Vietnam 5: Holidays in Hanoi

Holidays in Hanoi

Vietnam is a largely Buddhist country, though, in actuality, most people observe ancestor worshipping more than anything else. At the same time, the country still contains many devotees of other religions, particularly Christianity (largely Catholicism), as well as local sects such as Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, both of which are particularly popular in the South. Many Catholics left northern Vietnam in 1954 when the country was partitioned. However, there still are many active practitioners in Hanoi and throughout the north.

Regardless of the small size of Hanoi’s Christian minority, the city is beginning to get into the swing of the Holiday Spirit – when that Spirit is defined to include the commercialism attendant with the Christmas season in the West, combined with the novelty of a winter themed celebration. In downtown Hanoi, particularly in restaurants and stores patronized by expats and wealthier, more-cosmopolitan locals, windows will have spray-painted snow flakes with tinsel, while a few spots sport Christmas trees. Many waiters and waitresses at cafes and coffee shops wear Santa’s caps and the Old Quarter of the city is packed with little shops selling outfits for kids, decorations, and cards. (Holiday photos here)

One department store set up a more elaborate exhibit, complete with fake snow, sleighs, snowmen, and reindeer. This quickly became a popular destination for camera-wielding young parents anxious to pose their children in front of this winter wonderland. Walking back home from a movie the other night, Liz and I encountered a small, festival-like scene, with 40-50 people jostling to pose their well-scrubbed and primly dressed young ones in front of a pile of shiny-wrapped presents or fancy wreaths. An enterprising young man had set up a small popcorn popper and was selling bags for 50 cents while several balloon sellers converged on the spot to sell colorful characters to the horde of under eights dragged out by their parents. Another sight on Hanoi streets around Christmas – Santas on scooters. Many Hanoi residents send gifts to friends delivered by young men dressed (not very convincingly) as St. Nick. As if Hanoi traffic needed anything to make it more uncontrollable, now we have guys dressed in red with fake beards hauling around large white sacks as they weave in and around cars and bicycles.

One downside to the Christmas season is the Christmas soundtrack. Stores and restaurants all seem to share the same holiday season, full of bad British holiday pop, treacly seasonal chestnuts and an old ABBA New Year dirge. I think that even the most steadfast ABBA supporter must, however, agree that any song that features the lyrics:

Happy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don’t we might as well lay down and die

. . . should be shot into the fiery center of the sun. Sadly, instead of its well-deserved solar launch, it resides on every tape deck in town.

Our apartment complex sponsored its own Holiday party in the lobby. Almost all the residents are expats, many from the US, but others from Europe, mixed in with a few Japanese or Korean families. The owners set up a nice buffet and provided entertainment. Kids ran screaming and played with confetti, while parents milled around sipping drinks and eating snacks. Then came the entertainment. First, an all-female band, in beautiful red ao dais playing traditional music (plus one or two Simon and Garfunkel tunes) on local instruments. Quite beautiful. I would have taken photos, but feared looking too much like a tool as no one else had their cameras. Next, a female singer crooning pop ballads. Finally, three young Vietnamese dancers. One or two slow moving graceful pieces, followed by some very PG-13 songs that involved lots of shaking and rather little clothing. Maybe I should have brought the camera down after all. Not sure if it was exactly kid appropriate, but it certainly grabbed everyone’s attention. A group of young girls stopped to see what was going on, while several men obtained a new-found interest in wardrobe issues, while female spouses nudged a few of the more slack-jawed husbands to re-interest them in conversation (not me, of course).