A woman prays to find love on Valentine’s Day at Ha Pagoda in Hanoi Vietnam on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Young men and women flocked to an ancient pagoda in central Hanoi on Wednesday hoping a Valentine’s Day offering would help them find a partner — a major priority for many Vietnamese.
Office worker Nguyen Thi Ly respectfully placed a tray with sweets, water, money — fake bills of both dong and U.S. dollars — and the familiar Valentine’s roses on the altar at the Ha Pagoda.
“Please help me Buddha, I want to have a boyfriend this year to stop being single,” she mumbled before the altar, already packed with dozens of other similar trays.
Vietnam is a communist state but Buddhist and Confucian traditions are still strong, with many people going to pray on the first, middle and last days of the lunar month for peace, luck and prosperity.
While Valentine’s Day stems from Christianity, Vietnamese have increasingly marked the occasion in recent years, seeking divine intervention in their love lives. “It’s a spiritual procedure, but it reflects that young people now have become insecure about how to find the right other half,” said educational psychology expert Tran Thanh Nam.
Marriage and family are traditionally important in Vietnamese society, increasing pressure on young people to wed and have children.
“I have prayed here at this pagoda five times for a relationship,” Nguyen Thi Trinh, 26, said.
“I believe I will be blessed with a boyfriend this year so that the family would stop asking ‘When are you going to get married?’”