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Vietnam’s 10-minute puppet show will represent Asia-Pacific folk art troupes at the opening ceremony of the 36th International Theatre Institute (ITI)  World Congress.  A scene from Dragon’s Dream puppet show. Photo: VNA With the theme of “Reunite, for the Performing Arts and Humanism”, the congress will take place from February 19 to 25 in Fujairah City of United Arab Emirates. Together with colleagues from four troupes representing Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, 20 artists from Vietnam will perform at the opening ceremony of the congress.  According to Vietnamese People’s Artist Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of Vietnam Puppet Theater, the show is an imaginative story reflecting the urgent problems facing the world such as child abduction, noise pollution, poverty, ocean disputes, and war. “Dragon’s Dream” is a perfect combination of different types of stage performances like puppetry, cheo fork performance, contempora...

Lucky money giveaway is a long-standing practice that represents “mung tuoi” or “li xi”, literally meaning “congratulation on a new age”. According to the book “Viet Nam phong tuc” (Vietnamese customs) by scholar Phan Ke Binh (1875 – 1921), after worshipping ancestors, descendants offer lucky money and bow twice to their grandparents and parents. In return, the seniors also give several coins as lucky money to their children. In the country, lucky money giveaway is a custom at the start of a lunar new year. People often put the money in a red envelope, which is meant to pray for good luck and drive away evil spirits. The practice is also intended to wish small children good growth and learning success and the elderly, longevity and good health. Given its meaning, lucky money giveaway has long been a cultural identity of Vietnamese people once Tet arrives. The post Lucky money giveaway – an exchange of best New Year wishes appeared first on Vietexplorer.co...