VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, on Wednesday, opened an exhibition on the cultural life of Catholics.

The life of a Catholic follower is displayed through major rituals, from the various sacraments, such as the baptism rituals for a newborn baby to Communion and Confirmation to help children grow in their faith. The Marriage ceremony marks the start of family life and Atonement is the last exoneration of a person in the world.

The exhibition also displays important ceremonies of Catholics, like Christmas and Easter, as well as traditional craft occupations serving Catholics, such as embroidery and statue-making.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology’s experts had the idea to organize this exhibition four years ago. They spent two years collecting objects in the Catholic community in the northern delta (Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hai Duong and Hanoi). They chose 120 items for display. Besides some domestic items, there are also some items that were sent from California, New Orleans (USA) and Paris (France).

The museum’s staff was very careful to accurately express the language and customs of Catholics because the community of 6 million Catholic followers in Vietnam still seems “mysterious” to others.

Associate Professor Nguyen Van Huy, former Director of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, and Associate Professor Vo Quang Trong, the current director, hopes that the exhibition will pave the way for non-Catholic people to understand and share the beliefs of Catholic culture, like part of Vietnam’s culture.

The museum will also organize five presentation courses about the culture and the life of Catholic followers and education activities for children. The exhibition will continue until May 10, 2009.

Some pictures about the exhibition:

Mô tả ảnh.

Khanh Linh – Pham Hai