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
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
Wednesday November 12, 2014
(VOVworld) - This week we received letters from several listeners who haven't written to us for quite a long time. Stephen Hogan sent us a warm spring greeting from the town of Glen Innes in Australia, where spring fever is taking over the state of New South Wales. He wrote: "We received good rain on Monday. The trees, grass, and gardens are bursting back into life with the spring season and pink and white blossoms adorn many trees. August and September bring the beautiful yellow wattle trees into flower, Australia's floral emblem." … [Read more...] about Wednesday November 12, 2014
Asian astrologers warn of stormy Year of Snake
A stock market slide, escalated conflict between Japan and China and more Gangnam-styled success for South Korean singer Psy will shape the incoming Year of the Snake, say Asian soothsayers. Those who make predictions according to the study of feng shui -- or literally "wind-water" -- are influential in many parts of Asia, where people adjust their lives or renovate houses and offices based on the advice. As they bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon, the fortune tellers warn that the "black water snake" that emerges to replace it on February 10 -- the first day of the Lunar New Year -- could be a venomous one that brings disaster. Previous Snake years have been marked by the September 11, 2001 terror strikes that killed nearly 3,000 people, the crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The 1929 stock market plunge that heralded the Great Depression also occurred in a snake year. Hong Kong's celebrity feng … [Read more...] about Asian astrologers warn of stormy Year of Snake