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The Milky Way
Once upon a time there lived a charming princess, named Chuc-Nu. She was one of the daughters of the King of Heaven. Chuc-Nu was a hard-working lady and she was always seen sitting on the shore of the Silver River to sew clothes for her younger sisters.One day a young man brought his buffaloes to the river. His name was Nguu-Lang. He was handsome. He fell in love with the princess at first sight, and she loved him, too. The King of Heaven, was aware of their love, consented for her daughter to marry Nguu-Lang. But the couple had to promise to continue their work after their marriage.They enjoyed being with each other so much the forgot their promise. The King became furious and ordered them to separate. Each of them would live on one side of the river and could only look at each other from across the river. The King allowed them to meet once a year in the seventh month of the lunar year. This month is called "The Month of Sudden and Short Showers". When they meet each other, they usually cry for joy. They cry even more sadly when it is time for separation.That is why it rains heavily at the beginning of the seventh lunar month in Vietnam. If you happen to be in the countryside during this month, you do not expect to find any ravens. They are believed to have flown to the sky to help carry the bridge across the river for the reunion of Chuc-Nu and Nguu-Lang and if you look at the sky on crystal clear nights, you may see the Silver River which looks like a long milky white strip. Therefore, it is called "Ngan ha" (The Milky Way) .
Once upon a time there lived a charming princess, named Chuc-Nu. She was one of the daughters of the King of Heaven. Chuc-Nu was a hard-working lady and she was always seen sitting on the shore of the Silver River to sew clothes for her younger sisters.One day a young man brought his buffaloes to the river. His name was Nguu-Lang. He was handsome. He fell in love with the princess at first sight, and she loved him, too. The King of Heaven, was aware of their love, consented for her daughter to marry Nguu-Lang. But the couple had to promise to continue their work after their marriage.They enjoyed being with each other so much the forgot their promise. The King became furious and ordered them to separate. Each of them would live on one side of the river and could only look at each other from across the river. The King allowed them to meet once a year in the seventh month of the lunar year. This month is called "The Month of Sudden and Short Showers". When they meet each other, they usually cry for joy. They cry even more sadly when it is time for separation.That is why it rains heavily at the beginning of the seventh lunar month in Vietnam. If you happen to be in the countryside during this month, you do not expect to find any ravens. They are believed to have flown to the sky to help carry the bridge across the river for the reunion of Chuc-Nu and Nguu-Lang and if you look at the sky on crystal clear nights, you may see the Silver River which looks like a long milky white strip. Therefore, it is called "Ngan ha" (The Milky Way) .
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The Legend of the Betel leaf and the areca nut
There were two twin brothers of the Cao family. Their names were Tan for the eldest brother, and Lang for the youngest one. They got schooling with a Taoist named Chu Chu who lived with his eighteen-year old daughter. He then married her to Tân, and the young couple lived their conjugal life happily. But, Lang found out that his brother treated him less since he got married. In fact, Lang left the house walking around the country. He reached a large river and couldn't cross it. Not even a small boat was in the vicinity to transport him to the other side of the river. He was so sad that he kept on weeping till death and was transformed into a lime-stone lying by the river side.
Troubled by the long absence of his brother, Tân went out to look for him. When he reached the riverside he sat on the
lime-stone and died by exhaustion . He was transformed into an areca tree. The young woman in turn was devastated by the long absence of her husband and got out for a search. She reached the same place where the areca tree had grown, leaned against the tree and died, transformed into a plant with large piquant leaves climbing on the areca tree. Hearing of this tragic love story, local inhabitants in the area set up a temple to their memory.
One day, King Hùng went by the site and gained knowledge of this story from local people. He ordered his men to take and put together together a leaf of betel, an areca nut and a piece of lime. A juice as red as human blood was squeezed out from the melange. He tasted the juice and found it delicious. Then he recommended the use of betel chewed along with areca nut and lime at every marital ceremony. From this time on, chewing betel became a custom for Vietnamese, and very often they began their conversation with a quid of betel.
For more myths visit
http://www.vietspring.org/legend/legend.html
There were two twin brothers of the Cao family. Their names were Tan for the eldest brother, and Lang for the youngest one. They got schooling with a Taoist named Chu Chu who lived with his eighteen-year old daughter. He then married her to Tân, and the young couple lived their conjugal life happily. But, Lang found out that his brother treated him less since he got married. In fact, Lang left the house walking around the country. He reached a large river and couldn't cross it. Not even a small boat was in the vicinity to transport him to the other side of the river. He was so sad that he kept on weeping till death and was transformed into a lime-stone lying by the river side.
Troubled by the long absence of his brother, Tân went out to look for him. When he reached the riverside he sat on the
lime-stone and died by exhaustion . He was transformed into an areca tree. The young woman in turn was devastated by the long absence of her husband and got out for a search. She reached the same place where the areca tree had grown, leaned against the tree and died, transformed into a plant with large piquant leaves climbing on the areca tree. Hearing of this tragic love story, local inhabitants in the area set up a temple to their memory.
One day, King Hùng went by the site and gained knowledge of this story from local people. He ordered his men to take and put together together a leaf of betel, an areca nut and a piece of lime. A juice as red as human blood was squeezed out from the melange. He tasted the juice and found it delicious. Then he recommended the use of betel chewed along with areca nut and lime at every marital ceremony. From this time on, chewing betel became a custom for Vietnamese, and very often they began their conversation with a quid of betel.
For more myths visit
http://www.vietspring.org/legend/legend.html