Discussion: [Noel au Vietnbam] C'est bientôt...

YouTube - Jingle Bell Rock

Hainoi 2006

YouTube - Jingle Bells in Vietnamese.

HCMV 2008

YouTube - Noel 2008 in HCMC Saigon Vietnam.

bonjour,

Noël 2010 c'est maintenant à HCM :

Communist Vietnam catches the Christmas spirit 13/Dec/2010 Intellasia | mercurynews.com
13 Dec, 2010 - 8:43:41 AM

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Just across the street from the Communist Youth Union, fake snowflakes swirled in the hot, humid air as a skinny Santa Claus flanked by two elves in miniskirts swayed to "Jingle Bells," "Silent Night" and "Let It Snow."

At twilight, throngs gathered on the square outside the upscale Diamond Plaza shopping center to enjoy a holiday scene out of a Currier & Ives Christmas card. Young women posed in front of replica wintry white trees as their boyfriends snapped photos. Vendors sold Santa balloons to parents for their small children. Gia Linh adjusted a Santa cap on her head as she sang along with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," which was playing so loudly it filled the entire block.

Never mind that the 20-year-old college student is Buddhist and didn't celebrate the season as a child. "Christmas wasn't that popular. My family didn't care. It was just a normal day," she said. "Now, everybody likes Christmas."

In fact, it's nearly impossible to avoid over-the-top holiday merriment in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly called Saigon, the largest city of this predominantly Buddhist country. Trendy cafes that usually pulsate with techno music blare classic carols, particularly the Vietnamese favorite, "Feliz Navidad." Couples zoom by on motorbikes carrying plastic Christmas trees home. Manger scenes featuring blue-eyed figurines of Jesus, Joseph and Mary appear in family-run hotels and street-side stores.

Men in Santa costumes ride bikes for a bike company's promotion in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Vietnam has about 6 million Catholics, the second largest in Southeast Asia after the Philippine. Santa Clause and Christmas trees are popular in Vietnam. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki) (Chitose Suzuki) "Everywhere you go in Saigon, every cafe, is playing a Christmas song -- it's all about Jesus and God. It becomes annoying," said Henry Liem, a philosophy teacher at San Jose City College who is often in Vietnam during the holiday season.

Unofficial truce

This round-the-clock Christmas sentimentality is perhaps the most visible sign of the nation's embrace of the West.

The communist government, once leery of the religious holiday of its Catholic minority, now hangs Christmas lights along upscale Dong Khoi Street in District One. Officials futilely tried to shut down a nearly milelong neighborhood-manger lane in the city's District Eight -- not for ideological reasons, but because of the traffic gridlock it causes when thousands upon thousands of Vietnamese on motorbikes arrive to see the spectacle.

"Vietnamese will use any excuse to go out and cruise. You go downtown and see the lights. It's really festive," said Don Phan, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who spends a lot of time in his homeland. "And businesses love it because it's another way to get people to consume."

Besides, he added, "Buddhists like to hedge their bets. You can be Buddhist and still believe in Jesus and Christmas."

The seasonal celebration underscores the unofficial truce between the government and the Catholic Church, which has about 6 million followers in the nation of 90 million people. The Vatican and the communist regime are moving closer to establishing diplomatic relations, said Carlyle Thayer, an expert on Vietnam's government and professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy.

"The regime has loosened up on allowing Catholic material to be published and has loosened up on interference in the selection of candidates for the priesthood," Thayer said.

A holiday for everyone

Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City has taken on a distinctive Vietnamese flavor -- Christmas stores that spring up across the city play loud music and are filled with discolike flashing lights. Throngs appear at just about any place with signs reading "Mung Chua Giang Sinh," or "Merry Christmas."

"Babies are dressed up in Santa outfits," said Esther Nguyen, a former Morgan Hill resident who is CEO of Ho Chi Minh City-based social mobile gaming startup Pops.vn. "In the United States, everyone is home on Christmas Day. In Vietnam, everyone is on the street. The exaggerated decorations are full of lights. There are Santa Clauses on motorbikes and plastic Christmas trees."

Every night at the Ky Dong Church in District Three, hundreds of shoppers pack the church store, buying everything from giant Christmas baubles to inflatable reindeer and Frosty the Snowmen. They crowd around a Mekong Delta version of the manger scene: Joseph, Mary and Jesus in a traditional Vietnamese fishing boat loaded with packages of instant noodles.

"Christmas is not just for Catholics," said Hoang Cong Minh, a 27-year-old mechanical engineer who snapped photos at the church store with his girlfriend. "It's also for Hindus, Buddhists. Christmas is for everyone."
Streets, spirit overflow

The holiday is particularly popular in Ho Chi Minh City, the most international region of the nation and heavily influenced by French and American cultures. The densely packed city also has a higher ratio of Christians than other parts of the country, said Cao Song, a Catholic who was shopping at the church store.

"Christmas is recognized as a peaceful holiday and everyone goes along with it," said Nguyen Thanh Nhan, another Catholic shopping with his wife and 4-year-old son for a Christmas star to decorate their door. In addition to the religious aspects of the holiday, the couple is teaching their child about Santa Claus.

The festivities climax on Christmas Eve, when it seems that half the city's 9 million residents take to the streets for something akin to a holiday rave. Churches overflow for midnight Mass while Vietnamese outside drink beer and spray each other with fake snow. It can take two hours to travel a few miles in District One as everything comes to a virtual standstill.

