Vietnam is the country of festivities which take place all year round, especially in spring when there is little farming work. The major festivities are Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year), Mid-First month, Han thuc (cold food), Doan Ngo (double five), and Mid-Seventh month, Mid-Autumn Festival, Ong tao (the god of the kitchen) etc... Each region has its own ritual holidays, the most important of which are agricultural rituals (such as the rituals of praying for rain, getting down to the rice field, and new rice...) and trades' rituals (like the rituals of copper casting, forging, making fire crackers, and boat racing...). Besides, there are also rituals dedicating to national heroes and religious and cultural services (e.g., Buddhist rituals). Ritual holidays are usually divided into two parts: the service is carried out for blesses and thanksgivings, the holiday is the cultural activities of the community consisting of many folk games and contests.
There are a lot of major and minor festivals in Vietnam, and mostly are based on the lunar calendar. The minor festivals are mostly either, religious, based upon pagodas and temples, or village festivals celebrating significant events. Most of the ethnic minority groups also hold regular festivals, often with important ritual significances relating to the cycle of the year.
Tet Nguyen-Dan festival (New Year’s Day) , Phu Giay festival, Perfume Pagoda festival, Chu Dong Tu festival, Pure Brightness festivals, and Mid-Autumn festival are examples of Vietnam’s festivals.
Vietnamese enjoy card games called “to tom”; board games such as chess, “human chess” in which people wearing the insignia of the various pieces moved about a giant outdoor board under the directions of the primary players, and dao dai which is called “hitting the dish”.
Affluent urban Vietnamese often visit Western-style bars and nightclubs or socialise at coffeehouses, movie houses or internet service centres. Vietnamese also enjoy playing sports such as martial arts (Vo Viet Nam), soccer, volleyball and table tennis which require little equipment and facilities.
Vietnam has emerged as a very competitive area for sports in Asia. Martial arts are quite common as are a variety of sports such as soccer, football, running, tennis, and more. Vietnam is also beginning to emerge as a real player in the world of golf with courses from Vungtau to further north up the coast.
While one often gets the impression that life never slows down in Vietnam, the Vietnamese actually display the adage "work hard, play hard" well! Activities range from wonderful amusement parks such as Dem Sen park in Saigon, the Ice House in Saigon with its many hand carved ice sculptures including a very cool indoor ice slide that will delight you especially when the outside temperatures are above 32c! There are fabulous beaches up and down Vietnam's coast with beaches in Danang being named in the top 20 of the world's greatest beaches. Phan Thiet, which is only about 3 hours up the coast from Saigon, is world class and there is an abundance of sightseeing there as well as throughout the country that will please even the best travelled. From the incredible Halong Bay in the north to the far reaches of the Mekong, there's an abundance of leisure activities along with incredible food to keep your energy levels up throughout the country to keep you well pleased with your adventure in Vietnam.
Entertainment is something else that you will not find difficult to find in Vietnam. From the world famous mua roi nuoc-water puppets in Hanoi, the arts in Saigon, to even the most common of entertainments such as taking in a movie in a real air-conditioned movie theatre, there is an abundance of things one has available to do in the country. Sometimes it's also just interesting to sit at a cafe sipping a Vietnamese coffee like Trung Nguyen and watch the frenetic pace of the country unfold before your very eyes!
If shopping is something you enjoy, please note that shops are generally open from 7 or 8am to 11 or 11:30pm. Some are open from 1 or 2pm to 4 or 5pm.
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