Essay

Topic: Vietnam marriage custom different to American marriage custom.
In most cultures, besides its legality a marriage is also a social union between two persons who wish to stay with one another. When you really love someone, there is nothing happier when the person you love loves you. You will have good moments in your life, in which marriage is just the beginning of all the joys and happiness that await the married couple. Marriage is a contract between you and your lover, by the fact that it acknowledges a marital relationship legally. Speaking of which, each country has their own unique set of marriage custom which is different from that of others. As a result, Vietnamese-oriented marriage is different with its American counterpart in many ways.
First, marriage is thought to be one of the biggest events in life. In the past, especially in the less developed areas, a marriage of a girl or a boy was often pre-arranged by his or her parents. Neither the male nor female had any say in deciding who shall be her husband or his wife; everything was decided by her or his parents. This happened because of an old belief that love will eventually develop once the couple starts living together for a long time. Therefore, they were often unaware of their future spouse’s name, not to mention the face and appearance until their first night after wedding. Because of this old-fashioned practice that stripped away the one’s freedom, marriage was not always a happy event because the young couples had no rights to decide their fate.
An engagement ceremony, as a pre-ceremony to the wedding, usually takes place a half year before the wedding. After the engagement is arranged by their parents who will prepare the wedding ceremony by chose the date and time, family on both sides will determine an auspicious day, often consulted with a fortune teller. Therefore, the wedding consists of an extensive set of ceremonies such as: asking permission to receive the bride, receiving...