Results for "kiêng kỵ"

Knowledge articles (40)

Traditional Wedding Taboos in Vietnam

Explore common taboos in traditional Vietnamese weddings, from age compatibility checks, engagement ceremonies to bride pickup and wedding rites, with an objective view on their cultural significance.

Folk taboos

Folk Taboos During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Explore common Vietnamese folk taboos during pregnancy and postpartum, explaining their origins and modern scientific perspectives.

Folk taboos

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.

Folk taboos

Folk Beliefs About Taboos When a Household Has a Funeral

Explore folk beliefs about taboos during a household funeral, from avoiding cold air and the sick not attending funerals to traditional etiquette, with scientific and Eastern medicine perspectives for balanced understanding.

Folk taboos

Folk Taboos for Groundbreaking, House Construction, and Housewarming

Explore Vietnamese folk taboos around groundbreaking, house construction, and housewarming, from choosing dates and directions to rituals and forbidden items, helping you understand and apply them sensibly.

Folk taboos

Folk Taboos When Making Offerings on the Full Moon and First Day of the Lunar Month

Explore important folk taboos when making offerings on the Full Moon and the first day of the lunar month, from choosing offerings and arranging the altar to maintaining a reverent mindset.

Traditional food

Foods to Avoid at the Beginning of the New Year According to Folk Beliefs

Explore foods often avoided at the start of the new year according to Vietnamese folk beliefs, along with explanations of their origins and cultural perspectives.

Folk taboos

Folk taboos when opening a business: What you need to know

Explore common folk taboos when opening a business in Vietnam, from choosing auspicious dates, avoiding the ghost month to opening rituals, giving you a balanced view between belief and business reality.

Folk taboos

Ghost Month, the 7th Lunar Month: Folk Taboos and Buddhist Perspectives

Explore the origins of the Ghost Month, common folk taboos, and the Buddhist view of Vu Lan, helping you understand correctly to live peacefully and avoid superstition.

Tet customs

Choosing a First-Foot Visitor by Age Compatibility: Folk Practice, Common Taboos, and the Limits of That Approach

A practical guide to choosing a first-foot visitor by age compatibility: folk criteria, offerings, step-by-step practice, taboos, and the limits to keep in mind.

Ethnic minority customs

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.

Feng shui

Ancestor Altar Feng Shui: Proper Arrangement for a Vietnamese Family Home

A guide to ancestor altar feng shui: where to place the altar, how to arrange the incense bowl and photos, lighting principles, and taboos to avoid.

Tet and seasonal rites

Choosing Auspicious Times and Directions for the First Outing of the Year: The Lucky Customs of Tet's First Day

Discover the meaning, methods of choosing auspicious times and directions for the first outing and calligraphy of the new year in Vietnamese customs, along with taboos to note on Tet's first day.

Folk taboos

Why Southerners Avoid Bananas on Tet: The Mekong Delta's Five-Fruit Tray

Discover why people in the Mekong Delta avoid bananas during Tet, along with the meaning of the 'Cau Vua Du Xai' motto and the 'du' fruit in the Southern five-fruit tray.

Tet and seasonal rites

Cold Food Festival on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month: Why Vietnamese people offer bánh trôi, bánh chay despite not abstaining from fire like the original legend

Explore the origins of the Cold Food Festival, its unique Vietnamization through bánh trôi and bánh chay, and the deep cultural and spiritual meanings of this day in Vietnam.

Folk taboos

The Custom of "Father Must Stay Home Until Baby Is Named" of the Pu Peo People

Discover the unique Pu Peo custom where a father must stay home until his child is named. Learn about the beliefs in souls, the Mother Goddess, and the three-tiered world behind this taboo.

Folk taboos

Choosing an Auspicious Year to Build a House: Kim Lau, Hoang Oc, Tam Tai, and the Vietnamese Custom of Borrowing Age

Explore the details of Kim Lau, Hoang Oc, and Tam Tai restrictions when choosing a year to build a house, their origins, calculation methods, and a scientific feng shui perspective on the Vietnamese custom of borrowing age for construction.

Festival customs

Vietnamese Lunar New Year Customs and the Meaning Behind Each Ritual

A summary of traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year customs: the Kitchen Gods send-off, New Year's Eve rites, first-footing, lucky money, and their cultural meaning.

Date and hour selection

Choosing Year-End Dates: Year-End Gathering, Altar Cleaning, Debt Repayment, and New Year Opening

How to choose year-end dates for the year-end gathering, altar cleaning, debt repayment, and business opening: core principles, different schools of thought, and flexible application without superstition.

Traditional food

What Makes Vietnamese Traditional Cuisine Distinctive Across Regions?

An overview of Vietnamese traditional cuisine by region: Tet dishes, ancestral trays, festivals, vegetarian food and local specialties, with cultural context.

Traditional food

Meanings of Each Fruit in the Five-Fruit Tray for Tet

Explore the symbolic meanings of each fruit in the Tet five-fruit tray, from bananas, pomelos, papayas to mangoes, coconuts, and the regional differences between North and South Vietnam.

