What Is The Most Important In Vietnamese Family Values?

In Vietnam, the family is the most significant component of existence. In comparison to many Western civilizations, it is significantly more interdependent and tightly connected. Family cohesion and wellbeing are frequently top priorities. The "family unit" as a whole typically consists of a bigger web of connections. A main source of support is provided by aunts, uncles, grandparents, and other extended family members who frequently have extremely strong ties. Typically, three generations share a single roof. As a result, living alone might be frightening for Vietnamese individuals.

The sense of familial loyalty and connection is frequently stronger among Vietnamese people. This may extend beyond the current generation and make people feel a connection to their ancestors from the past as well as those who will have children in the future. People are supposed to put the needs of their family ahead of their own and to give them preference.

I. VIETNAMESE FAMILY VALUES IN THE PAST

Vietnamese traditional values were deeply affected by Confucian ethics. 

The majority of Vietnamese prioritized this group's positions, privileges, and responsibilities over their own personal goals. Vietnamese households have typically had many generations living together. Vietnamese households typically consisted of the parents, their sons and their spouses, their children, and unmarried siblings. The paramount standard in this large family was reverence for the elderly. As a result, the parents and grandparents were in charge of making family decisions.

For generations in Vietnam, traditional family values were achieved via the fulfillment of traditional responsibilities, including the roles of man and woman as parents. Because the guy or father is accorded the greatest rank in Vietnamese households, he held ultimate power in the family. He was never required to labor in the kitchen or cook because he was the primary source of money. He went home and rested after work. As the leader of the home, he had the last say on all things. The father, on the other hand, had the responsibility to display moderation and wisdom in the management of his family in order to earn his valued status.

Having a boy in the household was a "must," because the eldest son would take over his father's obligations when he died. A family without a son to carry on the process was assumed to have vanished forever.

About the Vietnamese woman role, Vietnamese women had few rights and were given secondary roles in families in a patriarchal society. Women have historically had lower levels of education than men due to stricter upbringing and more conventional upbringing.

Woman became a mother and homemaker after marriage. She was supposed to rely on her husband, care for their children and even their grandkids, and manage the home. The family pushed the woman to make sacrifices and withstand the challenges of the marriage for the sake of her children even if she may be unhappy in her marriage rather than accept divorce.

About the parenting position in Vietnamese families. Vietnamese youngsters were encouraged to uphold the traditional characteristics of respect and obedience in their families. Disobedience might be dealt with by discipline and harsh punishment. Children were expected to care for their elderly parents as a way of making up for the gift of their birth and upbringing.

II. MODERN VIETNAMESE FAMILY VALUES 

Vietnamese families have more complex relationships than those in Western nations. As several generations co-exist to care for one another, extended families make up the bulk of households in Vietnam. Vietnamese families resemble a sort of miniature society, with the oldest members having the loudest voices and managing the majority of household duties.

Members of every family are expected to adhere to the family's specific set of rules and values. Conversely, the elder generation tolerates the younger generation. Both generations show respect for one another. Traditional Vietnamese still uphold a lot of their long-standing traditions and beliefs in their interactions with their spouses and children as well as in their connections with their parents.

Vietnamese moms still hold the same status as their Western counterparts in the eyes of children, despite being affected by Confucianism. They represent love, selflessness, and sacrifice in the most perfect way. Vietnamese parents view their children as their most prized possessions, thus they strive to have as many children as they can afford.

But the majority of them choose to use severe parenting to raise their loved ones. “Máu đặc hơn nước” (means Blood is thicker than water), according to a proverb from Vietnam. That is to say, relative to other types of interactions, family ties have received more attention. Vietnamese people have long had the idea of blood connections ingrained in their minds.

It suggests that as a family member, you should anticipate the support of your family members, both emotionally and financially, especially during trying times. You also have a responsibility to assist other family members when they need it in return. It is accurate to say that family relations have a role in both material and financial matters as well as in the emotional support provided.

Modern Vietnamese people have abolished the concept of male contempt for women and have achieved gender equality in society. Boys and girls are equally loved by their families, have the same education and are equal.

III. VIETNAMESE FAMILY IN TET HOLIDAY

For generations, the Vietnamese people have attached great importance to the family tradition, considering the family as a home and a cradle to nurture people from childhood to adulthood.

Lunar New Year is an important holiday in Vietnamese culture. At any time, the cultural value of Tet is always preserved and promoted through traditional customs such as visiting ancestors' graves, wrapping banh chung, cleaning the house to welcome Tet; New Year's Eve offerings, etc. Lunar New Year is a national festival and also a family festival. The meaning of reunion is expressed day by day from the New Year's Eve offering to the ancestors on the first day of the New Year, children and grandchildren reunite, etc.

The traditional New Year celebration has become a special festival in the family and clan. The work of preparing for Tet is shown through the gathering around a pot to cook banh chung; flower markets, Tet markets crowded with shoppers; children have new clothes; the men who display ink ready to ask for letters; family reunion, get together on New Year's Day, etc. It is these things that have made traditional values ​​​​in the culture of the Vietnamese people, bringing people closer together, increasing family affection.

"Come back home to celebrate Tet" is a long-standing tradition in Vietnam, children leave their hometown to study and work, on Tet, they will return to their hometown to reunite with their families. Vietnamese New Year is a day of reunion, a day for people to return to their families. Since ancient times, Vietnamese people have been known to worship their grandparents and ancestors. No matter how poor they are, every family tries to buy a few trays of food to worship their grandparents and ancestors. This action had a profound impact on the minds of the children of Vietnam, reminding everyone of the merits of birth and upbringing of grandparents and parents.

For Vietnamese people, in the past, a meal was a moment of reunion, a place to show respect and love for each family member. The Tet reunion meal becomes even more special because it not only provides quality food but also educates children on a healthy lifestyle. The New Year's meal is considered as the soul of solidarity, love and nurturing the human soul.

The first three days of the new year are the three most important days of the Lunar New Year. These three days will have two days for parents and one day for teachers. This is an expression of respect and gratitude to parents who have had merit in giving birth, and teachers with merit in teaching.

Family life and obligations in Western nations differ significantly from those in Eastern ones, to put it simply. Vietnamese society still upholds the value of the extended family. In the Vietnamese family house, there might be three or even four generations residing there. In many other nations throughout the world, it has not long been the case.