Christmas in Vietnam - Featured Photo Collection 2018

A cold breeze embraces crowds of city dwellers pacing on busy streets. Here and there, red-and-white hats bounce up and down – their colors are perfectly complemented by the city coated with bright, flickering neon lights. Along sidewalks, banners and decorations hang. Inside warm buildings, families gather: kids write letters, adults exchange wishes, and everyone sits down at the dining table for a cozy meal, living up to the winter’s spirit. It is that time of the year again. Christmas is here.

Whether it is in the Times Square, underneath Big Ben, or on Nguyễn Huệ walking street – the heart of Saigon, and around Hoan Kiem Lake – Hanoi downtown, the Christmas atmosphere is ubiquitously exciting and much yearned for. Although such an occasion is not originally meant for celebration among the Vietnamese, Western influence in recent years and the locals’ love for joy have popularized Christmas culture among Vietnamese adults and children alike.

During the last few weeks of December, Christmas spirit can be found almost everywhere in Vietnam, from the homes of the most ordinary people to the Notre Dame Basilica, St. Joseph’s Cathedral and other large cathedrals, to skyscraping super shopping malls.

Although celebration varies from family to family, the general components of a Christmas party among Vietnamese people are not so different from those of Westerners. A little bit of coziness, some exchanges of stories and laughter among family members, a Christmas tree, and extravagantly large portions of food are to be found in any family.

Along with the tell-tale signs in the dining table, Christmas spirit can also be seen at churches around Vietnam. The churches are glowing with lights, resonating with Christmas carols, and packed with children’s smiles upon receiving presents from their priests in the wake of Christmas Eve.

On a more “Saigon” note, the Christmas spirit is also evident in large shopping malls such as Vincom, Parkson, or Diamond Plaza. In Hanoi, all the people head t the Old Quarter, West Lake area, shopping malls such as Vincom centers, Royal City and alike. There, Vietnamese teenagers can be found gleefully striding from restaurants to restaurants, clothes shops to clothes shops, and making the best of their youth with friends.

The spirit it left in thousands of Vietnamese people’ hearts remained fervent throughout the city even after Christmas. As the occasion brings so much joy to everyone – second only to the traditional Tet – Lunar or Chinese New Year in our opinion.

Here are some photos taken over Christmas in Christians’ residential areas.

Words by Dang Nguyen

Photos taken by Lam Cao and special thanks to all the people who made this photo collection happen.