Many of my friends and family in the United States ask me about Christmas in Việt Nam -- they generally assume that Christmas is not celebrated there. Since we are back in the U.S. for the holidays, I have no experience with this other than my first Christmas away from home back in 1971 in Sài Gòn. There are many Catholic believers in Việt Nam, and there was a large church a block away from our hotel. On Christmas Eve, there was a large procession of church-goers around the church preceeding the mass. So my friend and I went down to join the procession and mass.
I am sure this Christian observance of Christmas in the many Catholic churches in Việt Nam continues. But I note that Christmas is also observed in a secular way by many other Vietnamese. Please click on over to the Vietnamese God and Xe Maybe blogs for photos of the decorations and activities observed in Hà Nôì. See Virtual-Doug for a Christmas tree in Huê.
In my experience in Việt Nam, Vietnamese love parties, decorations, and family activities, so it should not be surprising that Christmas provides this opportunity for them.
