Vietnam’s Tet, ancestor worship spotlighted at Venezuela’s int’l book fair

An ancestor alter inside a Vietnamese house. (Photo: VNA)

Buenos Aires (VNA) – The Embassy of Vietnam hosted a talk on “Ancestor worship and Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnam’s traditional New Year)” in both virtual and in-person forms on November 10 as part of the 17th International Book Fair of Venezuela (FILVEN 2021).

The event was attended by Venezuelan deputy minister of culture Mary Pemjean, Ambassador of Venezuela to Vietnam Tatiana Moreno Pugh, Vice President of the Vietnam – Venezuela Friendship Association Le Duy Truyen, President of the Venezuela – Vietnam Friendship Association (CAVV) Carolus Wimmer, and Venezuelan Vietnamese Business Chamber (Cavenviet) Director Alberto Burguer.

In his remarks at the event, Truyen gave a brief overview of the history of Vietnamese culture, the custom of worshiping ancestors of Vietnam, noting that it is not a religion but a way the Vietnamese remember and pay tribute to their ancestors. The Vietnamese also maintains a tradition of worshiping gods and national heroes, such as Hung Kings, general Tran Hung Dao, and President Ho Chi Minh, he added.

Nearly 8,000 festivals take place across Vietnam annually and the biggest and most important of all is Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet, which is an occasion for family reunion and honouring traditional values, he continued, describing how Vietnamese people decorate houses and ancestor altars and enjoy the holiday./.

VNA