ĐỀ TÀI: The NewYear customs inVietnam and Britain Part A : Introduction 1. Rationale of the study In the recent years, people in over the world have tried their best to study English with many aims such as: getting good job, knowing about other culture, communicating with foreigners. Some people consider that English would be a lifeboat for us to survive. The reasons for my choosing this topic is that culture is an important element in each countries. People from different cultures, beliefs and religions need to come together to work and communicate with each other. The special occasion is New Year which is meaningful to people. I also want to re-affirm what I have been taught in Hanoi Open University with some books I have studied about culture in British and Vietnam. 2. Aims of the study This graduation paper is designed to discuss the New Year in Vietnamas well as Britain and take them into comparisons. It helps people enrich their knowledge and understand more about culture in Vietnam and Britain. This information is also good for Vietnamese people living in Britain can know and live up to with their culture. 3. Scope of the study In this graduation paper, a thorough just look at British and Vietnamese special occasion is too great to discuss. It is impossible to get deep into the analysis in great details of the matter. This graduation paper just touches upon some main aspects of this larger topic. The author of this graduation paper has just get a thorough look at some most popular celebrations such as The New Year days that exist inVietnam and Britain. 4. Method of the study Among other methods such as experimental research, action research and so on, I choose survey research by interviewing some British and Vietnamese people to conduct my graduation paper. Besides, to complete the study, I have tried my best to find materials and gather information from different sources and used some techniques such as: analysis, comparison and contrast, classification and exemplification. 5. Design of the study My study is divided into three main parts: Part A – Introduction: The first part includes rationale, aims, scope, method and design of the study. Part B – Development: The second part has three chapters: Chapter I: Literature review Chapter II: New Year customs in Vietnamese and British culture Chapter III: Discussion and implications associated with New Year customs in Vietnamese and British culture. Part C – Conclusion: This part summarizes all the main points in the study. References Appendixes PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1. Definition of culture Culture can be defined as the art, literature, and music of the people, their architecture, history, religion, and their traditions. According to Harper (2001) , the word “culture” derives from the Latin word “cultura” stemming from “colere”, which means “cultivate”. When the concept first emerged in eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuryEurope, it connoted a process of cultivation or improvement, as in agricultureor horticulture. In the nineteenth century, it came to refer first to the betterment or refinement of the individual, especially through education, and then to the fulfillment of national aspirations or ideals. In the mid-nineteenth century, some scientists used the term culture to refer to a universal human capacity. For the German no positivist sociologist, Georg Simmel, culture referred to the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history. (Levine, 1997, p6) In the twentieth century, culture emerged as a concept central toanthropology, encompassing all human phenomena that are not purely results of human genetics. Specifically, the term culture in American anthropology had two meanings: (1) the evolved human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols, and to act imaginatively and creatively; and (2) the distinct ways that people living in different parts of the world classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively. Because culture is a difficult to define, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn ( 1952) compiled a list of 164 definitions of culture in “Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions”. Culture, according to Professor Tran Quoc Vuong (1998, p.17), is “the spiritual product of people creativity and it was born with the appearance of human being on the Earth” or Dr Nguyen Quang (2000, p.7) claims that“culture as a share background (e.g. national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes and values”. Brooks (1983) has identified five meanings of culture: growth, refinement, fine arts, patterns of living and a total way of life. “ Culture 4 (pattern of living) refers to the individual’s role in the unending kaleidoscope of life situations of every kind of the rules and models for attitude and conduct in them. By reference to these models, every human being from infancy award, justifies the world tom himself as best he can, associates with those around him, and relates to the social order to which he is attracted”. A culture are is a land where some features of a culture are visible. Various school of thought have emerged in anthropology attempting to account for how cultures work, develop and develop and spread, but all agree on a vast evolutionary process throughout the history of man, especially in technical and economic domains. However, the evolution has not taken place at the same rate for all nations, although at times co – culturalism can integrate. In short, the word “culture” is most commonly used in three basic senses: - Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture - An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning - The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group Because culture is various and diverse, no one has provided a clear – cut, special definition of culture. Each countries has own culture. Culture shows their lives, talking, behaving and feeling. 