The Red Lanterns

(Baonghean) - In recent years, many localities across the country have flourished in the movement of hanging red lanterns. "Wealth gives birth to courtesy" is not a matter of debate. However, the hanging of red lanterns in our country today has no traditional cultural character but shows blind imitation, more seriously, it causes unnecessary waste for most of us Vietnamese.

Hanging lanterns is not a cultural feature of the Vietnamese people, it originated from China. In Vietnam, there are also many regions with a tradition of hanging lanterns, but those are Chinese people living in Hoi An, Quang Nam. Red lanterns with the strength of showing luxury, nobility and ancient, sacred nature have gradually been used more and more widely by Vietnamese people. Moreover, their price is not too high, so almost every family can have them to add to the holiday atmosphere. This gradually causes a "crowd effect", creating a wave of red lantern decoration.

Hanging lanterns at the ceremony to receive the National Historical and Cultural Relic Certificate
at Nghi Hop, Nghi Loc.

It is undeniable that foreign culture is absorbed and assimilated, but the hanging of lanterns in our country today has become arbitrary, without a clear cultural orientation. Lanterns are hung everywhere from the city to the countryside, from regular holidays to big holidays. And then they are hung not only in the house but also in front of the yard, outside the alley. Even some major roads in the city are strung up with electric wires on the side of the road, obstructing the view and affecting traffic safety.

Even some historical sites that are usually quiet and peaceful are decorated with large red lanterns that overwhelm other sacrificial objects. This disrupts the traditional customs of the nation, regardless of economic conditions, and makes the existing space ugly. The hanging of lanterns originated in China, but the Chinese do not decorate them indiscriminately like in Vietnam. They only decorate in old quarters or other commercial centers.

Hanging lanterns haphazardly not only has a negative impact on the cultural sector and traditional culture. Not long ago, the People's Committee of Dang Giang Ward, Ngo Quyen District (Hai Phong City) issued a notice requesting not to hang imported lanterns printed with lines affirming China's sovereignty in the East Sea. These lanterns all have language with propaganda content contrary to the Party's guidelines, policies, and laws of the Vietnamese State. Fortunately, after discovering the linguistic meaning of these lanterns, all the people cut out the yellow star shape and pasted it to erase those lines. This is enough for us to see that blindly imitating culture sometimes contributes to the destruction of national politics and culture.

Most recently, in a commune of Nghi Loc district, many rows of red lanterns appeared along all the roads and fences, even hanging on tree branches right in the historical relic grounds.

It turns out that this lantern hanging was to prepare for the ceremony to receive the certificate of national historical and cultural relic in the commune. I don’t know if this action will add solemnity to the ceremony or not? And I also don’t know what the meaning of hanging lanterns in a purely agricultural cultural space is, but it is clear that this has become an indiscriminate imitation, an unacceptable cultural hybrid. Moreover, hanging lanterns like that also causes a huge waste. A lantern is not worth much money, but with all the lanterns of each house, each hamlet… added together, we will see how much that number is?!

The Vietnamese people are proud of their more than four thousand years of history with a tradition of fighting to build and defend the country. Although our national culture has been greatly influenced by foreign cultures, it still has its own unique and distinctive cultural features. Therefore, we must selectively absorb foreign cultures on the basis of our national culture so as not to be known as a country that is culturally dependent and has no national pride or self-respect.

Tran Tu Quang (Nghe An Provincial Library)