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This is a shot of the archdiocesan Cathedral of
Notre Dame, Saigon. The statue of the Blessed Virgin
is that of Our Lady of Peace.
The week after I returned home to Minnesota, she
was alleged to have been crying. Thousand of people
crowded the square clogging traffic downtown to a
standstill.
Word has it that she had done that previously
during the Viet Nam War.
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Here is the bridal couple, Johnny Tran and Van Dinh.
In Vietnamese culture, the wife keeps her own name.
With them are the groom's brothers Martin, Vinh, and
Joseph,
as well as yours truly. |
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A wedding
day in Vietnam begins with a series of processions.
Here I am leading the early morning procession from the groom's house to the bride's house.
Leading a wedding procession is a great honor.
Once at the bride's house we formally present gifts
to the bride's family.
Note how small the neighborhood streets are. It only accommodates one line of people and two motorbikes, one in each direction!
I used
a cane because I had a serious fall in the hotel lobby, injuring my knee. This was the second such fall in six months in a hotel lobby.
Bishop Judd said I had to "...stop having these fits of
ecstasy, being slain by the Spirit in hotels!"
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This is the return procession
in which the bride is brought to the groom's home. At each place, the parents are offered small sips of ceremonial wine, prayers
are said to the ancestors, and prayers to the Virgin Mary are sung. |
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This is a photo inside the church where the
wedding took place, St. Vin Son Church. The
view is of the steps leading from the pews up to the dais where the
altar sits. |
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Here I am
blessing the
wedding rings with Holy Water. Assisting is
Father Chi, pastor of the parish and celebrant of the Mass. |
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Here I am at
the reception dinner with two new friends.
Eighteen other young friends had their picture taken
with me by their parents.
There were 450 in attendance at the wedding reception. The dinner included many course of diverse foods. It opened with both traditional and contemporary dancing and singing from a professional troupe on stage, with the newly weds and the immediate families being led to the stage via a long path through the room. Eight attendants in red bellhop uniforms carrying hoops preceded the
enturage. Two personal female attendants in long colorful traditional dresses with colored unbrellas walked behind the wedding couple. As they came closer to the front, two cannons shot tiny foil into the air with great fanfare.
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Here is a photo of
me with Tran Nguyen and five-year-old Thanh. Thanh was my dinner partner and my constant keeper during dinner.
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Here I am
with my nephew and groom-to-be Johnny Tran before
his wedding.
I think this traffic sign means
"No dropping water balloons," but I'm
wearing a hat just in case.
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Return
to Journeys page to see another journey. |
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