TL;DR: Customs and traditions (phong tục tập quán) are habits, rituals, and ways of behaving deeply embedded in a community's life, passed down through generations and changing little over time. In Vietnam they are tied to wet-rice agriculture, ancestor worship, and Tet celebrations. Representative practices such as the Kitchen God offering on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, wrapping bánh chưng, ancestor worship, and burning votive paper after rituals are still maintained by Vietnamese communities at home and abroad, with some variation by region and living conditions.
Phong tục tập quán (customs and practices) is one of the foundational concepts of Vietnamese culture, but not everyone clearly distinguishes it from phong cách (style), tập quán (habit), or religious ritual. This article presents the definition, origins, formation mechanisms and representative customs of the Vietnamese people, especially during the traditional Tết (lunar new year).
What Are Phong Tục Tập Quán?
Phong tục tập quán are the habits, rituals and ways of behaving that have sunk deep into the life of a community, passed from one generation to the next and changing little over time. The concept comprises two elements: "phong tục" refers to habits that have become established patterns in daily life, while "tập quán" emphasises the repetitive, communal nature of those habits. In Vietnamese, the two words often go together because they complement each other in meaning: phong tục is what has become customary practice, tập quán is what the majority do together.
An important distinction: phong tục tập quán is not law, nor is it entirely religious belief. It sits in between, carrying both a soft obligation (those who do not follow it are judged as strange, as lacking in propriety) and a voluntary quality (people follow it because they were taught to, because it feels familiar, because they want to be like the community).
Where Do Phong Tục Tập Quán Come From?
Vietnamese phong tục tập quán formed from three main sources: the natural environment and a wet-rice agricultural economy, the need to organise communal life, and the process of cultural contact and exchange over many centuries. The wet-rice civilisation required people to observe the weather, divide work according to the crop season, and join together against floods and pests. From this arose rituals such as cầu mùa (prayer for a good harvest), the custom of worshipping the rice god, the custom of offering new rice, and the taboos observed during the first days of the year. People in the past believed that only by performing these rituals correctly would the harvest be favourable and the family be at peace.
The second source is the need to bind the community together. Customs such as the village festival, the ancestor anniversary, weddings, funerals, visits when someone is ill, and housewarming celebrations all serve to connect members of the clan and the village. They define who is responsible for what, who is entitled to what, and thereby maintain social order without the need for hard law.
The third source is cultural exchange. Through many centuries of contact with Chinese, Indian and later Western cultures, the Vietnamese selectively absorbed many elements and then transformed them to suit local conditions. For example, the custom of ancestor worship in Vietnam bears strong indigenous marks despite Confucian influence; the custom of worshipping ông Công ông Táo (the Kitchen Gods) on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is a product of the meeting between the indigenous belief in a kitchen deity and the Sinicised conception of Táo quân.
How Do Phong Tục Tập Quán Change Over Time?
Phong tục tập quán is maintained through four main mechanisms: oral transmission, imitation, education within the family and clan, and repetition according to time cycles. Oral transmission is the most important mechanism in communities where writing was not widespread. Adults tell children the legend of bánh chưng and bánh giầy, the legend of Táo quân, the legend of betel and areca; children listen and remember, and grow up to do the same. Imitation takes place during festivals, when the whole village participates in a ritual, and newcomers learn from those who came before without needing an explanation of the reason.
Education within the family and clan plays a special role. Grandparents teach children how to arrange an offering tray, how to light incense, how to recite prayers, how to behave with relatives during Tết. These lessons are not found in books but in practice. Therefore, when a family migrates elsewhere, they can still re-establish most of their old customs thanks to those practical memories.
Repetition according to time cycles is an important reinforcing mechanism. Tết comes once a year, the ancestor anniversary comes once a year, weddings and funerals occur on their occasions. It is this cyclical quality that keeps customs from being forgotten: people do not need to remember them continuously, they only need to perform them again when the occasion arrives, and each repetition is a transmission to the next generation.
