Source: Thanh Nien News
Santa Claus and Xmas trees have become so familiar with Vietnamese over the past decade that neither families nor companies are skimping on their Christmas budgets despite the global economic recession.
Purchasing decorations for Xmas and New Year celebrations, reserving parties at hotels, karaoke restaurants and cabarets or booking tours to romantic destinations are some of the most popular plans for the festive season in Vietnam.
Season preparations began last month in all of Vietnam’s big cities with Santa Clauses smiling at the entrance to shopping malls and Christmas lights illuminating the main streets.
"Christmas is an opportunity to go out with family and friends rather than a time for religious reflection," says 24-year-old Hoang, who plans to spend Christmas night at HCMC’s Lush Bar with his friends.
In Vietnam, Christmas has turned into a commercial holiday more than a religious one. Christians in Vietnam celebrate it religiously but that number is only around 15%.
Buying presents for Christmas AND Tet. That would make anyone broke.
Another good thing about Christmas is you get to see Vietnamese girls in Christmas-y red Ao Dai
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1 comment:
Well, your post sums up what's also going on in the West: Christmas, as a Christian tradition, got secularized. However, I don't understand why some non-Christian people (particularly Muslims and Sikhs) say that the Christmas tree shouldn't be called a "Christmas tree".
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