Folk Taboos During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Explore common Vietnamese folk taboos during pregnancy and postpartum, explaining their origins and modern scientific perspectives.
Results for "folk taboos"
Traditional systems
StartHouse-building year check
Check a building year for Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc and Tam Tai, and find a year clear of all three.
Folk Taboos for Groundbreaking, House Construction, and Housewarming
Vietnamese folk taboos for groundbreaking, construction and housewarming cover dates, directions and rituals, rooted in yin-yang and five elements.
Folk Beliefs About Taboos When a Household Has a Funeral
Folk belief holds that a funeral brings cold air affecting the living, so the sick stay away. Eastern medicine links this to yin-yang imbalance.
Folk taboos when opening a business: What you need to know
Vietnamese folk taboos for opening a business include choosing auspicious dates, avoiding the ghost month and holding opening rituals.
Saying you don't believe yet still observing taboos: why 'abstaining brings good fortune' persists even among the highly educated
Many people know a taboo has no scientific basis yet still follow it. Psychology calls this acquiescence, a mechanism that reconciles intuition and reason.
Ghost Month, the 7th Lunar Month: Folk Taboos and Buddhist Perspectives
Ghost Month in the 7th lunar month: its origins, common folk taboos, and the Buddhist view of Vu Lan as a season of gratitude and filial piety.
Folk Taboos When Making Offerings on the Full Moon and First Day of the Lunar Month
Folk taboos for offerings on the Full Moon and the first day of the lunar month, from choosing fruit and flowers to the incense burner and a reverent mindset.
Choosing a First-Foot Visitor by Age Compatibility: Folk Practice, Common Taboos, and the Limits of That Approach
Choosing a first-foot visitor by age compatibility: folk criteria, offerings, step-by-step practice, common taboos, and the limits to keep in mind.
Foods to Avoid at the Beginning of the New Year According to Folk Beliefs
Duck, squid, banana, shrimp, snail and fertilized duck eggs are avoided at new year in Vietnamese folk belief, which links them to bad luck.
Traditional Tet Taboos and Customs for Good Luck
Explore traditional Vietnamese Tet taboos: avoiding sweeping, giving fire, breaking things... and the spiritual meanings behind these customs.
The Meaning of the Tiger-Pig Six Harmonies in Eastern Folk Belief
The Tiger-Pig Six Harmonies pair in Eastern belief: its origins, yin-yang symbolism, and uses in marriage, business and feng shui for these two zodiac signs.
Checking ages for building a house in the 2027 Đinh Mùi year: which ages hit Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, Tam Tai, and why the three are not the same
Checking ages for building a house in 2027 Đinh Mùi: how Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc and Tam Tai are calculated, and why an age can break one and not the others.
The Custom of "Father Must Stay Home Until Baby Is Named" of the Pu Peo People
Among the Pu Peo, a father stays home until his newborn is named, three days for girls and five for boys, to guard against evil spirits.
The Meaning of the Four Clashing Signs: Tiger - Monkey - Snake - Pig in Eastern Folk Belief
The Four Clashing Signs in Eastern folk belief are the Tiger, Monkey, Snake and Pig, two opposing pairs that reflect yin-yang balance.
What Is Cửu Độc in the Fifth Lunar Month, What Is Avoided, and Where Did It Come From?
Cửu Độc: nine days of the fifth lunar month (5-7, 15-17, 25-27). What the Kinh Sở tuế thời ký says, what is avoided, and solar dates for 2026 to 2030.
Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: The Meaning of the 'Absolution of the Dead' Ritual in Folk Belief
The Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month blends Buddhist and Taoist roots, with offerings for wandering spirits.
Choosing an Auspicious Year to Build a House: Kim Lau, Hoang Oc, Tam Tai, and the Vietnamese Custom of Borrowing Age
Kim Lau, Hoang Oc and Tam Tai restrictions shape the Vietnamese custom of borrowing age to pick a year for building a house.
No Scientific Basis Does Not Mean Worthless: Reading Folk Belief as Cultural Heritage Rather Than as a Truth Claim
Folk belief is not science, but that does not make it worthless. The right way to read it is as cultural heritage, a symbolic language of community.
What Beliefs Do Vietnamese People Follow? A Map of Major Folk Beliefs and How They Differ from Religion
Vietnamese people rarely follow one religion; they layer ancestor worship, Thành hoàng, Mother Goddess, Hùng Vương and farming rites in daily life.
Traditional Wedding Taboos in Vietnam
Vietnamese wedding taboos include age compatibility and the bride not looking back. Experts say happiness depends on mutual understanding.
What Is Trùng Tang, and Why Do Vietnamese Choose the Hour of Coffining and Avoid Certain Burial Days: Funerals Seen from Anthropology
Trùng tang, the hour of coffining and avoided burial days are folk beliefs from Bắc Kỳ; anthropology reads them as easing unease when someone dies.
Nguyệt Kỵ and Dương Công kỵ nhật: What Hiệp Kỷ Biện Phương Thư Records and What It Rejects
Hiệp Kỷ Biện Phương Thư records Nguyệt Kỵ and rejects Dương Công kỵ nhật. An analysis of the original Chinese text, separating old rules from folk beliefs.
