giao thoa văn hóa tiểu luận giao thoa văn hóa

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY
======

ASSIGNMENT ON INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
The Similarities and Different Between Vietnamese and
England Wedding

Supervisor:

Mr. Luu Chi Hai, M.A.

Hanoi,2017


Acknowledgement
I am deeply grateful to Mr.Luu Chi Hai of Hanoi Open
University for his valuable instruction, corection, comment and
assitance during the development of my report and giving me an
opportunity and encouragement to complete my research.
I also would like to convey my thanks to all of my friends for
their help.
Finally I would like to express my indebtedness to my
family,especially my parents who have given me constant
support and love during the completion of the thesis.

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Content

Introduction.

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Part 1: Similarities in wedding customs
of Vietnam and England

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I.Early wedding traditions

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II. Engagement.

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III. Wedding ceremony

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IV. Early wedding traditions in the past

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Part 2: Differences in wedding customs
of Vietnam and England

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I. Preparation for wedding ceremony

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1.In Vietnam

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2. In England

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II.Preparation for wedding ceremony

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1. In Vietnam

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2. In England

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III. Other differences

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1. The place of wedding

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2.Flower power

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3.Representation of each day of the week

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References

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Introduction:
Each country in the world has its own traditional customs
because of differences in culture. People who like discovering
traditions and customs of other countries find it hard to
concentrate on the whole matter at a same time. Therefore we
should mention one custom individually, then analize it.
“Wedding customs” is an interesting topic. It attracts much
care of young people. Wedding is very important to one’s life,
not only to the couple involved but also for both families. Thus,
it usually includes quite a few formal ritual observances. The
process of wedding in Vietnam (an Asian country) and England

(a Western country) is different from each other. This research
will bring to you common knowledge about wedding customs in
the two countries above.
As a second year student of faculity of English, I really want
to find path to the English culture, especially the wedding
customs. In order to learn English effectively, students had better
understand English people and their culture.
The aims of the research :
- Helping Vietnamese or English learners in common and the
youth in particular distinguish the different feature in wedding
customs between two cultures.
- Giving useful information and illustrations to help Vietnamese
who are interested in the English culture or now are living there
know how a wedding is organized. And also help English people
understand Vietnam wedding traditions.

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Part 1: Similarities in wedding customs
of Vietnam and England .
In every nation, a wedding is organized with many formal
ritual observances. Vietnamese and English both have
engagement and wedding ceremony in marriage arrangement.
However, engagement and wedding ceremony are completely
different in detail.
I. Early wedding traditions
As early as the sixteenth, up to the nineteenth century,
marriages in Vietnam and England were arranged by parents or
guardians. The bride and groom often were not acquainted until

their marriage. The parents often made the marriage
arrangements and betrothals while the bride and groom were
small children (age three to seven
These prearranged marriages came under fire in the late
seventeenth century when a judge held that betrothals and
marriages prior the age of seven “utterly void
II. Engagement.
1. In Vietnam
The groom’s family and relatives go to bride’s house. They
bring about three or twelve trays (It depends on the finance of
the groom’s family) that contain betel leaves and areca nuts ,
wines, cigarettes, etc. People who hold the trays all wear
traditional dress ao dai , normally red “ao dai” because red is a
symbol of happiness . The groom’s parents ask for permisson for
their son to get marriage .

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In the engagement , two families discussed the date of marriage
very carefully. Vietnamese consider that suitable time and date
of wedding affect much their future.
2. In England
Before wedding , bride and groom organize a party as an
engagement party. Families, relatives, friends of bride and
groom join together, they are witnesses of the coming marriage.
The couple then give reasons of the party to guest. They
exchange rings and cut the cake.
III. Wedding ceremony.
1. In Vietnam

On the wedding day, the groom’s family and relatives go to the
bride’s house bringing a lot of gifts wrapped in red papers.
These gifts are similar to those of the engagement: betel leaves
and areca nuts, liquor, fruits, cakes, tea...Those who carry these
trays are also carefully chosen, usually they are happily married.
Women are all dressed in ao dai. Men could be in their suit or
men traditional costume. The procession usually led by a couple
that is most wealthy and successful among the relatives, this
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mean to wish the to – be – wed couples a blessing life together
in the future.