"Vietnamese want to integrate the country with the international society," said Che Huyen Bao Vy, wearing reindeer antlers and angel wings at a holiday display outside another shopping center in District One. The 21-year-old college student, along with two other reindeer angels, stood next to a blue Santa.

"I don't practice the religion, but I enjoy the Western culture a lot," she said. "Christmas Day, the Christmas spirit, is happy. It's a Christmas-spirit thing."

"Christmas is not just for Catholics," said Hoang Cong Minh, a 27-year-old mechanical engineer who snapped photos at the church store with his girlfriend. "It's also for Hindus, Buddhists. Christmas is for everyone."
Streets, spirit overflow

"I don't practice the religion, but I enjoy the Western culture a lot," she said. "Christmas Day, the Christmas spirit, is happy. It's a Christmas-spirit thing."

So am I, love Christmas very much ! Its ambiance makes me fall in love with life and feel like to have wife and children.

PHT

Christmas

Đêm Giáng Sinh nơi miền tuyết trắng.
Nghe Tố Hà hát

Chuẩn bị cho Christmas


Hôtel Continental
TP-HCM

Envoyé par Bao Nhân

YouTube - Jingle Bell Rock

Hainoi 2006

YouTube - Jingle Bells in Vietnamese.

HCMV 2008

YouTube - Noel 2008 in HCMC Saigon Vietnam.

Vive le Vent d'Hiver, en viet, c'est top !

Envoyé par Bao Nhân

So am I, love Christmas very much ! Its ambiance makes me fall in love with life and feel like to have wife and children.

PHT

Hello Bao Nhân,

Comme toi, j'aime la Fête de Noêl !

Parce que j'ai la chance de passer des journées dans la joie : la joie d'acheter des cadeaux pour faire plaisir à ceux qu'on aime, la joie de décorer la maison pour accueillir ceux qui viendront, la joie de voir la surprise des enfants devant leurs cadeaux et de partager des moments plein de tendresse...

Je voudrais que tout le monde aie la même chance que moi...

Envoyé par Buuhoa

Hello Bao Nhân,

Comme toi, j'aime la Fête de Noêl !

Parce que j'ai la chance de passer des journées dans la joie : la joie d'acheter des cadeaux pour faire plaisir à ceux qu'on aime, la joie de décorer la maison pour accueillir ceux qui viendront, la joie de voir la surprise des enfants devant leurs cadeaux et de partager des moments plein de tendresse...

Je voudrais que tout le monde aie la même chance que moi...

Chào buuhoa,

Le période de Noël et de Têt est le plus magique.

YouTube - Merry Christmas from Saigon

YouTube - Christmas In Saigon. December, 2009.

Giáng Sinh - Noël - Christmas

Cela pourrait vous intéresser.



Tracklist:
01. Silent Night
02. Panis Angelicus
03. O Holy Night
04. Pie Jesu
.....................
Ti clic ici sur les titres.

Click here ) : " Chants de Noël "

Ou Ici : Chantons Noël !

Et Ici les cantiques d'hier pour les chrétiens - autres s'abstenir

Bonsoir TLM,

Scènes de rues et devantures Noël 2010.

Christmas spirit stretching across Vietnam

Written by Lee News & Events Dec 15, 2010
The exciting atmosphere of Christmas has filled the streets from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with striking colours and decorations.
In Ho Chi Minh City, major streets such as Dong Khoi, Hai Ba Trung, Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Tran Hung Dao were covered with lights and Merry Christmas decorations.

Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon Tax Trade Centre, which attracts many visitors on holidays and festivals, has been decorated with distinguished features of different countries such as France, Egypt, Italy and Vietnam.
Hoang Thi Kim Xuyen in District 1, who was taking her children to walk around the streets shared, “Christmas this year, the decoration style of hotels are simple but extremely meaningful. Coming here, my children can play and also learn about specific characteristics of countries around the world.”
Not only locals but also international tourists are interested to see images displayed in Vietnamese hotels and streets during the Christmas holiday season. Mr. Ambrey, a French traveler said, “I can not imagine that I can see images of my country here. Watching the Christmas scenery in Vietnam makes me miss my hometown and family.”
Most high-rise buildings, hotels and restaurants are decorated with signs of Christmas. The upcoming Christmas holiday at Kenh Dao Area, Phu My Hung New Urban Area, has brought a bustling atmosphere for people.
Streets in Nha Trang City, central Khanh Hoa Province, are also exciting and colourful with sparkling trees, symbols of Santa, lights, and children who are wearing Christmas clothes. The cooler weather seems to make it feel even more like Christmas.
Lights, pipe trees, reindeer and Santa Claus are also being largely displayed in streets in Hue City, central Thua Thien-Hue Province. The weather in Hue has been very nice with warm sun in the daytime with cooler temperatures at night, encouraging locals to flock to the streets to welcome Christmas early.
Hotels, supermarkets and restaurants have been decorated with themes of Christmas. “Recently, more customers have come to our supermarket, boosting the sales,” a salesclerk at Big C Supermarket shared.
Many young people have come to big stores and supermarkets to buy gifts for their friends and relatives and shopping has been on the rise.
Ho Chi Minh City:

Children staring at snow globes

Image of France at the Saigon Tax Trade Centre

People buying Noel clothes

People rushing to the streets to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere (Photo by Hoai Luong-Hong Nhung)

Nha Trang City:

Hue City:

(Photos by Doan Cong-Dai Duong)

Merci à tous pour ces images de fête au pays
J'adore !