Vietnamese Lunar New Year Customs and the Meaning Behind Each Ritual
Vietnamese Lunar New Year customs: the Kitchen Gods send-off, New Year's Eve rites, first-footing, and lucky money, with the meaning behind each.
From the 1st to the 7th day of Tet, what does each day mean in Vietnam? Customs and significance
Vietnamese Tet customs from day 1 to 7: first-footing, New Year greetings, votive paper burning and khai hạ, with their meanings and regional differences.
What is Kim Lâu?
Kim Lâu is a Vietnamese folk taboo checked before building a house or marrying, found by dividing lunar age by nine, with remainders of 1, 3, 6 or 8.
Choosing Auspicious Times and Directions for the First Outing of the Year: The Lucky Customs of Tet's First Day
The first outing and calligraphy of the new year are Vietnamese luck-bringing customs. See how times and directions are chosen by lunar calendar and deities.
Borrowing an Age to Build a House: the Custom, and Where It Must Stop
What age-borrowing means before building a house in Vietnam, how the stand-in is chosen, the five customary steps, and why the symbolic sale is ritual only.
Meanings of Each Fruit in the Five-Fruit Tray for Tet
The five-fruit tray for Tet carries wishes through bananas, pomelos, papayas and mangoes, with regional differences between North and South Vietnam.
What Northern Vietnamese Tet Celebrations Include: Offering Trays, Peach Blossoms and Three Days of Family Reunion
Tết in northern Vietnam: the feast tray, Nhật Tân peach blossom, the Hàng Lược flower market and three days of family reunion, with origins and meaning.
What is Hoang Ốc?
Hoang Ốc is a Vietnamese folk taboo checked before building a house, sorting lunar age into six positions, three of which are considered unfavourable.
Should You Build a House, Marry, or Have a Child in Your Zodiac Year? How to Calculate Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, Tam Tai, and Understand Them Correctly
Zodiac year taboos on building, marrying, or having a child, how Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc, and Tam Tai are calculated by lunar age, and why methods differ.
First-day Tet travel for the 2027 Lunar New Year: how to choose the hour and direction, and where sources disagree
First-day Tet travel for 2027: how to choose the hour and direction, prepare offerings, and follow the route, plus why sources disagree on the calculations.
The Lao Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Lao in Vietnam call themselves Thay and Thay Duon, speak a Tay-Thai language, live in Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Son La, and keep ancestor altars.
Unique Rain-Praying Ceremony (Tra Hat) of the Khmer Mu People
Explore the Tra Hat rain-praying festival of the Khmer Mu people in Dien Bien: origins, rituals, offerings, and profound agricultural cultural significance.
How to Calculate Hoang Ốc for House-Building: the Six Positions Explained
The Hoang Ốc count used before building a house in Vietnam: the six positions and why the digit-sum shortcut gives the same answer.
How does the first-visitor custom differ between the North, Huế and the South of Vietnam?
Xông đất, xông nhà and đạp đất are one new-year custom. Books on the North, Huế and the South differ on its name, lộc-picking and the vào khem wait.
What is Vietnamese lunar age?
Tuổi mụ is the Vietnamese lunar way of counting age: current year minus birth year, plus one, and folk calculations use this number.
Why Southerners Avoid Bananas on Tet: The Mekong Delta's Five-Fruit Tray
In the Mekong Delta, bananas are avoided on Tet because 'chuoi' sounds like 'chui', or to plunge. The five-fruit tray instead follows 'Cau Vua Du Xai'.
The Hre People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Hre live in western Quang Ngai and An Lao in Binh Dinh, speak a Mon-Khmer language and hold the buffalo sacrifice as their largest rite.
How Are Rice Offerings Made on the First Three Days of Tết? Accounts from the North, Huế and the South
Cúng cơm ba ngày Tết covers the first, second and third day rites: Nguyên đán, Chiêu điện, Tịch điện and the Tạ ceremony, with regional differences.
The "ngu mai" (communal sleeping) custom in courtship and marriage of the Tho people in Nghe An
The "ngu mai" custom of the Tho people in Nghe An lets young men and women talk overnight at festivals, strictly governed by customary law before marriage.
Lost Items and the Ong Dia Prayer: The Vietnamese Custom of Finding Lost Things, Divination Sticks, and What to Do First When Something Goes Missing
When something goes missing, many Vietnamese families pray to Ong Dia, the Earth God, promising an offering if it turns up. Search first, then try the ritual.
What Do Moles on the Neck, Shoulders, Back, and Belly Mean in Classical Physiognomy Books?
Classical physiognomy reads moles by place and colour: hidden ones are mostly lucky, the navel means a noble son, the nape authority, mid-waist a bad sign.
Long Tong Festival of the Tay People: The First Plowing Ceremony and Cultural Values
Long Tong, the Tay people's first plowing festival of spring, features rites to the Agriculture God and folk games wishing for a good year.
Muong Ethnic Wedding Customs
Explore the unique wedding customs of the Muong people in Thanh Hoa: from elopement and ancestor worship to bride-price negotiations and wedding day taboos.
Traditional Wedding Attire of the Ede Bride: Indigo Hues, Brocade, and Dowry
Ede bridal attire is handwoven brocade on a dark indigo base with red and yellow patterns, also a dowry in matrilineal weddings.