The groom’s family would stop in the font of the bride’s
house. The leading couple should enter the house first bringing a
tray with liquor and tiny cups on it. They would invite the
bride’s parents to take the toast. By accepting a sip, the bride’s
family agree for the groom family to enter their house.
A wedding banquet is scheduled in the evening at a hotel or a
big restaurant. It is always a delight feast that all relatives,
friend, and neighbors are invite. A music band is usually hired to
play live songs.
In England ( Common ceremony structure )
Unlike the wedding ceremony in Vietnam . The key element
utilized in most Western wedding ceremonies, in their most
common order, are :
a.Introduction, Opening, or Invocation
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In which the officiant typically announces the purpose of the
gathering, indiacates the names of the bride and groom,
welcome the guests and solicits them to participate in the
ceremony by their presence and, perhaps, their prayer.
b.Main body
In which the offciant ruminates on the meaning of the
marriage and the significance of the bride and groom’s decision
to join together in the wedlock. The officiant may also share
more casual remarks about the bride and groom as he or she has
come to know them, and about the fitness of their union.
The Main Body is sometimes divided into the Interrogation
and the presentation (either may come first). “If anyone has just
cause why these two may not wed, speak now , or forever hold
your peace.” (With any luck your ceremony will be peaceful).
The Presentation is when the bride, or the bride and groom, are
presented for marriage by their parents (The familiar, “Who
gives this woman”).
c.Vows
In which the bride and groom individually affirm their
commitment to one another, in response to questions posed by
the officiant; the response usually take the form of “I do” or “I
will”.
d.Exchange of Rings
In which the couple, usually reapeating phrases at the
officiant’s direction, declare their commitment to one another
and place a wedding ring on the hand of their betrothed.
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Part 2:Differences in wedding customs
of Vietnam and England .
I. Preparation for wedding ceremony
1. In Vietnam
Preparation takes such a long time, normally wedding is
arranged at home. Houses of the bride and groom are well
decorated with ribbons, flowers, etc. The atmosphere is full of
music and happiness. Some days before the wedding, the couple
go to try wedding attire on.
Just before the wedding ceremony, the groom’s family
decorate vehicles with flowers as their responbility is to go and
pick up the bride from her home. The couple need to make up
and dress well, they all want to become the most attractive
people in their wedding.
2. In England
a. Wedding attire.
Bridal gowns are less ornate that the traditional Western style
dress. Anything fancy would require a special trip to a major city
and be very expensive. Brides rarely kept their gowns for their
daughters; they either sold them or had the fabric used to make
their first child’s Christeninggown
It’s different from that in Vietnam . Nowadays, Vietnamese
brides often choose white dress instead of traditional dress ao
dai because white is symbol of innocence, purity and the dress
makes them to become the most beautiful person on her
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wedding day. In fact, white long dress were first designed and
worn in western countries but now becomes popular in

Vietnam .
b. Ceremony location.
The bride and groom of Vietnam normally choose their house
for the location of their wedding. The reason is that Vietnamese
consider houses are very important to one’s life as a person was
born and grew up there. Thus, they like spending the most
important time of their life (wedding) at home. In these years,
Vietnamese have tendency of organizing weddings in hotels. It’s
a result of many causes such as their house is not big enough,
wealthy people like luxurions hotels more than homes, etc.
In contrast, English have some common rules to follow.
The Natural.
One good rule of ceremony site decor is to let nature speak to
itself. So if your ceremony will be held on a bluff above the
crashing surf with the sunset behind you, you won’t need many
swags of tulle and ribbons to embellish the locate. Guests
gathered round the couple as they recited their vows, a bed of
scattered dried leaves and wildflowers were underfootPlaces of
Worship:
If wedding ceremony will be held in a house of worship, a
church or a synagogue, find out if there are any rules regarding
ceremony decorations. Many places of worship do have rules
governing what can and cannot be used to decorate, when
decorating can be done and when it should be taken away. Most
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houses of worship have a staff member who can brief the bride
and groom.
Bright Light :

