|
Serving
Students at
Santa Ana
College and
Santiago
Canyon College
VIETNAM
Etiquette
|
Introductions
Handshaking
and a vocal greeting is normal.
Physical
Contact
Vietnamese
people should not be touched on the head.
Photography
There
are restrictions at ports, airports and harbors, and in similar areas elsewhere.
It is courteous to ask permission first before taking photographs of people.
Dinner
An invitation
to dine with the family is not often extended casually. Always bring
a present when invited to dinner. Flowers are acceptable as
long as they are not white. Common gifts are sweets and teas.
Dining Vietnamese style is a practice of interaction, an interplay of gestures
and forms. For example, when dining is at its most formal, a guest
seldom has to serve himself. The host and hostess will see to it
that the guest has more than enough to eat including the first sampling
of each plate. But the guest should never be the first to sample
a dish unless the host insists.
Sampling
is a better term to describe dining the Vietnamese way. One never
takes more than a single helping from any plate without first trying all
the other dishes on the table. A tablespoonful constitutes a helping.
If serving spoons are not provided, at most two trips of the chopsticks
to the serving dish represent one serving. Most important of all,
never dwell on any
one dish
and always compliment the food after the first taste.
Never
reach for food until rice has been served and the host has given the signal
to begin. The only exception is at a banquet where rice may not be
served. Don’t pour dipping sauces directly into the rice bowl.
One hand should always be touching the rice bowl while eating even if the
bowl is not picked up. Polite convention demands using both hands
when offering or accepting anything. A little polite nod is always
expected when passing or accepting something at the table.
Visitors
are advised to avoid drinking water and drinks with ice cubes, as well
as fruit juice containing tap water. Coffee, tea and bottled beverages
are generally safe as is the water in hotels.
Chopsticks
should not touch the lips, teeth or tongue. Never pick up more than one
morsel with the chopsticks. Another point to remember is that it
is regarded crude to move food from the communal plate directly to the
mouth. The morsel should first be transferred to the individual’s
rice bowl before eaten. In Chinese this utensil is called kuaì-zi,
in Japanese hashi, in Vietnamese doi dua. A host of chopsticks etiquette
rules govern the proper usage.
It is
generally considered more elegant to hold the chopsticks as far away from
the business ends as possible. This naturally requires more skill
and dexterity. A child learning how to use the chopsticks usually
begins holding the utensil closer to the business ends and migrates upward
with experience. In some situations, it is common to hold the chopsticks
at midpoint so
that
the chopsticks can easily be turned and both ends can be used. The
slim ends are used to put food into the mouth. The thicker ends are
used to pick up food from the communal plates.
The ideal
sequence is one bite of rice for every two bites of meat, fish or vegetables.
The reverse is appropriate when the entree is a delicacy or the portion
is small. It is very distasteful to shift the food on the serving
plate to search for a choice item. At the same time, the chopsticks
must not show hesitation while moving to pick up a morsel. The chopsticks
must not pick up the morsel by piercing it. Also, returning a morsel
to the plate after picking it up is very bad form.
If chopsticks
mastery is lacking, a request for forks, but not knives, is acceptable.
Vietnamese have a saying adopted from the Chinese: “We sit down to eat
not to cut up carcasses.” Vietnamese use deep ceramic spoons and
consider sipping from the spoon more sophisticated than placing the spoon
into the mouth.
Whereas
a second or third serving may be declined at a Western table without offense,
it is considered almost rude to decline the hostess’ offers at a Vietnamese
table since custom requires the hostess to be persistent in her solicitation.
It is wise then to feign fullness early and acquiesce gracefully at the
first two or three offers of additional servings.
Tet
Superstions
If you
happen to be visiting Vietnamese friends during Tet, it is wise to note
how much stock Vietnamese (no matter how rational they are) place on taboos
and superstitions. This is the one time of year when a well-intentioned
but ill-informed gesture may well turn out to year long problem.
For the rest of the year, that person will be blamed for all misfortunes.
The culprit is personally considered bad luck.
The list
of taboos and superstitions is tedious and long, however, there are a handful
that are considered crucial social knowledge:
Visitation:
It
is extremely important not to visit or telephone anyone on New Year’s Day
without an invitation. When an invitation is extended, it should
be accepted graciously for it is a great honor. People only invite
those they respect, love and consider to be good luck. This and a
number of other taboos are rooted in the belief that New Year’s Day activities
set precedents for the rest of the year.
Lending:
Don't
ask to borrow anything on the Tet New Year's Day; people fear they might
be lending things for the rest of the year. Things should not be
broken, especially in someone else’s home.
Introductions:
One
way to bring brightness and glory into someone’s household is to greet
him or her on New Year’s Day with a long and eloquent speech of good wishes
and blessings. Something along the line of: “I wish you and your
family a prosperous New Year filled with joy, love, harmony and good fortune.
May the Light of Heaven shine brightly upon your household. May your
cupboard be filled. May you come into great wealth. May your
health be strong and vibrant. May all things turn out according to your
desire.” And whatever else the person may wish for. But if
the formality seems too much, a simple “Happy New Year” will do: Chuc Mung
Nam Moi! Note: Greetings should not be delivered in the bedroom;
people fear this may mean they will be sick most of the year.
Food:
In
the Vietnamese culture, food is so inextricably tied to the concept of
prosperity that most of the presents people exchange are food: rice cakes,
fruits, nuts, sweets, wines and teas. When visiting friends in their homes
during the Tet festival, bring small food gifts. These will be greatly
appreciated because Vietnamese take food gifts as tokens of good luck and
prosperity signifying that they will have plenty to eat in the coming year.
Shoes
Footwear
should be removed when entering Buddhist pagodas.
.
Sources:
Country
Information
Central
Intelligence Agency
Vietnam:
A Country Study
Consular
Information Sheet |
