Vietnam beliefs

Vietnamese beliefs are shown as an amalgam of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism,

coupled with a traditional core of beliefs in spirits and gods. Altars in honor of
ancestors are found in every house; For the Vietnamese, the dead are an active
presence interacting with the living. Annually, the living and the dead celebrate a
communion at a feast during Tet.
Tet is the most popular Lunar New Year celebration among the Vietnamese, engulfing any
other holiday in Vietnam. This word comes from the "tiet": the knot of the segments of a
bamboo cane, with an equivalence to the notion of transition. The party moves between the
end of January and the beginning of February. It is a family feast, during which banh
chung, a sticky rice cake, is eaten. Families bring fruits and flowers to drive away evil
spirits. At midnight on New Year's Eve prayers are raised during the Gia Thua ceremony,
asking the ancestors to enter their homes. The god of the kitchen informs the Jade Emperor,
overlord of Taoism, and the family prays for favors. The older ones give the children some
money and family visits follow one another. Tet ends after the third day, when the ancestors
return to the spiritual realm.
The cult of Confucius or Confucianism is carried out in the temples of literature (van mieu)
above all and presides over social relations. Confucian ethics prescribes hierarchy and
obedience, seeking social order; education is more important than wealth. The worship of
ancestors and spirits is a form of devotion. In each house, the family altar occupies the
most sacred place, full of offerings. This altar unites the ancestors and the family.