However, phong tục tập quán also changes. Living conditions change, the social environment changes, and the new generation makes different choices. In large cities, many families no longer have enough space to wrap bánh chưng, nor enough time to prepare an offering tray by hand. They turn to buying pre-wrapped bánh chưng, ordering pre-cooked trays, or simplifying the rituals. This is not the loss of custom but the transformation of custom to suit new conditions.
What Are the Most Representative Vietnamese Customs?
The Custom of Worshipping ông Công ông Táo on the 23rd Day of the Twelfth Lunar Month
The custom of worshipping ông Công ông Táo is one of the rituals that opens the traditional Tết. According to folk belief, Táo quân is the deity who watches over the kitchen in the family, and on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month he ascends to heaven to report on the household's affairs and conduct over the past year. The offering is usually made in the morning or at noon on the 23rd, with a savoury offering tray of traditional dishes, incense and lamps, tea and wine, and votive paper. After the ceremony, the family burns the votive paper and sends Táo quân back to heaven. On the 30th day of Tết, many families hold a ceremony to welcome Táo quân back.
In a Vietnam News Agency report published on 2 February 2024, reporters Đỗ Sinh and Huy Tiến recorded that the family of Mr Nguyễn Văn Hòa and Mrs Võ Thị Bình, overseas Vietnamese in Thailand, still maintain the offering to ông Công ông Táo on exactly the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, with an offering tray carrying the flavours of their home provinces of Quảng Bình and Huế, including bánh chưng, pickled vegetables, a whole boiled chicken, shredded chicken salad, steamed shrimp, ram, beef stew, mung bean sticky rice, ginger jam, coconut jam and tomato jam[1]. A notable point is that on the altar there was a small bowl of water with three goldfish, in keeping with the custom of sending Táo quân to heaven by carp or goldfish. Mr Hòa said he had driven to the Chatuchak market in Bangkok to find and buy the three goldfish[1].
The Custom of Ancestor Worship
Ancestor worship is the custom at the centre of Vietnamese spiritual life. Each family usually has an ancestor altar placed in the most solemn part of the house, with an incense bowl, a lamp, a water cup, and often a tablet or photograph of the deceased. On death anniversaries, Tết, the fifteenth and the first day of the lunar month, the head of the household lights incense and makes offerings. The offerings may be a savoury rice tray, fruit, cakes, depending on each family's circumstances.
The custom of ancestor worship in Vietnam is distinctly indigenous, differing from many forms of religious worship in that it is tied to bloodline and clan rather than to a supreme deity. Vietnamese people worship their grandparents, parents and ancestors within their own clan, not a deity shared by the whole community. For this reason, ancestor worship has enduring vitality and is little affected by religious change.
The Custom of Wrapping Bánh Chưng and Bánh Giầy
Bánh chưng and bánh giầy are tied to the legend of Lang Liêu, one of the legends about the origin of the traditional Tết. The legend tells that the sixth Hùng king wanted to choose a successor and so ordered his sons to present offerings. Lang Liêu, the poorest son, was told by a deity in a dream to make bánh chưng and bánh giầy from glutinous rice, mung beans and pork. The king found the two cakes delicious and meaningful, and so passed the throne to Lang Liêu. This legend is usually said to date from the Hùng Vương era, but modern scholars do not treat it as a proven historical event, rather as a folk legend reflecting the way people in the past conceived of heaven and earth and the harvest.
In a Vietnam News Agency report, the offering tray to ông Công ông Táo of the overseas Vietnamese family in Thailand included bánh chưng, showing that the custom of wrapping bánh chưng exists not only at home but is also maintained in communities of Vietnamese far from their homeland[1].
The Custom of Burning Votive Paper After the Offering
Burning votive paper is the ritual of burning joss paper after the offering concludes. Folk belief holds that votive paper is the means by which the living send to the deceased the things they need in the world beyond. This custom is usually performed outdoors in the yard, after the incense has gone out and the head of the household has finished the prayers. In a Vietnam News Agency report, the family of Mr Nguyễn Văn Hòa in Thailand burned votive paper in the yard right after the offering, in keeping with the customs of their homeland[1].
