Vietnamese families will continue to uphold and promote good traditional values and absorb civilised and progressive values for the development of Vietnamese families in the new situation.
20 years ago, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 72/2001/QD-TTg (May 4, 2001), marking June 28 every year as Vietnam Family Day in order to uphold the responsibility of leaders at all levels, social organisations and all families in focusing on developing prosperous, equal, progressive and happy families as well as enhancing the care, protection and education of children, contributing to national contribution and defence.
Family culture is a core of both traditional and modern cultural values. The family is the cradle that nurtures, forms and develops the personality of each individual, and is the foundation for the development of the whole society.
In the family, children are taught by their parents through the practice of family rituals (anniversaries, New Year celebrations, weddings, funerals) and through the example of parents' behaviour towards their relatives and community.
This cultural practice in each family creates people with good personalities, affection, tolerance, politeness, respect and love. The order and discipline of each family is always towards the virtues of filial piety, gratitude, respect, loyalty, gratitude and harmony.
These values have been crystallised and passed down through the generations to become traditional standard values that are reflected in each person's perception, thinking, and work as well as in the profound cultural identity of the nation.
However, in recent years, along with the process of development, exchange and integration, negative influences have eroded some cultural values, good habits and traditional lifestyles. The fast pace of life and the pressure of making a living in modern society have disrupted the traditional family structure, increasing the generation gap among family members. Parents spend less time with their children and relatives.
In addition, the explosion of information technology and social networks has led to the spread of cultural products and information that have promoted a miscellaneous lifestyle and money-based values. That has cracked and degraded family morals.
Recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism made a plan to pilot the implementation of a set of criteria for good behaviour within the family in 12 provinces and cities around the country, towards multiplying nationwide.
This set of criteria aims to mobilise households and family members to understand and implement positive cultural behaviour within the family. They are easy to understand, remember and implement. The set includes four general behavioural criteria (respect, equality, love and sharing) and four specific ones (between husband and wife, parents for children, grandparents for grandchildren, children for parents, grandchildren for grandparents, and among brothers and sisters).
It is necessary to spread these criteria amongst the community. In big cities and lowland areas, pilot activities have made a strong change; people's awareness of building and maintaining sustainable happiness has been raised. Many families have registered to become examples in behavioural culture, appreciated by the community.
Over the past year, in the context of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the slower pace of life has offered an opportunity for families to spend more time together. Many good family cultural values have been evoked, consolidated, fostered and promoted strongly.
The family is the nucleus and the cell of society. If that nucleus and cell is healthy, the society will also healthy. The promotion of family culture values should be valued and further enhanced for a better, more humane and more tolerant society.
The replication, spread and implementation of the set of criteria for good behaviour within the family will contribute to promoting the morality, personality and lifestyle of the people as well as fostering and traditional family cultural values and upholding the role of the social nucleus of the Vietnamese family during the modernisation and international integration processes.
