Ordinary customs in Vietnamese culture that surprises foreigners

Vietnam is a country with thousands of years of civilization with a unique culture, beliefs, and customs that are very strange to tourists. Now let’s look at some of the Vietnamese customs that surprises foreigners:

1. The first guest in the new year brings good luck

Lunar New Year is an extremely important time of the year in Vietnam. Everyone hopes luck will come to them and their loved ones. And according to Vietnamese beliefs and customs, one family luck depends very much on the first person that step foot in their house after the new year. This custom is called home storming.

To make sure the first guest comes to the house in accordance with the wishes of the homeowner, a member of the family will step out of the gate and when the clock reaches 12 pm, they will return to the house as the first guest of the family for the new year.

2. Sweeping the house is a way to get rid of bad luck 

Another custom of Vietnam makes tourists always feel strange is the prohibition of sweeping the floor on the Lunar New Year. The reason for this weird custom comes from the belief that this activity will make the fortune and luck go away from the house. Normally, families will clean the house cleanly before Tet and the first 3 days of the new year, they will not sweep the floor just to have good luck.

3. Currency for the underworld

Hell money is a kind of counterfeit money that symbolizes ancestors and dead people. Hell money is printed on paper and shaped similar to the Chinese yen, Vietnamese dong, Thai baht or even US dollars.

Vietnamese people burn hell money because they believe this action helps send money to their ancestors and their loved ones who have passed away. Some people believe that this money will help the ancestors to give good things and look after the living.

4. No haircut before any exam

Another interesting Vietnam customs is to avoid cutting hair before an exam because they believe that this makes memory worse. For students, having a haircut before taking an important exam is bad luck because they can forget what they have learned before.

5. Beliefs in Feng Sui

Vietnamese people are quite confident in feng shui. This is reflected in the meticulous arrangement of objects, furniture, and even the whole house to optimize the flow of energy, or energy, to facilitate the comedy living environment. peace. The most common belief in feng shui is the arrangement of mirrors in Vietnamese houses. In Vietnam, it is advised that you should not put a mirror on the opposite side of the door because when you go home, you may be exposed to the reflections in your mirror causing negative energy.