1.2. The components of culture Culture is the combination of all the physical and behavioral aspects of a society. And people said components of culture appears in everyday life. John Bodley in his Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States and the Global System (1994). Bodley goes on to distill what is useful in these categories and to define culture in a useful way. Culture, is made up of at least three components: what people think, what they do, and the material products they produce. The problem with defining culture as shared values and beliefs, as some anthropologists do, is that there can be a vast difference between what people think they ought to do (value) and what they actually do (behavior). Moreover, we get much of our evidence for what people do from what people make - that is, from material things (what archaeologists study). So we really need to include all three components in a definition of culture. In the opinion of Jean Smith (2002), a teacher at University High School in Normal Components of Culture: Symbols, Language, and Values. To study the people within a society, how they function, and what they value, gives the sociology student a more thorough understanding of society. 1.3. Some general features of Vietnamese cultural and British culture. 1.3.1. Some general features of Vietnamese culture Vietnamese culture has 54 main ethnic groups and each groups has their own special culture. In the reference book “ Việt Nam văn hóa sử cương” (2000), Dao Duy Anh said that the Culture of Vietnam which is an agricultural civilization based on the cultivation of wet rice is one of the oldest in Asia Pacific. Most Vietnamese historians consider the ancient Dong Son culture to be one of the defining aspects of early Vietnamese civilization. Vietnamese culture is recognized in community, family values, handwork and devotion to study. According to Tran Ngoc Them (2006), “T́m Về Bản Sắc Văn Hóa Việt Nam”, stated that the difference in the structure of terrain, climate and distribution of ethnic population has created a cultural areas has its own characteristics in Vietnam. From the cradle of culture in Vietnam's Red River Delta with the mainstream of Vietnamese village culture and civilization of rice, to the cultural nuances of ethnic minorities in the Northwest and Northeast. Because of the long period of China’s domination, Vietnamese culture is influenced by Chinese culture. Following independence from China in the 10th century, Vietnam began a southward expansion that saw the annexation of territories formerly belonging to the Champa civilization (now Central Vietnam) and parts of theKhmer empire (today southern Vietnam), which resulted in minor regional variances in Vietnam's culture due to exposure to these different groups. During French colonial period, Vietnamese culture received merchant influences from the Europeans, including the spread of Catholicism and the adoption of Latin alphabet. Until now, Vietnam is the only non-island nation ofIndochina which uses the Latin alphabet to write the national language. In “Việt Nam – Đất nước – Con người” (2005), Hoang Thieu Son claimed that The Vietnamese national culture emerged from a concrete living environment: a tropical country with many rivers and the confluence of great cultures. The natural conditions (temperature, humidity, monsoon, water-flows, water-rice agriculture .) exert a remarkable impact on the material and spiritual life of the nation, the characteristics and psychology of the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese nation was formed early in history and often had to carry out wars of resistance against foreign invaders, which created a prominent cultural feature: a patriotism that infiltrated and encompassed every aspects of life. Vietnamese (tiếng Việt) is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. Besides Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese are also considered as foreign languages which are used by many Vietnamese nowadays. Toan Anh (2005) said that there are three traditional religions forming the “triple religions” or “Tam Giao” ( Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism ) but Buddhism has been most popular. Besides the “ triple religions”, Catholicism is also practiced in modern Vietnam. However, others Vietnamese can follow non – religious, they can go to temples if they want. Vietnamese life was also profoundly influenced by the practice ofancestor worship, as well as native animism. Most Vietnamese, regardless of religious denomination, practice ancestor worship and have an ancestor altar at their home or business, a testament to the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty. The Ao Dai is the most recognizable traditional dress seen in Vietnam. Nguyen Viet Huong (2006), “Văn hóa ẩm thực và trang phục truyền thống của người Việt” stated that Ao Dai is the most popular national costume in Vietnam, this beautifully styled outfit is still actively worn throughout the country during Tet. Sometimes, the couple celebrate wedding on Tet they wear Ao Dai. In the past, rich man often worn Ao Dai every days, but now only women wear it in some special occasions. The white Ao Dai is usually seen with high schoolgirls in Vietnam. Because Ao Dai is long and a little complex, now in daily life people prefer wear casual clothes. Cuisine is one part which is indispensable in each country’s culture.According to Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thảo (2007), “Văn hóa ẩm thực Việt Nam”.Vietnamese cuisine is divided into three regions (north, central and south). Each religion has own way to cook. However in a meal of three religion can not lack of rice, a kind of vegetable and meat. Specially Vietnamese can eat dog meat and sometimes they consider that eating dog meat drives away unlucky things.