi before eating on a street food tour. And while we walked by a giant incense-burning pot decorated with two dragons my guests asked me a difficult question: “How much incense do you light at a time?” As they […]