Folk belief

Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: The Meaning of the 'Absolution of the Dead' Ritual in Folk Belief

Explore the deep meaning of the Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month (Vu Lan/Ulambana), its Buddhist and Taoist origins, along with unique rituals, offerings, and folk beliefs of Vietnamese people.

Tet and seasonal rites

Cold Foods Festival and the Custom of Making Bánh Trôi, Bánh Chay as Ancestral Offerings

Explore the origins, meanings, and distinctions of the Cold Foods Festival (3rd day of the 3rd lunar month) in Vietnamese culture, tied to the custom of making bánh trôi and bánh chay for ancestral offerings.

Traditional food

Banh Troi and Banh Chay: The Culinary Soul of Cold Foods Festival on the 3rd Day of the 3rd Lunar Month

Explore the cultural significance and culinary soul of Banh Troi and Banh Chay on Vietnam's Cold Foods Festival (3rd day of 3rd lunar month), from origins and localization to cooking tips.

Folk taboos

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 the point that matters most: the symbolic sale is ritual only and must never be carried out as a real transfer of title.

Regional comparison

Comparing Tet Feast Trays Across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam

Discover the differences in traditional Tet feast trays across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam – from ingredients and arrangement to the unique cultural meanings of each region.

Folk belief

The Worship of Ca Ong: The Guardian Deity of Central Vietnamese Fishermen

Discover the worship of Ca Ong (whale) among central Vietnamese fishermen: its origins, rituals, tomb architecture, scientific perspectives, and maritime cultural significance.

Numerology

Meaning of Number 3 in Eastern Numerology

Discover the profound meaning of number 3 in Eastern numerology: a symbol of growth, creativity, and the Three Realms. This article analyzes from cultural, philosophical, and psychological perspectives to help you understand and apply it positively.

Life-cycle rites

Cap Sac Ceremony of the Dao People: The Most Sacred Coming-of-Age Ritual in a Man's Life

Discover the humanistic significance and distinctive rituals of the Cap Sac ceremony of the Dao Dau Bang people in Lai Chau, a rite marking the sacred transition of men before ancestors, deities, and the community.

Tet customs

The First-Foot Custom at Lunar New Year: Origins, How Old Vietnamese Chose the First Visitor, and How the Custom Is Changing

First-footing is an old Vietnamese Tet custom: the first person to enter a home after midnight is believed to carry the year's fortune. Here is its origin and how it is changing.

Date selection

How to Read Good and Bad Days in the Traditional Vietnamese Almanac

A basic guide to reading good and bad days in the traditional Vietnamese almanac: day Stems-and-Branches, Yellow/Black Path days, and factors to cross-check.

Folk taboos

How to Calculate Hoang Ốc for House-Building: the Six Positions Explained

A step-by-step guide to the Hoang Ốc count used before building a house in Vietnam: the six positions, the traditional tens-then-units method, a full lookup table for ages 10 to 75, and why the digit-sum shortcut gives the same answer.

Feng shui

Fire Element People , Five Elements Characteristics and Generative/Destructive Interactions

Explore the characteristics of Fire element people in the Five Elements, their generative and destructive interactions with other elements, and how to apply colors and objects for energy balance.

Traditional festivals

The Whale Worship Belief and Nghinh Ong Festival of Coastal Fishermen

Explore the whale worship belief of Vietnamese fishermen, from its origins, burial rituals, taboos to the typical Nghinh Ong festivals in Nghe An, Can Tho and other coastal regions.

Feng shui

Kitchen Feng Shui , principles for an auspicious layout

Discover kitchen feng shui principles: location, stove direction, colors, and remedies to attract wealth and health for your family.

Ancestor worship

Ancestor Worship Ceremony with the Unique 'Ma Co' Dance of the Lo Lo People

Explore the unique ancestor worship ceremony of the Lo Lo people in Ha Giang, where 'Ma Co' (grass ghosts) in grass costumes act as a bridge between descendants and ancestors.

Life-cycle rites

The Grave-Leaving Ceremony (Po Thi) of the Jrai People: A Ritual Farewell to the Deceased

Discover the Grave-Leaving Ceremony (Po Thi) of the Jrai people: a vital ritual bidding farewell to the dead as they journey to the ancestral world, freeing the living from mourning ties. Explore its meaning, rites, and community value.

Traditional food

Three Offering Trays on the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: Offerings to Buddha, Ancestors, and Wandering Souls

Discover the meanings and arrangements of the three offering trays on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month: a pure vegetarian tray for Buddha, a full tray for ancestors, and a tray with distinctive offerings for wandering souls.

Ancestor worship

Why Vietnamese worship on the first day of the lunar month: the meaning of the Sóc day in folk belief

Explore the origin, spiritual and cultural meaning of the Vietnamese custom of worshiping on the first day of the lunar month (Sóc day), along with common offerings and prayers.

Regional comparison

Comparing Lunar New Year Customs Across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam

Discover the fascinating differences in Lunar New Year (Tet) customs across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam, from traditional dishes to unique rituals. This article offers an objective view of Vietnam's diverse cultural identity.