Self-Reflection on Vietnamese Culture

Self-awareness is an initial step to understand the variations of cultures. It could help an individual to realize the essentials of his or her own culture that are usually neglected in daily life. In this essay, I would like to explore the Vietnamese culture under my own reflection and express my opinions about cultural variation discussion in international environments.
At first, there is a variety of important factors that influenced Vietnamese culture but family is the most important point. In fact, a typical Viet family includes grandparents, parents and children living together under a same roof. The number of children in family is often high due to the old concept that more child more laborer. It could be easy to understand because Vietnam is an agricultural civilization based on the cultivation of wet rice. Although this situation is changing in urban areas, it still exists in rural regions where farming takes the primary role in people's income. Vietnamese people also have a close relationship with their relatives. They are frequently living in a same village or commune in order to support each other. Moreover, they try to have a good relationship with their neighbors because of an old saying “Sell far relatives and buy close neighbors”. In a typical Viet family, children are taught to be well-behaved and respectful towards their parents, grandparents and relatives. In terms of the relationship with other siblings, they have to be in accord and love each other. Because of that, loving people is one of specific characteristics of Viet. When natural disasters such as hurricanes that hit Vietnam annually happen, not only Vietnamese people living in their homeland but also overseas Vietnamese donate and help their fellows.
Another significant role that helps to form the Vietnamese culture is religion. In fact, most Vietnamese do not follow any particular religions. Their belief and moral standards are based on Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism principles and