The right lighting can create a certain mood at wedding
ceremony. Check out the site at the time of wedding day and
assess the light. Consider hiring a light specialist to come up
with a lighting scheme that gives the room the ambience the
couple want to convey.

c. Wedding cake.
In medieval England , guests brought small cakes and piled
them in the center of a table, challenging the bride and groom to
kiss over them. Wedding cakes are less elaborate in design. The
weding cake is a rich fruitcake topped with marzipan

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II. Preparation for wedding ceremony
1. In Vietnam
After wedding, Vietnamese young couple often don’t have
honeymoon. The day after in the morning the new husband and
wife visit the bride’s family. They bring buiscuits, sweets,
chickens, sticky rice, etc because bride’s family will use these
food to cook meal for all family eat together. Newly wed couple
(now husband and wife) pray their ancestor. If the groom’s
house is far from the bride’s house. young couple can visit their
parents – in – law in some days later.
Just after wedding, bride and groom go to their wedding room,
they drink a glass of wine together. At this time, they are
offcially become husband and wife.
2. In England
Unlike the traditions of Vietnam , in England there are some

typical customs some of which are:
a. Wedding breakfast.
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In England , wedding traditionally are at noon ; afterward,
there is a seated lucheon, call a wedding breakfast. The bride
and groom dance the first dance but there is no introduction of
wedding parties nor any father/ daughter dance. They do not toss
the bouquet or garter.
b. Photographs.
Vietnamese take photograph all the time in their wedding,
even when guests are having parties. But in England , photos are
taken outside the church immediately after the ceremony, or
inside if it is raining. While photos are being taken, relatives and
close friends present the bride with wedding souvernirs
horsehoes, wooden spoons, rolling pins, all decorated with lace
and ribbon.

c. Honeymoon
Newly wedded English couples then leave for their
honeymoon. Unlike that, Vietnamese couple spend honeymoon
at home and of course they are free at work that day.
III. Other differences
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1. The Place Of Wedding.
Wedding flowers are scattered by a small girl preceding the
English bride and her wedding party, who walk together to the

wedding chapel or the weding site. The flowered path and
symbolic walk express hope for the bride’s path though life to be
happy and lovely. English bridesmaids wear wishers, who might
curse her for her happiness.

Mean while, in Vietnam , there’s no path which is covered
with flowers. Everythings are simple.

2. Flower Power.
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Flowers add color, beauty and subtle fragrance to ceremony site.
Floral arrangements typically adorn the altar, or in Jewish
weedings, the bimah (the front of the synagogue where the
ceremony takes place). Choose flowers in a paltette that works
with your floral scheme. Big flowers work well at the altar or
bimah because they show up. If the church or synagogue is dim,
make sure the colors chosen for flowres show up as well. It’d
better keep the arrangements simple

The grooms in Vietnam consider that roses are symbol of love
so roses are mostly chosen.

3. Representation of each day of the week.
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On the other hand, English think that each day of the week has
its own meaning.

Monday – Health
Tuesday – Wealth
Wednesday – The Best Day
Thursday – Brings Crosses
Friday – Losses
Saturday – No Luck At All
And to think, everyone gets married on the weakend. Hope
you enjoy these tries and true traditions
6. Choose the time.
That date of weddings in Vietnam depends on the age of the
bride and groom. They must find out the most suitable time that
suits their age most. Beside that, English people have some
comon knowledge about the time for marriage.
References:
1. Nha xuat ban van hoa dan toc Hanoi (Ha noi – 1999). Dang
Van Lung – Nguyen Song Thao – Hoang Van Tru. Phong tục tập
quán các dân tộc Việt Nam .
2. J. Michel Bennett and Mc Graw Hill. 1991. For Powers of
Communication (Skills for effective learning).
3. Special English magazine N039 . Publication Thanh Nien.
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4. Http://www.wedding channel.com

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