Solar or Lunisolar

Before we get into the special days coming up. I think we must first delve, momentarily, into the world of the Vietnamese lunar calendar. Known to the Vietnamese as the Âm Lịch calendar. Much like the Chinese calendar, the calendar is lunisolar, not uniquely lunar. A fact I was unaware of until recently. As the calendars are specifically referred to as lunar in the western world. But what does lunisolar mean? The style of the calendar does, and to great accuracy, follow the cycles of the moon. The full moon always occurs on the 15th of each month. But the basic cornerstone of the calendar is greatly dependent on solar positioning. So the sun’s position at any given longitude, combined with the moon phases and some ancient arithmetic, gives you the first day of the year, planting and harvesting times, and all the holidays and important periods that go along with thousands of years of a relatively uninterrupted agrarian society. A rather confusing quirk is to maintain the calendar with its rambling nature, leap months, instead of leap days, are added to the calendar on average every three years.

Some interesting quirks

Due to the initial need to base the calendar on an origination point on the globe, the dates would naturally change depending on your location. The moon’s phases are not the same across the planet simultaneously. Very close, to be sure, but enough of a difference that a few degrees of longitude can sometimes cause calendars to vary by months. As was the case in a still divided Vietnam during the year 1968. Hanoi and Saigon celebrated the new year a day apart. This strange quirk of solar position, lunar phasing, and longitudinal genesis of the East Asian lunisolar calendars has caused China to adopt one time zone. The calendar is determined by the position of the sun and moon phases as it relates to Beijing. If it’s 7 am in Beijing, it’s 7 am 2500 miles away on the western border.

Âm Lịch Calendar

The 10th day of the Lunar Calendar marks a special day for all the Asian nations that culturally use the lunar calendar to establish a tradition in the subtle backgrounds of their lives. The lunar calendar is used by the average Vietnamese to live. And it’s interesting when Diem and I discuss calendars as we often have to convert weight and measures and time in space. And not in hours and minutes, but more in days of the year. The Vietnamese calendar is like most things Vietnamese, pragmatic and extremely functional. The Lunar months are only numbered, and the numbered days gives one a simple date. The fourteenth day of the first month. Or, in an even more specific yet equally confusing case, the fourteenth day of the first month could also be written as the seventh day of the second week of the first month. Which to the western world was February 26th in 2021. Neither in the first month nor the second week of the Gregorian calendar. I know, it’s a bit of a head spinner.

God of Wealth Day

So it would come that on or about the 8th day of the first month of the Vietnamese calendar (for those Gregorophiles, the 19th of February), Diem started dropping a few hints. I knew something was up. I frantically began researching what could possibly be on the horizon. The few hints that I had involved gold. And advertisers had begun putting their stamp on the oncoming gold rush in the surrounding days. Then I hit a bit of good fortune when the Vietnamese English language paper dropped an article about the city’s gold shops preparing for the onslaught of gold that would undoubtedly be consumed by the masses on the 10th day of the first month (February 21).I did my typical bought of relentless research to determine what this annual day of gold was and what it was all about. An exploited, extorted, and highly commercialized representation of a traditional Buddhist belief. On the God of wealth day, many in Buddhist-dominated countries believe that purchasing gold will sway favor of the god of wealth. And he will bring good fortune to your home in the coming year. The first thing I thought was, sounds expensive, and then some interesting parallels came to mind. Many will buy rings and other jewelry for their wives and girlfriends, and I just thought it interesting to land so close each year to Valentine’s day.

Fulfilling Tradition

I’m not one to break tradition. I could tell Diem was getting rather excited at the prospect of purchasing some gold for the new year. So with a minimal protest on my part, I’m a sucker for putting a smile on Diem’s face, we headed to Ông Ích Khiêm. Ôn...

Ripples from Asia

The practice, as I’ve said, is not unique to Vietnam. It is a practice celebrated in most Asian cultures that have a lunisolar calendar and Buddhist roots. China, Malaysia, and Singapore are among the other nations participating. So many people purchase gold around this time globally that it has been known to affect global gold prices. It definitely affects regional gold prices. On the actual day gold was trading in Vietnam at almost 400 dollars more an ounce than the average global price. It’s a lot of movement. It’s a lot of gold.

What to Choose

Diem began browsing the gold jewelry and I went for my usual spot in the gold shops. The American high school and college class rings. I haven’t seen a shop yet that didn’t have them, and they always captivate me. Rings from every state and territory can be found all across Vietnam awaiting to be purchased. I often see affluent businessmen, bank managers, and business owners, sporting one on a finger. But I digress, I’ve already told that story.Diem picked a few options, and asked my opinion. I knew without hesitation which one I would choose. Some had hearts, some letters, but one had a tiara. it was perfect. A ring fit for a queen. The shop calculated the price, all gold is weighed and sold by market valuation. A practice I always thought to be a bit tedious. But I guess in reality it is a wash. So if you ever want to buy gold jewelry in Vietnam, always go when the price is down. You’ll get a better deal.

Ngon Thị Hoa

We picked the girls up from school and headed out for dinner. One of our favorite spots that’s walking distance from the house. Ngon Thị Hoa, which translates to delicious market, is a beautiful outdoor restaurant serving some delicious traditional Vi...