The Custom of Du Xuân at the Start of the Year
Du xuân is the custom of going out, visiting relatives and friends during the first days of the new year. Vietnamese people believe that in the first days of the year one should travel and meet people so that the whole year will be fortunate and prosperous. Du xuân is also an occasion for children to visit grandparents and parents, and for relatives near and far to meet again. In a Vietnam News Agency report, the family of Mr Nguyễn Văn Hòa planned a du xuân trip to northeastern Thailand, where his parents first set foot long ago, to revisit old scenes and meet Vietnamese friends[1].
How Have Phong Tục Tập Quán Changed in Modern Life?
Today, Vietnamese phong tục tập quán exists in a new context: urbanisation, labour migration, international integration and the development of technology. These factors both create conditions for customs to spread more widely and pose challenges to maintaining them.
In terms of spread, Vietnamese communities abroad play an important role. A Vietnam News Agency report noted that most Vietnamese families in Bangkok still follow the tradition of celebrating Tết from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, and Mrs Nguyễn Thị Lý, a member of the Association of Vietnamese People in Bangkok and Surrounding Areas, said that although they are far from their homeland, people still always follow the news in Vietnam in order to teach their children to do the same, preserving forever the fine traditions of their people[1]. This shows that phong tục tập quán can cross geographical distance if the community is conscious of preserving it.
In terms of challenges, the pace of urban life causes many rituals to be simplified. Preparing an offering tray for Tết requires time and effort, while many workers have enough of neither. Some families turn to ordering pre-cooked trays or buying ready-prepared offerings. This is a change in form, but in essence it still preserves the meaning of the ritual: remembering ancestors, wishing for good fortune in the new year.
How Is Phong Tục Tập Quán Different from Related Concepts?
| Concept | Main characteristics | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Phong tục tập quán | Habits and rituals passed from generation to generation, communal in nature | Worshipping ông Công ông Táo, wrapping bánh chưng |
| Belief | Faith in supernatural forces, usually with a specific object of worship | Worship of the Thành hoàng (village guardian spirit), worship of the Mẫu (Mother Goddesses) |
| Religion | A system of doctrine, organisation and strict ritual, with a founder and a church | Buddhism, Catholicism |
| Festival | An event gathering many people, with ritual and festivities, usually tied to a particular time | Hương Pagoda Festival, Lim Festival |
| Law | Rules issued by the state, with binding force and sanctions | Law on Marriage and Family |
The table above shows that phong tục tập quán differs from belief in that it is not necessarily tied to faith in deities, differs from religion in that it has no doctrine or strict organisation, differs from festival in that it takes place regularly and does not necessarily gather many people, and differs from law in that it has no state sanctions.
Why Does Phong Tục Tập Quán Still Matter?
Phong tục tập quán matters for three reasons. First, it is a means of transmitting cultural identity. When a community loses its customs, that community loses part of its shared memory, part of the way it recognises who it is. Second, it is a mechanism for social cohesion. Shared rituals such as ancestor anniversaries, Tết celebrations and village festivals create occasions for people to meet and share, and thereby strengthen relationships. Third, it is a treasury of indigenous knowledge. How to choose glutinous rice, how to wrap cakes, how to cook an offering tray, how to arrange the tray, how to recite prayers, how to behave with relatives: all are knowledge accumulated over many generations.
However, one should avoid an attitude that absolutises custom. Not every custom is good, and not every custom needs to be kept unchanged. Some customs, such as excessively heavy wedding practices, prolonged funeral practices, or extreme taboos, can be harmful to individuals and families. Preserving customs needs to go hand in hand with selecting and removing elements that no longer suit modern life and humane values.
Conclusion
Vietnamese phong tục tập quán is a complex system, formed from natural conditions, communal needs and cultural exchange, maintained through oral transmission, imitation, family education and cyclical repetition. Representative customs such as worshipping ông Công ông Táo, ancestor worship, wrapping bánh chưng, burning votive paper and du xuân are still maintained by Vietnamese communities at home and abroad, albeit with changes in form. Understanding phong tục tập quán clearly helps us not only know where we come from but also know how to engage with cultural values in a rapidly changing world.
