After the wedding, a banquet is held at the groom's house or in a restaurant. At the reception the parents guide the newlywed couple to each table to thank the guests and to receive their congratulations. All those who attend the reception bring gifts or money for the couple. The ancestors of the Vietnamese people believed that these complex and solemn rituals would help the newlyweds realize the importance of forming a family. Some parts of the Marriage Rite of the Catholic Church have been adapted to the Vietnamese customs enabling them to preserve the family spirit and to be more closely united.
Funerals are an important time for expressing filial love for parents and grandparents.
When someone dies, all members of the immediate family try their best to return home to see the loved one for the last time. They listen to the last words, and if possible, stay close during the last hours. Often they invite the parish priest and members of parish organizations for the celebration of the last rites to prepare their loved one for a holy death. After the person has passed away, all family members in the direct line openly mourn, and according to their relationshop to the person, wear different types of mourning clothes. The funeral is well organized according to national custom, beginning with the carrying of the casket into the church for a solemn Mass, and ending with interment in the cemetery.