1. 1. 2. What’s the difference between festivals now and those in the past?

I think the main difference between festivals now and those in the past is that we now celebrate more festivals throughout the year than before, some could be our national festivals, some could be foreign festivals. For example, in the past Vietnamese people used to celebrate only several traditional festivals, including Vietnamese New Year, which celebrates the arrival of spring and a new year, Ghost festival, which is a time to respect and worship ancestors, or Mid-Autumn festival, which is a traditional celebration for children. In contrast, now there are more foreign festivals that many family and young people also celebrate as their own festivals, such as Valentine, Christmas, New Year. I think the reason is that under the influence of globalization, we tend to embrace new festivals more quickly, and this is also a good opportunity for people to relax and spend more, which in turn contributes to economic growth.

1. 1. 3. Do you think western festivals like Christmas are replacing traditional festivals in your country?

No I don’t think so. It’s true that more and more young people very exciting about Christmas, and love celebrating it when friends, but we do prefer our traditional festivals like Vietnamese New Year as we have celebrated it since we were small. It is part of our childhood and we grow up valuing our New Year and other traditional festivals as much as our grandparents and parents do. We do not feel the same about Christmas or celebrate Christmas as the way native speakers do, so not all Vietnamese people are celebrating it as a national festival. To Vietnamese, our national festivals help us to keep connected to our roots, our culture, our values, our origin and to preserve it.