Christmas in Vietnam

Christmas is one of the four most important festivals of the Vietnamese year, including the birthday of Buddha, the New Year and the Mid-autumn Festival. Although the Christians observed the religious rituals of Christmas.

Traditional Vietnamese religions are Buddhism and the Chinese philosophies of Taoism and Confucianism. However, during French rule, many people became Christians, that occupy 8 to 10 percent of whose population. This is because the Vietnamese are a fun-loving, sociable people and the various Vietnam festivals and events are actually occasions for them to a gala time, all together. Christmas in Vietnam is a grand party. Tours to Vietnam

History Of Christmas In Vietnam

Christmas in Vietnam has had a tumultuous history. The Catholics are a minority in Vietnam but they used to celebrate Christmas in Vietnam quite in peace right from the days of the French rule. That is until the Communists took over political power in 1975. The church-state relations soured during that time and the Catholics were relegated to celebrating Jesus’s birthday in privacy.

Hoi an, a peaceful meeting place

Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, church-state relations have not always been smooth. However, they have been improving since the introduction of economic reforms in the late 1980s. Liberalist policies adopted since the 1980s saw Vietnam warming up to western influences and ideals and Christmas in Vietnam came back triumphantly. Now Christmas is one of the major festivals in Vietnam, celebrated with much fanfare by all religious communities. top 3 must see tourist attractions in Can Tho

Christmas in Vietnam

Phat Diem Cathedral in Ninh Binh Province is considered the spiritual home for the seven million Catholics who live in Vietnam, a predominantly Buddhist nation. Hundreds of Catholics gather for Christmas Eve Mass in the northern city of Phat Diem. Children staged a nativity play to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ - or Kito, as he is known in Vietnamese -- in front of the city's cathedral, built in 1891.

Christmas In Vietnam

Christmas in Vietnam is a huge event, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and the Vietnamese Christmas celebrations here are like any other city in the western world. The Christians in Vietnam attend a Midnight mass on Christmas Eve and return home to a sumptuous Christmas dinner. The Christmas dinner usually consists of chicken soup while wealthier people eat turkey and Christmas pudding.Christmas tree at Fortuna Hotel (Hanoi)
Christmas tree at Fortuna Hotel (Hanoi)


On Christmas Eve, Vietnamese people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, especially young people, like to go into the city centre, where there is a Catholic Cathedral. The streets are crowded with people on Christmas Eve and in the city centre cars are not allowed for the night.

People celebrate by throwing confetti, taking pictures and enjoying the Christmas decorations and lights of big hotels and department stores. Lots of cafes and restaurants are open for people to enjoy a snack!

Vietnam used to be part of the French Empire and there are still French influences in the Christmas traditions. Many Catholic churches have a big nativity crib scene or 'creche' with nearly life size statues of Mary, Joesph, baby Jesus, the shepherds and animals. In some areas of Ho Chi Minh City, usually in Catholic parishes, people have big crib scenes in front of their houses and decorate the whole street, turning it into a Christmas area! These are popular for people to visit and look at the scenes.

Also like in France, the special Christmas Eve meal is called 'reveillon' and has a 'bûche de Noël' (a chocolate cake in the shape of a log) for desert. Vietnamese people like to give presents of food and at Christmas a bûche de Noël is a popular gift. Other Christmas presents are not very common, although some young people like to exchange Christmas cards.

The Yuletide spirit of giving and sharing has been embraced with an earnest by the Vietnamese. Generous as they are, the Vietnamese give out gifts and presents in plenty during the Christmas celebrations in Vietnam. However, the children are more keen to have their stockings and shoes stuffed in with goodies from Santa’s bulging sack. The European customs of Santa Claus and the Christmas tree were popular and children would leave their shoes out on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas in Vietnamese is “Chúc Mừng Giáng Sinh”!

Kate Festival

Time: From the 30th day of the 6th month to 2nd day of the 7th month according to Cham calendar (around at the end of September and the beginning of October according to solar calendar).
Place: Po Inu Nagar Temple, Po Klong Garai Tower, Po Rome Tower (Ninh Thuan Province)
Objects of worship: Goddess Po Inu Nagar, King Po Klong Garai and King Po Rome.
Characteristics: Ritual of the Cham people. Mekong river tours

Kate Festival is the most unique festival of the Cham people. It associates with ancient towers where values of Cham culture are stored and other cultural aspects such as offerings, costumes, music instruments and hymns praising kings who made great service to the Champa Kingdom and Cham people. The festival is also an occasion for the participants to enjoy traditional arts performances of Cham people such as Apsara dance, Ginang and Paranung drum-beat, Saranai trump...

