Wedding Vietnam and America

Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh – 17DH711370

Similarities and diffrences in wedding customs of VietNam and England.

Each country in the world has its own traditional customs because of diffrences in culture. People who like discovering traditions and customs of other countries find it hard to concentrate on the whole matter at a same time. Therefore we should mention one custom individually, then analize it. “Wedding customs” is an interesting topic. It attracts much care of young pepole. Wedding is very important to one’s life, not only to the couple involved but also for both families. Thus, it usually includes quite a few formal ritual observances. The process of wedding in Vietnam (an Asian country) and England (a Western country) is different from each other. This research will bring to you common knowledge about wedding customs in the two countries above such as engagement, wedding ceremony, Preparation for wedding ceremony.

Firstly, engagement - giving useful information and illustrations to help Vietnamese who are interested in the English culture or now are living there know how a wedding is organized. And also help English people understand Vietnam wedding traditions. In Vietnam, the groom’s family and relatives go to bride’s house. They bring about three or twelve trays (It depends on the finance of the groom’s family) that contain betel leaves and areca nuts , wines, cigarettes, etc. People who hold the trays all wear traditional dress ao dai, normally red ao dai because red is a symbol of happiness. The groom’s parents ask for permisson for their son to get marriage. In the engagement , two families discussed the date of marriage very carefully. Vietnamese consider that suitable time and date of wedding affect much their future. In England, before wedding, bride and groom organize a party as an engagement party. Families, relatives, friends of bride and groom join together, they are witnesses of the coming marriage. The couple then give reasons of the party to guest. They exchange rings and cut the cake. The original purpose for an engagement ring was a sign that a woman was purchased and belonged to the groom to be. The first people to use rings in a romantic way were the French. In the sixteenth century they used gimmal rings. These rings are intertwined, but had a little slit in the gold so that during the engagement each person wore one of the rings. Gradually, English find it interesting and follow that.

Secondly, wedding ceremony - the youth in particular distinguish the different feature in wedding customs between two cultures.  In Vietnam, on the wedding day, the groom’s family and relatives go to the bride’s house bringing a lot of gifts wrapped in red papers. These gifts are similar to those of the engagement betel leaves and areca nuts, liquor, fruits, cakes, tea. Those who carry these trays are also carefully chosen, usually they are happily married. Women are all dressed in ao dai. Men could be in their suit or men traditional costume. Today, a lot of Vietnamese couples have their wedding ceremony done in chuches which is very much similar to American and Western style, including exchanging vows and wedding rings. A wedding banquet is scheduled in the evening at a hotel or a big restaurant. At the banquet, the groom, bride, and their family are once again introduces to the guests and everyone will drink a toast. Dinner will be served at the tables. The guest in return, will give envelopes containing wedding cards and money gifts to the newly wedded couples along with their blessing. A lot of wedding nowadays are followed by a dancing party, which is opened by the groom and the bride’s first dance. The newly wedded couples then leaves for their honey moon. In England, unlike the wedding ceremony in Vietnam such as the officiant typically announces the purpose of the gathering, indiacates the names of the bride and groom, welcome the guests and solicits them to participate in the ceremony by their presence and perhaps, their prayer. The portion of the ceremony might also include religious or other readings by the officiant or by other person who have been asked by the bride and groom to speak. Exchange of Rings which the couple, usually reapeating phrases at the officiant’s direction, declare their commitment to one another and place a wedding ring on the hand of their betrothed. The ceremonial order is usually preceded by a processional, in which the wedding party members enter the ceremonial location, and is followed by a recessional.