Celebrate New Year with Japanese Mochi pounding My Tran By My Tran in HCMC A traditional Japanese rice cake Mochi pounding ceremony will be held at the Nikko Hanoi Hotel at 2 p.m. tomorrow to celebrate the New Year 2014. Japanese people celebrate New Year from the Christian calendar with many unique and special activities, of which the rice cake Mochi pounding ceremony is one of the most highlighted. Mochi pounding is a tradition on the first day of the New Year with the desire of luck, health and prosperity. Traditional Mochi is made from soft and sweet rice (called Mochi rice, or Mochiko). The rice is soaked overnight before cooked. Then the cooked rice is crushed into a large wooden mortar by two people until it becomes a sticky mass which is then formed into a round shape. The organizers will recreate a traditional Mochi pounding in Japanese style so that Vietnamese people will learn more about traditional Japanese culture. Visitors will also have the chance to enjoy the … [Read more...] about Celebrate New Year with Japanese Mochi pounding
Year 2014 calendar
Making sure for a lunar New Year happy, healthy, safe and economical
Deputy Chairman of the PPC cum head of the directing board of Tet, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc An, has just chaired the meeting on implementing the tasks to greet Lunar New Year of 2014. As to the plan to greet this Tet, such focal contents are: salaries, cash, subsidies, social support; traffic and transportation; commodity transferring; culture, sports, entertainment, relaxation and favorable conditions to serve the daily activities during Tet; visiting and presenting gifts to the policy objects; end-of-the-year gatherings; the tasks of protecting the security and order, social safety. Vice chairman Nguyen Ngoc An required the departments, sectors and offices to give out plans of greeting Tet under the stipulated rights and functions. Accordingly, the sectors of Finance, Treasure, banking services ensure sufficient cash prior to January 23rd, 2014 (the 23rd of December lunar calendar) to pay salaries of January and February 2014 to the civil servants, officials; pay pensions, subsidies to … [Read more...] about Making sure for a lunar New Year happy, healthy, safe and economical
Various activities to welcome New Year
PANO - Various activities to welcome New Year will be organized at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House from December 24th to 31st by the Ho Chi Minh City's Youth Union and Rohto Mentholatum Vietnam Company, announced the organizers at a press conference on December 18th. Accordingly, there will be a youth market with 400 stalls of youth and students, a photo contest and two special musical galas to welcome Christmas and New Year, with the participation of more than 100 artists. Last year, the event attracted the participation of tens of thousands of people. * Can Tho City will also set up light and flower streets to welcome the Year of the Horse 2014 and mark 10 years since the city was recognized as a central city. The 900m light street, starting from Quang Trung crossroads to the end of Hoa Binh Avenue, will open on December 22nd and end on February 9th, 2014, while the 310m flower street from Hoa Binh to Phan Dinh Phung crossroads will take place from January 27th … [Read more...] about Various activities to welcome New Year
Year-end fascinating cultural events in Vietnam
VietNamNet Bridge - Christmas, Da Lat flower festival, the Countdown New Year 2014 are among the outstanding cultural events in Vietnam this December.1. Go Thap Festival This is the greatest festival of people in Dong Thap Muoi region. The festival is held on December 18 in Tan Kieu commune, Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap Province. Attending the festival, you can also visit the ancient ruins like Go Thap Muoi, Co Tu Tower, Ba Chua Xu Temple ... then enjoying the atmosphere of the folk festival and cultural and artistic activities. 2. Christmas Christmas is the celebration of the day Jesus was born. The official day is on December 25 but usually celebration activities are held from December 24 evening. This is the biggest holiday in the year of the Christian. The ceremony is solemnly held in most Christian churches and at Christian families. You can go to any Christian church in Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Quang Ngai, HCM City to attend the celebration. 3. Tien Luc Festival The festival … [Read more...] about Year-end fascinating cultural events in Vietnam
Calendar makers may race ahead in the Year of Horse
With preparations beginning in June, calendar producers are hoping their designs for 2014 (the Year of the Horse) will be popular this year, as the economy remains stagnant. According to Manh Ha, a calendar producer in Hanoi, most calendars feature pictures of well-known local landscapes, traditional architecture and paintings, people and daily life, but young designers have made a few changes. "We created a collection of 12 designs of calendars for the New Year season that focus on children playing traditional games in brightly coloured clothes. Calendars decorated with poems by the nation's well-known poets, including Nguyen Du and Ho Xuan Huong, are also included," he said. Ha's company produced 3.5 million of seven- and five-sheet wall calendars and loose-leaf calendars, mostly for Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces. Ha explained that, just as in previous years, the calendar market is making many publishers nervous, since no one can be sure about customers' … [Read more...] about Calendar makers may race ahead in the Year of Horse