The first day is for the ritual of receiving Goddess Po Inu Nagar's costume at Po Inu Nagar Temple in Huu Duc Hamlet, Phuoc Huu Commune, Ninh Phuoc District. Legend has it that Ra Glai people are Cham people's brother. Whenever upheavals come, kings of Cham people leave their country to seek refuge and commit their royal costumes to the Ra Glai people. Therefore, at the Kate Festival every year, the Cham people have to do a ritual to welcome and receive the costumes from the Ra Glai people. In the afternoon, the Ra Glai people in Tra No Hamlet, Phuoc Ha Commune, Thuan Nam District, Ninh Thuan Province bring costume of Goddess Po Inu Nagar to Cham people. The ritual of receiving Goddess Po Inu Nagar's costume is held first because Cham people consider Po Inu Nagar as ancestress of the Cham people. She taught local people to grow rice, plant cotton, weave clothing...

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The second day (main festival day) is for Kate Festival at Po Inu Nagar Temple, Po Klong Garai Tower and Po Rome Tower. The festival takes place in three areas at the same time. In the early morning, the Ra Glai people in Phuoc Dong Hamlet, Phuoc Hau Commune, Ninh Phuoc District arrive at Po Klong Garai Tower in Do Vinh Ward, Phan Rang - Thap Cham City to hand King Po Klong Garai's costume over to the Cham people. When the procession arrives at the tower, a group of dancers will perform a welcome dance in front of the tower. After that, the ritual to ask permission of God Siva to open tower's door is held. The offerings include wine, egg, betel and areca, water mixed with aloe wood. The following rituals are bath and wear for the statue of King Po Klong Garai. Finally, a man (Kadhar) sings hymns to invite over 20 gods to attend great ritual. At the same time, participants pray the gods for health, happiness, abundant crop... The great ritual ends with a dance of ba bong (Muk Pay'u).

The similar rituals are also held at Po Inu Nagar Temple and Po Rome Tower in Hau Sanh Hamlet, Phuoc Huu Commune, Ninh Phuoc District.

The third day is for Kate Festival at Cham villages. Each Cham village worships its own God. In the morning, the ritual of worshipping God is held to pray for health, happiness, abundant crop... The offerings include 2 chickens, 5 trays of food, banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake), fruits...  During the festival, many cultural activities and games are held, such as competitions of weaving, carrying water jar on one's head, football, singing.le bring breakfast to monks and listen to the sermon. At noon, they burn the lamps, offer sacrifice gifts and bring fragrant water to bathe Buddha statues. After the ceremony at the temple, the monks go to the grave to pray for the souls of those who died. Then they go home and do Buddha bathing ceremony at their own home in order to receive forgiveness for the mistakes in the previous year.

Hue Festival

Hue Festival is a big cultural event of Hue City that is held every two years. There is a week (usually in April, May or June) for each festival season which is the occasion to honor cultural and historical values of that Vietnam's former capital city. The first Hue Festival took place in 2000. Centre Vietnam tours

At the beginning of Hue Festival, visitors can enjoy a colorful and grand opening ceremony with unique performances of several art groups from Vietnam and other countries. Hue Festival has become a space of cultural exchange between peoples all over the world. During the festival, there are variety of cultural events taking place such as Hue Poetry Festival, Massive Street Arts Performances, the Dialogue of drums and percussion instruments, Art Exhibitions, the Week of Vietnam’s historical films.

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Hue Festival

Otherwise, visitors can come and explore some traditional values of Vietnam at Gastronomy Quarters, Traditional Kite Flying Festival or watch “Ao dai” Grand Show, “Oriental night” Show, and sporting activities like boat race, human chess, etc. Especially, many ancient scenery of Nguyen Dynasty are also reproduced and provide tourists an insight into Vietnam’s feudal era. Some typical events include Nam Giao Offering Ritual, Xa Tac Offering Ritual, the Royal Refined Music of Hue which was recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2003. Hue Festival is well-known as an international festival where cultures of many countries converge together as well as where Vietnamese traditional and cultural values are widely presented to the world.