Understanding The History of The Vietnamese Lifestyle

I come from Vietnamese culture which has a history of four thousand years. All six forces mentioned in the chapter have significant effect on our culture but I believe the two strongest ones are History and Ecology.

Vietnam has a long history of war. For centuries, many generations of Vietnamese people lived in war and were taught to fight, to protect their family, their country. My parents come from the last generation to experience the Vietnam war. I can see the great impact of History on their lifestyle and on Vietnamese culture in general. People take pride in the country and in the government. They are also very family oriented. It’s common in Vietnam for many generations of a family to live together in the same house and are protective to each other. There are many occasions for people to pay respect to the earlier generations who sacrificed themselves for the country.

Another force that has great impact on Vietnamese culture is our Ecology. Our geographic features are convenient for farming. However, natural disasters are also very common. In result of this, the culture is built around farming with many festivals celebrating crops and farmers and working. In older times, the ancient religion of Vietnam used to celebrate the Gods that represent earth, river, sky, etc. Because of the recurring natural disasters, people in my culture also have a lifestyle that enable them to prepare for the worse. People from other parts of the country that don’t have to experience a lot natural disasters are always willing to help the ones in need.